I’ve been a fan of the Gears series ever since I played Gears of War back on the Xbox 360 for the first time after it’s launch. I always loved the grittiness of the series, as well as the overall aesthetic of it all. Given I was probably too young to grasp the whole story, the small bit I did pick up on was interesting, and I was a fan ever since. It wasn’t until 2016’s Gears of War 4 came out when I started taking the series a bit more seriously, and even went back and played some of the older installments in the franchise. Now, 13 years after the first game launched, we are given the 6th title in the series (quality over quantity, right?), Gears 5. Dropping the “Of War,” Gears 5 picks up directly after the events of the previous game, and after all that happened in Gears of War 4, my hunger to continue the story was insatiable.
(Note: This is strictly a review of the main single-player campaign)
Aside from the story, which I’ll get to, the visuals are probably the best thing about Gears 5. The cinematic cut scenes are like mini-movies, and the gameplay looks great, even under all the grit and dirt that we’ve come to expect from a Gears game. Gears 5 offers the player more chances than ever to bask in the beauty of the environment design throughout the campaign. The audio design is fantastic. From the guttural pop of a locust’s head exploding, to the environmental sounds while skating around the ice on a skiff. Gears 5 also features a pretty hardcore soundtrack done by Ramin Djawadi that fits just nicely in the Gears universe.
The Gears of War franchise has always had a solid voice cast ever since the first game, but Gears 5 (and 4) really stepped up in the way of voice acting. With the additions of Laura Bailey (Kait Diaz), Liam McIntyre (J.D. Fenix), and Eugene Byrd (Delmont ‘Del’ Walker) in Gears of War 4 and then Rahul Kohli (Fahz Chutani) in Gears 5, they’ve built a solid well rounded team of amazing characters and even better voice actors that all absolutely killed their roles. The one thing that I found disappointing in regards to the voice cast, is the recasting of Jimmy Smits’ character Oscar Diaz. I thought he did a very good job in 4, but his recasted voice in 5 sounded nothing like the original character at all.
The franchise has definitely evolved between 4 and 5. For example, Gears 5 features a semi-open world map setting allowing you to explore (to an extent) and even perform optional tasks and objectives that reward you with some killer upgrades for JACK. Speaking of, JACK is another new addition to the series. A helpful robo-buddy that can perform a myriad of useful abilities like stunning enemies, fetching ammo for you mid-fight, and even cloaking you to pass by enemies unseen. JACK is one of my favorite additions to the game, and I’m glad he’s here. One of the last of the bigger additions to the Gears 5 gameplay is optional combat. Throughout the game, you’ll have the option of what route to take in a battle, what attack strategy to deploy, or even what experimental tech to unleash upon the locust horde. It’s additions like these that make you feel like you have even more of a stake in taking down the monsters you’re facing.
Now, to the pièce de résistance of Gears 5, the story. My favorite thing from Gears of War 4 was the story. It offered a rich plot that wasn’t afraid to dive deep in the Gears mythos and give the players a gripping narrative that didn’t disappoint. After the quasi-cliffhanger at the end of the 4, I was ecstatic to find out that Gears 5 would be picking up directly after the previous game, and like it’s predecessor, the story does not disappoint. Now centering around Kait, Gears 5 follows her and her friends (but mostly Del) as she tries to get to the bottom of her strange visions, migraines, and her connections to the origins of the locusts. This should hit for fans of deep-dive lore and world-building.
Anyone not familiar with the Gears series will scoff at the possibility of it having a cohesive and strong narrative, but that’s exactly what it offers. It’s well written, the humor is used sparingly but is on point, and there is proper character development. For example. Del went from a cool side character in Gears of War 4 to one of my favorite characters in Gears 5 thanks to his character being fleshed out and getting to learn more about him as he and Kait have time to chat on their peaceful skiff rides through the frozen tundra.
Unfortunately, there were a few things in the way of me fully enjoying this game, the biggest of which is the gameplay. Not unlike all its predecessors, the controls in Gears 5 are heavy, and not necessarily in a good way. There are points in the game that expects a certain kind of maneuverability from the players (i.e. dodging enemies, endless runners, etc.), but the handling of the characters is so clunky that these just become uncomfortable tasks to complete. Countless times when I try to dodge, I end up snapping to a wall and getting ripped apart, or running from something and immediately snapping to cover only to get killed over, and over again. Maybe doing my first playthrough entirely in co-op split-screen was a bad idea because it made the tight and uncomfortable gameplay even tighter and more uncomfortable.
I encountered an incredulous amount of bugs during my playthrough, and the not the COG-killing locust kind. On numerous occasions I got stuck in/on/under something, I even fell through the ground a couple of times. NPCs sometimes have a hard time doing what they’re supposed to. Callback, to one of my favorite additions to the game, JACK. JACK is great, unless its a mission where he needs to not get killed, then he goes out and sits in plain sight of the enemy, with me helpless and not able to move him. Finally, in a semi-open world, there’s one thing I really don’t want to encounter – invisible walls. There were way too many invisible walls encountered in my time with the game for my liking.
If you can get past the dated, clunky mechanics and the handful of bugs in the game, Gears 5 is definitely a sight to behold. The visuals are stunning, the sound design is an auditory treat for your ears, the voice actors all did a hell of a job. It also offers solid writing and an unforgettable narrative. While I would have liked the gameplay to be tinkered with and improved some more, I found Gears 5 to be a fun and enjoyable experience.
