Gears 5 Review

Richard Walker

You always know what you're getting when you fire up a Gears of War game. Quite possibly the most gratifying, squishy headshots in any video game ever, a rip-roaring campaign stuffed with set-pieces, and myriad multiplayer modes that offer ample opportunity to enjoy reliably tight and immediate melon-popping gunplay. Gears 5 (the first to drop 'of War' from the title, for fans of brevity) doesn't disappoint in providing similarly explosive thrills, albeit with a few welcome twists on a well-worn formula. And it's predictably superb.

First of all, Gears 5 is being positioned as the most accessible series entry to date, with newcomers able to provide support as handy robot helper, Jack, during the Campaign. It's the first time that your floating mechanical buddy has been a playable character, and not only can you play as Jack in Horde mode, but he also serves a pivotal role throughout the Campaign. Track down collectible components and Jack can be upgraded, bolstering the efficacy of his support abilities on the battlefield. Encapsulated in Jack is a mini skill tree, which adds a little extra depth to proceedings.


These run the gamut from simple functions like scanning the environment for hostiles to enabling you to temporarily cloak, hiding yourself from the enemy or turrets searching for you with infrared lasers. Further upgrades mean you can 'stim' allies (granting invulnerability for a few seconds) or revive them when they're DBNO (down but not out), hit the Swarm with a flash ability to push them out of cover, or set a shock trap to inflict sustained damage. Jack is also useful without your input, whizzing around and electrocuting enemies with his zapper like a boss.

Gears 5 is far larger in terms of pure scale, too, throwing you into expansive open regions dotted with small abandoned settlements, and other points of interest to explore using your zippy Skiff – a ski vehicle propelled by a large kite-like sail that Kait can surf across snow and desert sand alike. Venturing off the beaten path will lead you to secondary objectives that may lead to powerful new ultimate upgrades for Jack upon completion, so pursuing the game's optional side content is certainly worthwhile. You'll also discover smaller, self-contained stories during these side quests, offering an account of a tragedy or a hidden tale lost amid extreme weather and the passage of time.

As for the central storyline, Gears 5 is essentially a direct continuation of Gears of War 4, fleshing out the previous game's cliffhanger that saw Kait making a devastating discovery involving her mother. As such, Kait remains the most interesting character in this new chapter, although JD Fenix takes centre stage for the game's entire first act, before stepping aside. Not only are there meaningful developments in the narrative but, much as you'd expect, an array of wonderfully orchestrated sequences are also frequently brought to the fore.

These include epic showdowns with new enemies like the imposing, Breaker Mace-wielding Warden, and the 'Flock', a maelstrom of flying leeches that tear through anything in their path like a group of ravenous piranhas. Remember the Krill from the older Gears games? The Flock is very similar. What's unique about the Flock is its ability to corrupt machinery, meaning there are instances where you're fighting those pesky DeeBee robots again. However, adopting a stealthy approach to some of these encounters is a viable approach. And before you throw a tantrum about stealth not belonging in a Gears game, you're right, but it's an aspect of the game that's deployed sparingly, executed perfectly, and is entirely optional.

What isn't optional is what feels like a fairly arbitrary choice crowbarred in towards the end of the game. It leaves something of a sour taste in the mouth and seems unnecessary, while the ending itself goes out on a cliffhanger. Again. It's going to be a hell of a long wait for Gears 6. Not that you won't have plenty to fill the void once you've dispensed with the Campaign, because Gears 5 is brimming with multiplayer options, including a brand-new co-op mode called 'Escape'.

Fairly self-explanatory, in Escape the objective is to – you guessed it – escape. Up to three players can band together to get out of a Swarm hive as fast as possible, before the venom bomb you've planted catches up to you or a legion of enemies manage to prevent your attempt at making it out alive. The concept is simple but deceptively difficult, as ammo is doled out in miserly fashion, so you're left scrabbling around for weapons and bullets as you strive to leg it out the exit and seal the door behind you. Escape is a tricky, but punchy and enjoyable new addition to the series, favouring speed, efficiency and coordination with your squad.


Things can get very chaotic, very quickly in Gears 5.

Like Horde, raising the difficulty level in Escape adds a series of modifiers that up the ante, such as more health for enemies, improved enemy accuracy etc., and the Campaign, too, has extra difficulty levels to choose from, including a more accessible Beginner setting and everything in between, right up to the classic Insane difficulty. As for Horde, things are largely business as usual, apart from the new character ultimates that inject a soupçon of Overwatch to the mix.

Ultimately, you're still fending off waves of enemies and building fortifications using the fabricator, and obviously, that's all still fantastic. Horde remains a pure and unadulterated joy, boiling Gears down to its bare essentials – co-op tactics and headshots. Versus multiplayer is, for all intents and purposes, more of the same too, with skill cards to unlock and upgrade, and the usual suite of modes, like King of the Hill, Guardian, Team Deathmatch, and so on. No stone has been left unturned in terms of modes, features and options. There's an embarrassment of riches to lose yourself in.

Again, The Coalition has outdone itself, one-upping its previous effort with a glut of content, an enjoyable new co-op mode in Escape, and a cracking Campaign boasting gorgeous vistas that will leave you wanting more. But it's all about the raw quality of the core experience that's been honed and honed ever since the first game, almost thirteen years ago. Truly, Gears of War has always excelled when it comes to providing crunchy and exciting shooter mechanics, and Gears 5 is absolutely no exception.

Gears 5

Once again, The Coalition proves itself as Gears of War's ideal custodian. Gears 5 is one of the best entries in the series yet, delivering an unrivalled package that still boasts the best headshots in the business.

Form widget
90%
Audio
85%

Another typically excellent Gears of War score, with superb voice acting all round, and those always satisfying bursting melon headshots.

Visuals
95%

One of the best-looking Xbox One games, Gears 5 fires on all cylinders in terms of visual fidelity. A genuinely gorgeous-looking game that sings on the X.

Playability
90%

Refined to within an inch of its life, this is Gears at its very best. The addition of Jack adds another dimension to proceedings, as does the Skiff.

Delivery
90%

An excellent 10-15 hour campaign and almost all of the multiplayer modes you could ask for (yes, we miss Beast Mode too). What more could you possibly you want?

Achievements
80%

A good selection of achievements nicely spread across everything that Gears 5 has to offer. Again, there's a lot of multiplayer grind, but that's par for the course these days.

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