Gears 5 is as you would want it to be, though this is the second time The Coalition has been working on this series, they have delivered something that is different yet manages to hold on to the very familiar aspect that made the Gears of War series so beloved.
After Gears of War 4 came out, expectations were not met, even though it is a good Gears of War game it did not match to what it rivals at that time had to offer, but this time around things are a bit different. Gears 5 isn’t the greatest game you’ll play and it doesn’t need to be. Gears 5 delivers at what it does best, nestled comfortably inside a near-perfect story arc that does justice to the Gears of War series.
The beauty lies in the small details and intricacies that you find in the world around you, everything is crafted with a clear thought rather than just placing it somewhere. You can interact with the environment and take advantages of situations at times.
The game starts out with a lengthy recap which shows how the story progressed from Gears of War 4 till where we are. This time around we see Kait Diaz’s story unfold, even though at the beginning we play as JD, after a certain turn of events we step into Kait’s shoes and from then on she is the protagonist driving the narrative ahead.
Right off the bat, you see a ton of bloodbath, enough to even make Quentin Tarantino squirm, but this has been Gears’ iconic thing and Gears 5 delivers a ton of that. The more you progress in the game, the more you see the depth in the characters as past events change them, not just physically but also mentally.
The difference isn’t just cosmetic, the roots lie deep within and it is up to the players to understand how each and every character through fighting for the same goal, has a different and varied reaction to what’s happening around them.
It is made clear that something is awfully wrong with Kait’s character as she frequently battles with headaches throughout the game which makes other question her ability to drive forward but she braves through the migraine and continues on ahead until the very end where we uncover the source of this issue.
Gears 5, just as every other installment has the inevitable world crisis at hand but this is made secondary with Kait’s story the primary focus. You will still get tons of adrenaline-pumping action and a plethora of enemies to shoot or saw through. Gears 5 delivers a bit along the lines of God of War which brought a different light to Kratos’ story which completely changed everyone’s perception of the series.
The supporting cast in Gears 5 aren’t just company and will offer some of the best companionship seen in gaming recently, with a depth in their character design and a well-rounded idea it suddenly teleports you in the shoes of these characters as they continue from one mission to the other.
While speaking of supporting cast members, one that is most useful is Jack whom you can upgrade as per your needs and the best thing about it is the fact you can reconfigure your upgrades again and again as you wish. This adds to more convenience and usefulness to Jack.
Jack rather than just floating nearby, Jack is incredibly useful during combat with his Assault, Support, and Passive abilities. These surely do come in handy as you get swarmed more often than you’d like.
All in all Gears, 5 looks like a step in the right direction and it wouldn’t be false to say that Gears 5 might be one of the best game delivered by Microsoft for this generation of consoles.
Verdict:
Gears 5 will excite you enough to keep you entertained and nothing about it feels tedious or even like a grind, with multiple gun options which keep entertained and gives a new dimension to defeating monsters. Gears 5 lets you do best what the series is built upon, but this time there is more style and panache seen by the developers in their work. All in all Gears 5 is unexpectedly awesome and this certainly feels as if the series is moving ahead in the right direction.
- Gameplay 8
- Graphics 9
- Story 8.5
- Background Music 8