Gears 5 Reviews
Gears 5 feels like a desperate attempt by The Coalition at trying to carve out a new identity for the series, but the execution feels half-hearted. The pseudo open-world skiff exploration is enjoyable early on, but the uninspired objectives end up making it feel dull after a while.
Familiarly solid cover shooting with the occasional surprise. It's fitting The Coalition has opted to simply call the latest game 'Gears', because mostly, it's just going through the motions.Benjamin Griffin
Gears 5 survives on its solid cover shooting gameplay and a campaign that isn't afraid to pose difficult questions about problematic topics. But the largely stagnant Horde mode and general mess of an Escape mode really pull the sequel back from being a bold step forward.
Gears of War 5 isn't a bad game, it's just the worst game in the series (I quite liked Judgement). It promised to bring new ideas to the series, and it does, but to the detriment of the game as a whole with how poorly designed they all are. The open-world levels are empty and boring, the story is lackluster after a great first act, and the new Escape mode is a fleeting distraction at best. Gears of War needs changes, but not like this.
Gears 5 offers plenty of content to enjoy, but nothing to fall in love with. In the end, I found myself at a crossroads with the game modes, with each road having enough bumps to keep myself from travelling on with the game.
Among the upper echelon of Gears entries but sometimes stifled by technical issues.
Undeniably, this is a free upgrade worth downloading for new Xbox Series X owners, as it brings over some of the technical performance boosts from the PC version as well as 60fps cutscenes. Owners of both the Series S and Series X experience a number of upgrades including the sublime 120fps in multiplayer, alongside a huge toolbox of customisable options for the main story campaign. Although at the same time, as mentioned in the Cubed3 Xbox One review, the campaign mode still suffers from a weird mesh of linearity in some chapters followed by some bland tedious back-and-forth sandbox exploration. Any Gears of War fan should definitely take Gears 5 for a spin if they really want to test the power of their new hardware but may feel somewhat let down by the campaign mode if they are huge fans of the initial trilogy.
Gears 5 still feels like a series in need of an identity, but a more charismatic lead and experiments with open-world structure hold promise for the future—even if they don't quite pay off now.
Luckily the foundation of the series is still strong in and out of the campaign, with the multiplayer suite of Horde and Versus being as fun as ever. Escape, clearly inspired by Left 4 Dead, is also a great way to kill an hour if you've got competent squaddies for the ride. Ultimately, I had a fair amount of fun tearing my way through swarms of foes with shotguns and chainsaws, but there's definitely a part of me that's disappointed Gears 5 isn't the evolution its bloody heart is set on being.
The Coalition adds a lot of smart new ideas to the Gears of War formula in Gears 5.
The attempts to innovate in terms of storytelling and structure feel superficial and ineffective, leaving Gears 5 to survive purely on its increasingly overfamiliar action.
Gears 5 offers a familiar action experience that should satisfy fans who gravitate towards its expanded multiplayer options. And yet, the uneven campaign and lack of significant gameplay innovations mean this latest chapter does little to draw in the uninitiated.
Gears 5 doesn’t reinvent the wheel of this formula-keen franchise, but nevertheless makes baby steps towards something a little more adventurous.
Gears of War 4 introduced a new enemy and didn't attempt to stray from the established formula of the original games. Gears 5 takes a lot more risks, shifting the focus of the narrative, introducing side missions, and new gameplay mechanics by building on previous systems. Much of these new changes work in the game's benefit, providing a refreshing take on the franchise. It's unfortunate that a glitch exists that can cause halt progression in the campaign and the multiplayer, while loyal to the Gears formula, has experience boosting options. Along with the promising campaign ending with an awful cliffhanger, Gears 5 takes a lot of steps in the right direction to provide a refreshing experience from this acclaimed series but stumbles way too many times along the way.
A polished and surprisingly varied campaign married to stalwart PvE and PvP modes which gently refine, rather than revolutionise, the classic Gears experience.
I played the first Gears of War, and right now, Gears 5 has barely changed the flavour of the original. And while the original might have been a revelation, Gears 5 presents as a detriment.
Gears 5 offers up an amazing campaign that isn't afraid to take risks, while staying true to its core. The new Escape mode is great, just like the additions to the iconic Horde mode. It's a shame the game suffers from many technical problems.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
It’s a good package and certainly worth your time.
Gears 5 has a lot of positives, but it still has weak characters who talk a little better than before; the game world is getting bigger, but it's still not that deep; Gears 5 Has an Amazing Graphics and a Fun Gameplay but the game still doesn't know how to use them to enhance the credibility of the series.
Review in Persian | Read full review
By most metrics — polish, graphics, writing, acting and engaging game play mechanics — Gears 5 is an impressive product for both solo players and competitive or cooperative shooter fans. But moving forward, the series desperately needs to venture into new ways of telling its stories and pacing its encounters.