Gears of War: Reloaded Review

It’s been nearly 19 years since Gears of War first landed on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, a franchise-defining game with unique multiplayer, a glorious co-op campaign, and a solid enough grit and meat to entice the development of an entire franchise over the next decade. With the game now old enough to legally drink in the UK, it’s doing the grown-up thing of getting too drunk on a night out. It’s now hanging out with that kid its mother told them not to hang with, and not only that, moving in with them. Now, for the first time ever, we have Gears coming over to stay on PlayStation 5, ending one of the original poster stars of the 00’s console wars.

New Gen Tech

Let’s get this clear. This is not a remaster of the original 2006 Gears of War. No. It’s a remaster of the Ultimate Edition. For those unaware, the Xbox One has a remaster of the original Gears of War already, titled the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, which was released in 2015. The Reloaded edition enhances the already partially modernized textures, adding in better post-processing effects and a little spruce here and there for modern 1440p/4K screens. It’s best seen in Chapter 2, with players venturing through the dark streets of the Stranded areas. The lights reflecting off water puddles, the beams of light shining through cracks in the worn-down houses, the dark and eerie roads with Locust scurrying around. Let’s also not forget the emulsion bloom effects, too. Chef’s kiss. I say this moderately - it is not some turbo-jacked graphical game, but it’s certainly a great modern HD spin with the old Gears chunkiness charm keeping the fidelity in check.

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Its not quite next gen graphic reflections, but its a great touch for a near 20-year-old game. Image via Gamer Guides / Microsoft.

The other great addition is how it really uses modern SSD storage. With consoles catching up to SSD as a default storage, Gears really benefits from its well-designed maps to make loading easier. The sales pitch boasts insta-loading screens, and that’s not too far from the mark. The campaign maps string along much more seamlessly now, blending level into level as you go through an act. It makes for an even better experience for multiplayer enthusiasts, alongside co-op partners looking to get in and reload their saves after repeatedly dying to a Wretch on Insane difficulty. There’s also the ported over Cog Tags feature, which was originally an achievement hunter’s dream, but now with the added comic book rewards for collecting, first introduced in the Ultimate Edition ten years ago.

Of course, with the hardware better suited to a modern-day Gears of War remaster, PlayStation 5 gets some unique quirks too. The DualSense for PlayStation 5 is riddled with Locust technology that gives you a gritty feeling, like you’re a grub crawling out of an emergence hole. The triggers can react dynamically with their adjustable trigger tech. Whether that’s the earth rumbling, when you’re driving a car and you feel the hefty weight of the ‘gears’, or when you’re making a decision about what path to take in the campaign. Heft is Gears, and the DualSense mirrors that rather well.

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You really feel the DuelSense’s immersion during the vehicle parts of the campaign. Image via Gamer Guides / Microsoft.

However, like a grub hole, I do want to throw a frag grenade into the DualSense and watch it cave inwards like a Grub Hole while Marcus Feenix yells “Nice!”. The DualSense controller audio feature is included in this, and not for the best if you’re asking me. And for some reason, it role plays as both an ambient noise effect for immersion, and also Marcus’s earpiece. Between Cole, Baird, and Anya - key characters from the game’s franchise, the audio takes place exclusively through the controller. If you’re someone who likes to mute your controller, guess what, better enjoy having subtitles on, because you’re missing out on Baird’s quirks and Anya’s command otherwise. Heaven forbid you’re in multiplayer and someone has the mic feedback close to their headset. Chainsaw audio lobbies bleeding through… I yearn for the mute button.

It’s not all gloomy, though, as if you do mute your controller audio feedback, the insta-reload and Chainsaw sounds will play through your TV instead of the controller. However, the voice lines don’t and I’m not sure why that is. It could be a bug, it could be a design choice. Either way, it’s a thumbs down for me for accessibility and player preference reasons.

The Old Jank

Additionally, while I’m not expecting a full remake of the game’s features, but something needs to be said about AI controls. Dom’s AI is still very poor at times, blocking your path while he stares at you intently. Or perhaps he likes guano and wanders too far into Kryll darkness. The jank is still there from the original, and it’s good, funny jank a times. However, the bugs are still there. Sometimes you’re launched out of cover into the all-loving arms of a Troika turret. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen, and it’s very strange. This could be old bugs replicated, or it could be new bugs entirely. I’m not quite sure. Dying to a bug like this while playing on the Insane difficulty is not exactly a fun moment and caused some grievances.

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If only Maria could see you float, Dom Image via Gamer Guides / Microsoft.

Also, the old squad command feature is pretty much useless. I get can’t comply comments from the NPCs more often than I do getting them to follow them. It’s one of those feature’s I’d love to see refined a bit to squeeze out some more fun out of AI squad members, especially for solo Insane difficulty campaign playthroughs. It’s very annyoying when Dom doesn’t move from his terrible spot as a Berserker or Brumak deletes him and you’re forced to reload your save.

Closing Thoughts

It’s hard to review the game as a game itself. The original Gears of War is an epic and deserves a playthrough for PlayStation fans. If you’re an Xbox or PC player who owns the Ultimate Edition, you’re getting a free upgrade to enjoy it and abuse the new tech. If you’re not that interested and have played it before, that’s fine too. It’s still a fantastic love letter to a classic. PC players are also getting better ultrawide support and the usual NVIDIA DLSS features to really make the game pop. You just can’t knock that, just like the recent modernization of a beloved Dawn of War and even Metal Gear Solid Delta. More room to play old and great games on PC is always a good thing.

Overall, Gears of War: Reloaded is a nice touch. There are a few quirks I’m not a fan of, such as the DualSense audio mentioned above. Gears of War: Reloaded is a worthy play to see the enhancements made to the game once more, or to try it out for the first time if you’re a PlayStation die-hard, who will soon have to admit that yes, Xbox was cooking with gas, just under 20 years ago.