“Who loves ya baby?”
In 2016, The Coalition revived the Gears of War franchise after its rights were purchased by Xbox Games Studios, then named Microsoft studios. Fans were skeptical of a new face taking over the beloved franchise, especially after a general dislike of People Can Fly’s Judgement spin-off by public audiences (I was a fan of the Baird-centric title). Gears of War 4 was well-received when it launched, as it took what people loved about Gears and focused on it while introducing new characters that would help to carry to franchise for years to come.
The fourth installment was a safe bet, one that paid off well. Players received a typical Gears experience that was a blast to play. Gears 5 however, finally dropping the ‘of War’ part of the name that people haven’t been saying anyways, is not quite as safe. Gears 5 feels more like a ‘bet it all on black’ situation when it comes to the campaign at least. Luckily, the wheel did land on black, and Gears fans get to experience the best game of the franchise. Gears 5 nails everything with the grace of a Lancer shredding through Locust flesh.
Looking at the campaign, The Coalition doubled down and made some drastic changes to the ebb and flow of things. Instead of following the typical Gears five-act structure we have been accustomed to, Gears 5 is a four-act story, with its middle acts introducing an ‘open-world’ style of exploration. Like the open sections of Uncharted or an older Legend of Zelda dungeon, the player is given a small and contained area to explore. These new, open areas give the game a larger scale and more space to maneuver, allowing for some much-needed breathing room and a chance to show off their breath-taking graphics engine. More on that later.
The player traverses these open areas on what’s called a Skiff, a large sled with a wind sail attached to it, making the travel quick instead of tedious. The Skiff is a lot of fun to pilot too, keeping your time on it enjoyable. Thanks to the size of these areas, the Skiff also never overstays its welcome. These areas are mostly empty as you are traveling through them though, but from a narrative standpoint, this makes sense. Civilization as we know it in Sera is confined to settlements. Crowding the world with things and people wouldn’t feel right and would only serve to bog the game down.
The players travel through open areas and are guided by their companions, who do a great job to point out things to do as they come up, as well as provide narrative enhancing banter. These will either be the games main story objectives, which are always clearly indicated, as well as side missions that will net the played useful rewards and even provide more meat to the narrative experience. These side missions tend to involve 5-10-minute encounters with enemies that result in upgrades for the new robot companion Jack, whom we will discuss later.
This rewards the player for going the extra mile, which is a welcome addition to the Gears formula. It also gives the player a chance to breathe between combat encounters and even allows more of them. In the past, the flow of Gears was simple. Gunfight, walking, gunfight, cutscene, gunfight, cutscene, and on and on. It worked well, but after five entries in the series, evolution was necessary. The ability to breathe while still providing the same amount of, if not more, combat is a wonderful advancement for the series.
Evolution also takes foot within the narrative of Gears 5. Gears as a series is known for pioneering the 3rd person cover shooter. While other games have adopted this style of gameplay, Gears has remained a force in gaming, which means there is more to Gears than just its mechanics. The characters of Gears have become beloved in the gaming world, and Gears 5 makes sure that the narrative and heart of these characters are on center stage.
Kait has become our lead, and Laura Bailey delivers a powerful performance that anchors us to her. Marcus has taken the mentor role in stride and helps to guide our characters on the right path. Baird, Cole and other longtimers each find their own space in the game that fits. Del, who almost felt like a third wheel in Gears of War 4, is brought to the forefront and given more, much deserved, importance. Newcomer Fahz is an interesting addition, voiced by iZombie’s Rahul Kohli, that provides a new dynamic to the group as well as fleshes out the past of JD and Del before we met them in Gears of War 4.
The game is loaded with characters, but it never feels overcrowded. The team does a good job of rationing in other characters, while the game remains focused on Kait and her journey. Gears 5 digs deep into Gears lore, returning players will find a lot of great callbacks to the older games that make the overall world of Gears feel even more connected.
Gears 5 features an excellently written script that helps us love the characters even more. There are plenty of touching moments between new and old characters alike that will bring joy as well as sadness, to all. The games ending feels like a less abrupt Halo 2 finale, with a similar ‘wait for the sequel for resolution’ message. The writing team even introduces an interesting choice within the game that will have major implications moving forward that will make the future of the story even more interesting.
What is likely the biggest addition to the campaign is the earlier mentioned robot companion Jack. The player may remember Jack as the mostly cloaked bot from Gears of War 1 through 3 that would mainly respond to Marcus yelling “Jack, rip that door!” He was noticeably absent from Gears of War 4, but he makes a grand return in Gears 5.
Jack has combat capabilities now. Ranging from shocking enemies to stun then behind cover, turning your squad invisible to move around turrets and enemies, and providing a shield that mitigates all damage directed at the player, Jack can do a whole lot to help vary each combat encounter.
Jack also has a skill tree, one that you can fill up by finding upgrade parts and components as you progress through the story. Most side missions unlock what is called ultimate upgrades, skill modifiers for Jack that completely alter abilities he already has. One example is for the Stun ability, the ultimate upgrade adds a freeze trait to it, making enemies pop up and freeze in ice for a period of time from behind cover.
Jack also has passive skills that can be upgraded with points as well. One of my favorites is the ability to direct Jack to revive allies in combat, allowing the player to remain involved in the combat rather than having to go out of their way to pick up fallen AI. It gives Gears a minor RPG feel (that’s something I never thought I’d be saying about this series) and it works really well.
Jack fits perfectly into the flow of combat thanks to all the abilities, even adding a new layer on to things that give the player more freedom when it comes to approaching each encounter. Adding the variety of weapons that Gears is known for, combat never grows old throughout the length of the story. My play-through clocked in at around 13 hours, which included all of the side content I encountered.
Gears 5 runs at a buttery smooth 60 FPS, at least on my Xbox One X. Gears 5 is also by far the best looking game in the franchise and potentially even the best looking game on the Xbox One. Characters leave trails in the snow and sand as they walk around. Shadows feel more dynamic, giving environments more life. Everything about it feels polished and refined.
I encountered a few technical issues during my playthrough, ranging from minor hiccups to one full crash, but it was never enough to pull me out of the experience. The Coalition has been hard at work on patches and updates for the game, so one can expect these bugs to be cleared out quickly.
Gears 5 is a love-letter to what makes the series great while innovating in meaningful ways that ensures that Gears will continue on for years to come. New and old characters find their place in the growing world of Gears, with stellar writing guiding the way. Combat has never felt better, thanks to tight mechanics and a new robot pal.
Gears 5 also boasts a large suite of multiplayer modes. Fan-favorite horde makes a return with new character abilities and bigger bosses. Versus features modes for both hardcore Gears veterans and newcomers to the series. The new Escape mode turns the Gears formula on its head, making the player think on their feet and remain on the move. All of this combines to make Gears 5 an overwhelmingly complete package.
Gears 5 is the killer app for the Xbox One, panning out as the best experience one can have on the console and one of the best experiences in gaming of 2019.
The Fan Men 