Earthfall

Earthfall on PC is a science-fiction first-person co-op shooter from Holospark, built around four-player teamwork, hostile alien swarms, and defensive combat in the Pacific Northwest. Steam currently lists the game under its original name, Earthfall; no verified PC storefront rebrand or replacement edition was found. The main appeal is straightforward: move through objective-driven missions, manage ammunition and equipment, then hold ground when the invasion escalates.

The game is best understood as a squad survival FPS rather than a competitive shooter. It supports solo play with AI teammates, online co-op, and an online PvP category on Steam, although its defining content is the cooperative campaign and wave-based Invasion mode.

How Earthfall plays on PC

Each mission places a team of up to four survivors on a linear route through ruined settlements, industrial sites, and other Pacific Northwest environments. The squad advances by completing practical objectives such as restoring equipment, opening routes, activating machinery, or reaching an extraction point while the alien force attacks from multiple directions.

Combat alternates between movement and pressure-release moments. You may spend one section scavenging weapons and supplies, then suddenly need to protect a teammate interacting with an object or defend a narrow position against a concentrated assault. This rhythm makes communication important, especially when a player is reloading, reviving an ally, or operating a mounted weapon.

Earthfall uses a classic four-player campaign structure, but it does not require a full human squad. Empty player slots can be filled by bots, making the campaign playable alone. AI companions can keep the group moving and provide fire support, but human teammates remain more reliable during complex defenses and high-pressure encounters.

Alien enemies and squad survival

The opposition is made up of ordinary alien drones and more specialized creatures designed to disrupt formation. Standard enemies create volume and movement pressure, while stronger aliens can pin, drag, poison, or overwhelm isolated players. The important distinction is not simply enemy health; it is how each threat changes the team’s positioning.

Earthfall describes its horde as procedurally generated, so enemy pressure is intended to vary between sessions. The result is a campaign loop based on route knowledge and repeated mastery rather than a purely scripted sequence. Players learn where to prepare, but cannot assume that every attack will arrive in precisely the same way.

Team survival depends on staying close enough to respond to disables without standing in the same firing lane. Focus fire helps remove dangerous targets quickly, while a well-placed barricade can buy time for a revive or reload. The game rewards players who watch the squad rather than treating every encounter as a solo shooting gallery.

Barricades, turrets, and printable weapons

Earthfall’s most recognizable system is its combination of firearms and deployable defenses. Players can construct barricades, upgrade them with effects such as fire or electricity, and use them to shape a temporary defensive position. These tools are not permanent base-building; they are tactical equipment for slowing, redirecting, or damaging an incoming horde.

Mounted turrets provide another way to control a defense. A turret can cover a lane while the rest of the squad handles an objective, but relying on fixed firepower without watching the flanks is dangerous. Positioning matters because the aliens can pressure several approaches at once.

Weapon access is tied to Earthfall’s futuristic 3D printers. Players can print firearms and ammunition during a mission, giving the team a dependable resupply option when conventional pickups are limited. That system changes the usual co-op shooter economy: the question is often when to return to a printer and which weapon best fits the next defense, not whether the squad can find a single dropped rifle.

The later progression layer adds skills and perks that improve how players approach repeated runs. These upgrades can affect reload speed, weapons, traps, buffs, and emergency survival options. Progression therefore sits alongside the mission objectives rather than replacing them with a long-form character-building system.

Campaign content and Invasion mode

The core package includes 15 story-driven levels according to the current Steam listing. They are arranged as cooperative missions rather than an open-world campaign, with the squad moving through a sequence of objectives and set-piece defenses.

For players who prefer repeatable combat over mission progression, Invasion Mode is the key alternative. It is Earthfall’s take on horde survival: waves attack a defended area while the team earns credits to unlock stronger weapons, traps, perks, and survival buffs.

Invasion changes the decision-making loop. Instead of simply asking how to reach the next checkpoint, the squad must decide when to spend resources, which section to hold, and whether opening access to additional equipment is worth exposing a more difficult approach. It is a better fit for players who enjoy escalating defenses and score-oriented survival than for those seeking a narrative campaign.

Steam currently lists the base game alongside two separate add-on entries: the Earthfall Soundtrack and the Hazmat Pack. The Deluxe Edition bundles those extras with the game. No larger season-pass structure or extensive licensed expansion program is shown on the current PC storefront page.

Who should play Earthfall?

Earthfall suits PC players who want a direct, low-friction co-op FPS with aliens instead of zombies. Its strongest use case is a small group that enjoys communicating during defenses, experimenting with barricade placement, and replaying compact missions to improve coordination.

It is also a reasonable solo option if you are comfortable with AI companions and want to learn the maps at your own pace. The bots make solo access possible, but they do not fully reproduce the judgment of a human squad when several objectives or special enemies demand attention simultaneously.

Players looking for deep competitive progression, a large open world, or a highly complex class system should set expectations accordingly. Earthfall is focused on cooperative firefights, defensive positioning, and repeated mission mastery rather than broad exploration or elaborate role-playing systems.

PC features, controls, and localization

Steam lists full controller support, keyboard-and-mouse play, Steam Achievements, Steam Trading Cards, Family Sharing, and Remote Play on TV. The PC version is distributed through Steam and requires agreement to a third-party EULA. The current storefront does not identify a separate anti-cheat system, so that detail should not be assumed from the PvP category alone.

Language support is broader than the audio offering. English includes interface, subtitles, and full audio. French, German, Spanish from Spain, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese from Portugal, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese provide interface and subtitle localization, while English is the only language listed with full voice audio.

Players who prefer a classic four-player zombie-style campaign can compare Earthfall’s objective-and-horde structure with cooperative first-person survival shooters such as Left 4 Dead 2. The key difference is Earthfall’s focus on alien enemies, printable weapons, and placeable defensive equipment.

Similar co-op shooters on PC

The closest comparison is Left 4 Dead 2 because both games organize teamwork around a four-person squad, linear objectives, special threats, revives, and escalating horde pressure. Earthfall is less defined by survivor characterization and more by its sci-fi arsenal and defensive tools.

Players who prefer dedicated wave survival may find a stronger structural match in class-based horde FPS action like Killing Floor 2. Killing Floor 2 places more emphasis on wave preparation and class specialization, while Earthfall divides its attention between campaign traversal and Invasion defenses.

For a more modern swarm-shooter comparison, World War Z: Aftermath shares Earthfall’s interest in four-player coordination, large enemy groups, and defensive objectives. Earthfall remains the more compact choice, with its identity centered on alien resistance, portable barricades, and 3D-printed equipment.

Earthfall FAQ

Is Earthfall still called Earthfall on PC?

Yes. The current Steam listing uses Earthfall as the product name. No verified rebrand, renamed definitive edition, or free-to-play transition was found for the PC storefront listing.

Does Earthfall have a single-player mode?

Yes. The campaign can be played solo with AI teammates filling the remaining squad positions. The game is designed around cooperative play, so human coordination is more valuable during difficult defenses and special-enemy attacks.

How many players can play Earthfall together?

Earthfall is built for up to four players in cooperative missions. Steam lists online co-op and single-player support. The PC storefront does not list local split-screen co-op.

What is Invasion Mode in Earthfall?

Invasion Mode is a wave-survival mode in which players defend an area against increasingly demanding attacks. Credits earned during the fight unlock weapons, traps, perks, and buffs that help the squad survive later waves.

Does Earthfall support controllers?

Yes. Steam lists full controller support, alongside standard keyboard-and-mouse controls and Remote Play on TV.

What languages does Earthfall support?

English has full audio, interface, and subtitle support. French, German, Spanish from Spain, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese from Portugal, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese are listed for interface and subtitles.