Gears of War: Reloaded Review Update

The original 2006 Gears of War is the classic case of "don't judge a book by its cover;" this seemingly meatheaded, bro-forward game has cemented itself as not only one of the best third-person cover shooter series with its iconic gameplay and weapons, but also one that shrugs at its stereotypes to both embrace them (when was the last time you heard someone called a dickwad?) and defy them with great storytelling and fantastic voice acting. Ten years after its first makeover, it's gotten another with Gears of War: Reloaded. Unlike some games that get a premature remaster treatment a few years after their release, this one looks and feels like a noticeable improvement.

As we’ve come to expect from Xbox Game Studios developer The Coalition, the PS5 and Steam crowds are welcomed to the first game in this iconic series with gorgeous modern graphics and framerates, and no more waiting around on long load screens. Before we get into the details of Reloaded, here's what IGN said about Gears of War’s first remaster from 2015:

From playing about seven hours, I can say that the glowing review of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and its few faults still stand true with Reloaded. The story begins by throwing you into the thick of a losing war. Things go from shit to shittier for Marcus Fenix and crew as they try to accomplish one task that spirals out of control, and while that may not be fun for them, it sure is exciting to play, especially with the technical updates. Here are the highlights:

• Reloaded plays in 4K with up to 120Hz output (if you've got the screen for it).
• The 60fps is a nice upgrade on consoles for the campaign, which previously only went up to 30fps at its launch and 60fps with the Series X performance boost, and 120fps in multiplayer is equally welcome.
• There are more options to change up controls, audio, and more Reloaded than were in Ultimate Edition.

A Touch of Color

The 2015 Gears of War: Ultimate Edition did a great job upgrading the notoriously drab look of the Xbox 360 original with color adjustments, lifting the muddy grey and brown fog from the planet Sera. Reloaded takes that a step further, with an even more lively color palette and better lighting that resembles what we saw in Gears 5. The uplifted style gives extra vibrancy to splurting blood during a chainsaw kill, and the blue skies clouded by smoke and dust look nice, too. The Coalition added extra detail to the environment as well, like additional paintings in legal buildings, dense bookshelves, fridges with rotting food, more corpses, and other fitting decor like that.

Welcome to Delta Squad, PS5

It's still mighty odd seeing Xbox Game Studios on the screen while I hold a DualSense, but I can only say that the shredding of exclusivity lines hasn't hurt Gears of War one bit. If anything, it's made a strong case for me to do a co-op run on PlayStation 5. The core of Reloaded is the same between all three platforms, but the DualSense adds a twist with the adaptive triggers and any comms done through radio output through the controller's speaker. It was a neat surprise having dialogue and sound effects – like hitting the perfect active reload – presented this way.

That being said, the adaptive triggers can be off-putting in some situations, like when hopping on a Troika where the triggers feel like they're on max resistance for firing the turret or when driving a vehicle, so I could see them being unwelcome to some. I got tired of it in the second act during a long driving section, so I ended up turning adaptive triggers off for a bit.

Another aspect of Gears that's evolved over time is the heavy screen shake with the roadie run. It's less pronounced in other Gears games that’ve come along since, but The Coalition kept the exaggerated effect for Reloaded by default. I appreciate its unique touch and that the shakiness encourages tactical use. Running around an encounter isn't the way to play Reloaded, and if you do, you'll likely be punished for it. Instead, you'll want to run and bounce between cover, keeping yourself protected from the onslaught of enemy fire. If you don't like screen shake, though, it can be turned off. It's good to have options!

Some Minor Bugs

The cool additions are also joined by some minor bugs I’ve seen in the roughly six hours I’ve played on PlayStation 5. There was weirdness in checkpoints jumping me forward and facing a different way, characters’ voices would drop for a line randomly, and I saw some enemies get stuck in between cover. Those bugs have appeared infrequently and weren’t too bothersome, though, and are probably nothing a patch or two won’t fix. I didn't see these happen much during my time with the Xbox version, but just because I didn't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. Bugs are tricky like that!

Bad Squad AI

The one actively annoying gameplay issues I came across was how incompetent and overall wonky my AI companions were on the Hardcore difficulty level, which is a noticeable downgrade from how they performed in Ultimate Edition. In Reloaded, they go down constantly, whereas in Ultimate Edition they still went down occasionally, but seemed to be helping more. Hardcore is only a step above normal and below Insane, so I expected they should be able to hold their own at least a bit. I noticed Dom waltzing into the dark and dying to the lurking Kryll that shredded him in seconds in one mission, and every now and then, Dom or the other two companions, Cole and Baird, would get stuck far behind, unwilling to leave a doorway. I love Delta squad, but I'm not reviving them every encounter only to put myself in danger.

Cherry on Top: Extras for Gears Fans

Gears of War: Reloaded includes a nice Extras section, which is something you'd want to see in a remaster like this to reward returning fans who’re buying it for the second or third time. What'll interest most folks in the Extras section are the five different issues of the Gears of War comic. Grabbing the collectible COG Tags throughout the campaign unlocks pages in five different issues of the Gears of War comic, which is a nice reward for those who haven't read them. This was available in the Ultimate Edition, and it's a welcome return. Completing acts of the campaign also unlocks neat concept art.

And, while multiple sets of credits may not be what someone who’s new to this game cares about, for folks like me, seeing the credits available for Reloaded, Ultimate Edition, and the original are in line with Gears' respect for teamwork.

Multiplayer Only Has Minor Tweaks

Multiplayer hasn't changed (in terms of what content is included) between Ultimate Edition and Reloaded, though The Coalition upgraded to 60Hz dedicated servers, as opposed to the 30Hz we’ve had in previous versions. The maps got the remaster treatment too, with better lighting, visual effects, and best of all, an upgrade to 120fps on consoles (PC players also get a 240fps option). I expect weapon tuning to be in flux after launch; The Coalition already noted it's making some improvements to the Gnasher, making perfect active reload damage fixed, and more tweaks based on feedback from the beta.

Get Your COG Tags

If this is your first time playing Gears of War, I recommend finding a friend to join you – the Gears of War teams have always designed these games with a partner in mind (and as I mentioned, the AI doesn’t really pull its weight on the higher difficulty levels). The Coalition thankfully maintained the option to play Reloaded couch co-op, which we don’t see enough these days, and of course, you've also got the option of online crossplay if your co-op buddy is on another system. I'm still undecided on whether or not I want to spend my next co-op replay on Xbox or PS5 or bounce between them (thanks, cross-progression!), but I'm excited to dive back in again either way.