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 different yet managed to hold on to the 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 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 you find in the world around you; everything is crafted with a clear thought rather than just placed somewhere. You can interact with the environment and take advantage of situations at times.
The game starts with a lengthy recap, which shows how the story progressed from Gears of War 4 to 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 even to 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 physically and mentally.
The difference isn’t just cosmetic; the roots lie deep within, and it is up to the players to understand how 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 wrong with Kait’s character as she frequently battles with headaches throughout the game, which makes others question her ability to drive forward. Still, she braves through the migraine and continues until the very end, where we uncover the source of this issue.
Gears 5, like 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 many enemies to shoot or see 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 that you can reconfigure your upgrades again and again as you wish. This adds to Jack’s convenience and usefulness.
Jack, rather than just floating nearby, 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 games 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 that keep you entertained and give 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. Overall, Gears 5 is unexpectedly awesome, and it certainly feels as if the series is moving in the right direction.
