Gears of War game review

Test: Gears 5: new formula for a truly exciting campaign

The glory days of Gears of War may be behind us, but The Coalition studio is not determined to give up. After Gears of War 4 the team based in Vancouver has grown, in order to develop a license out of breath. It finally took them three years and astonishing discretion during the last big shows, to give birth to Gears 5. An episode awaited with firm footing by the fans, after a fourth opus which was not unanimous. And if it was feared that Rod Fergusson's troops would not be up to the task, we can admit it today: we were wrong. With Gears 5, The Coalition delivers one of the best games on Xbox One. No more no less.

Let's be clear: the communication from Xbox and The Coalition on the highly anticipated Gears 5 has left us at least ... skeptical. After a rather tempting first trailer at E3 2018, the title fell into a long silence. And the E3 2019 had not frankly managed to reassure us, with a sibylline lightning trailer, and an uninspiring first grip. Even our conversation with Rod Fergusson, the friendly boss of The Coalition, had left us hungry, he struggled to explain to us why we knew so little about the title, a few months before its release. So inevitably, when the game arrived in our hands, caution was required. What were we going to find out? Yet another cover shooter, a bit old fashioned in 2019? Or the resurrection of the license, which some of our sources had suggested to us, during 2018? Let us dare to say it right away: at this hour, we are more inclined towards the second answer.

BEAUTIFUL LIKE A 4KAMION

Before getting to the heart of the matter, let me quickly address the question of technique in Gears 5, since Xbox has not spared any efforts to explain to us that yes, the game would be in 4K at 60 frames per second on Xbox One X. If so far, the One X has never really disappointed us, delivering really amazing performance for a machine originally sold for 500 euros, it very often just ran games in 4K (native or not), at 30 frames per second, except in special cases (Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Motorsport 7…). Why would things be different today? Well, we still don't know it, but nevertheless, we had to face the obvious: yes, Gears 5 runs in 4K, at 60 frames per second, and installs without forcing as being one of the most beautiful games of this generation of machines. Almost perfect fluidity (we noticed two or three micro-slowdowns in places, probably due to some poorly camouflaged loading times), Gears 5 impresses with the precision of its textures, the beauty of its light effects and above all the richness of what he manages to display, without ever sticking his tongue. It's simple, we are on a level of performance that we are not used to on console, and which is rather the prerogative of the PC.

Tested first on a simple full HD TV, we then passed most of our test on a 4K HDR10 TV and clearly, it will be difficult to appreciate Gears 5 in other conditions now. Gears of War first of the name had, in its time, been the yardstick of the Xbox 360; with this Gears 5, Xbox is holding its technical showcase, one that demonstrates that its engineers and studios have been going in the right direction for several years now. What to be reassured for the years to come.

KAIT-SURFING

There have been many rumors that Gears 5 could embody a real break in the history of the series, taking an approach similar to that of God of War, the latest little masterpiece from Santa Monica Studios. This had intrigued many gamers, and even worried some fans of the license who remained attached to the formula as it was designed by Cliff Bleszinski and Epic Games almost 15 years ago. And finally, what about it? We think we can say without making a mistake that if Gears 5 presents some nice developments, it will easily seduce fans of the license; conversely, not sure that he will change the minds of those who have never appreciated him too much. Because in its core gameplay, Gears 5 remains a Gears of War. It is not so much what you do that has changed, but rather the "how". With Gears of War 4, the studio had apparently wanted to prove that it was capable of producing a real Gears of War game. The result was a pretty solid campaign, but devilishly unimaginative. Now freed from these constraints, The Coalition has spread its wings and given free rein to its imagination and its aspirations. Gears 5 is not a revolution but it undoubtedly proposes one of the best campaigns of the series, thanks to a skilful dosage of modernization, innovation, and especially a true science of the tempo.

An open world, Gears 5? Not really. The game is more or less divided into four sections, with an introduction that is fairly standard for the series. Urban fights, monsters full on the streets, and many magazines to empty on all this scum. So far, nothing new, so much so that we contented ourselves with nodding politely, while Gears 5 aligned the play sequences, each more impressive than the last. It was very beautiful, very spectacular, but not the small revolution hoped for. And then Act 2 started. After several reversals, Kait and Dal are left on their own, equipped with a Skeef, a vehicle that mixes sledding, snowboarding and kite-surfing. This is where Gears 5 reveals what makes it special: a kind of large snow-covered open area, through which it is possible to navigate freely, to go from mission to mission, or simply to go explore the surroundings and flush out missions secondary. Later, we will arrive in a second open area, more impressive because it is installed in a vast desert of blood red sand. But the concept remains the same.

To put it simply, we have a kind of mini open-world, on which are left sections of more linear levels, which allow to advance the story or to obtain special pieces to improve Jack. From time to time, we are expressly directed to a destination where fights and cutscenes await, as this is necessary to change the scenario. As we said, basically, Gears 5 does not really change: it remains a cover shooter as was the first game in the series. But the pace is different. It’s less mechanical, more immersive, smarter, more modern. And above all: it works like thunder, because not only do you get a taste for these moments of exploration (as limited as they are), but in addition, it gives more strength to the action sequences. It works so well that Gears 5 has kept us busy for just under 15 hours without ever getting tired, without ever getting tired. While a Gears of War 2 spread over the same duration would have been redundant. Trying, even. Here, on the other hand, we were even rather frustrated. Too short, Gears 5? No doubt: we would not have spit in a third open area and therefore four or five hours of additional play.

A SUCCESSFUL WRITING
This will undoubtedly make some gamers laugh but imagine that this Gears 5 is damn well written. The adventure is going well, but above all the game knows how to take the time to create links between the characters. The many trips to the two large open areas of the game, or the moments of calm between two fights are often an opportunity to set up dialogues that humanize the characters. As such, Kait Diaz, the heroine of the game, is a real success; she knows a nice personal evolution through the whole adventure, which concerns her directly. The Coalition has never hidden its will to break out of the stereotypes of the first games, which featured hyper virile men chaining punchlines like headshots. We already realized this in Gears of War 4, but Gears 5 continues on this path and allows Kait to evolve according to his adventures, gradually transforming the young woman into a relentless and safe male leader from her. This is something we didn't think we should say about a Gears of War game ...

Do not go as far as believing that Gears 5 takes itself for an author's game or would try to erase a now embarrassing past, far from it: the title fully assumes its origins with some very nanardesic replicas, as one might expect from all good Gears of War. Always as nag, this new episode also knows how to show a certain finesse in the staging or in the writing, with what it takes funny or moving moments. It's hard to say more without spoiling some of the highlights of the adventure, so let's leave it there, if you don't mind.

A MORE MOBILE GAMEPLAY

With Gears of War 4, The Coalition had given players new tools to push them to be more mobile. The fights of a cover shooter are mechanically very frozen: we stay behind a barricade, we machine gun some monsters, and we advance towards a new protection, and so on. Gears 4 had invented new movements allowing the player to hunt down monsters behind their protections and to finish them with a stab; it was a good idea but you ended up relying on what you had learned, inevitably preferring the good old method. But things change a little in Gears 5 since many elements of game-design have been revised. With a complete rebalancing of fights, weapons and enemies. What changes considerably the physiognomy of the confrontations.

First of all, Gears 5 introduces a new combat tool: Jack, the flying drone of the first episodes, resumes service and this time, the player can control it. The little robot even has a skill tree that is unlocked as you find components by walking in the game. Some skills are unlocked via the scenario, while some of them can be obtained if you have completed certain side missions. Quickly, Jack can be used to electrify enemies, create temporary healing, set traps, make Kait invisible, hack stuff and stuff, etc. And these features are not there to look pretty: the enemies of Gears 5 are more dangerous than in the past, either because they are more mobile, or because they are more heavily equipped. You die quickly, in Gears 5, if you don't use Jack's different powers wisely, if you don't move enough, if you don't equip yourself properly. The designers have also thoroughly reviewed certain weapons and the importance of their presence in the game: since enemies are more aggressive and more mobile, you must be able to eliminate them quickly before being overwhelmed. Thus, the Boltok pistol like its ammunition is much less rare than in the past, and it will occupy a special place in your barda.

In absolute terms, Gears 5 remains a Gears of War, but fighting is gaining interest. They are more dynamic, more violent, more deadly. They’re guts, basically, and that’s what you would expect from a game like this. Even the sound design and the feeling of impact has been reworked: so, if you hated destroying DefBots in Gears 4, you might change your mind in this new episode. The feeling of grinding, crushing metal, seeing oil and bolts spurting on each discharge, has something quite satisfying. On the other hand, red card for the Pouncers, always as horrific, with their resistance and especially their ability to jump absolutely everywhere, all the time.

ALWAYS COMPLETE MULTIPLAYER

Of course, after all the efforts made on the multiplayer of Gears of War 4, you would have thought that The Coalition would rest on its laurels. It is not so. If we find the Battle and Horde modes of the previous episode, these have been enriched with new game cards and obviously go beautiful with new weapons thought for Gears 5. Even if we are little almost certain that the duo roulade-shotgun has still a bright future ahead of him… Notwithstanding this little sarcasm on the stubborn habits of certain veterans, we took a real pleasure in testing these game modes that we now know by heart or almost ; the new weapon balancing seemed pretty good, including a more interesting Kaomax than in the past, and the successful introduction of many new weapons overall. In Horde, we particularly appreciated the arrival of the Griffe, a kind of big machine gun at high speed, which proved to be as useful as jubilant to use during certain phases of defense.

The novelty finally comes from the Leak world, which we discovered at E3 and which we were not really passionate about. Lack of rhythm, weak opposition from enemies, and play partners not really versed in team play, that had not helped to establish a good first contact with Fuite. But on our test, we quickly changed our minds. Thought like a real negative of the Horde mode, Fuite offers shorter and more mobile games, since as the name suggests, it is not a matter of defending a position but of fleeing. The game opens with a short cutscene: players drop a bomb which will soon release a toxic gas in installations filled with Vermin. It is therefore necessary to leave the place as quickly and necessarily, it will not be pie. If Leak could heal its effects, we must admit that seeing the mini-map gradually fill with a green mist has something to stick some beautiful sweats: this is, again, another way to play Gears of War , where you spend more time running, saving your ammo, and working together with your little friends to find the exit as quickly as possible. And above all, the games are pretty fast, again unlike the Horde mode: allow twenty minutes to reach the exit. With multiple difficulty levels and lots of unlockable abilities for your characters, Escape has little to envy Horde and should catch a lot of players. The only flaw, perhaps, is the lack of ammunition which can be frustrating since we play Gears of War to shoot monsters; and because this lack can sometimes complicate the parties more than is reasonable. A detail that could easily be corrected by the developers, fortunately.

The notes
+ Positive points
4K, 60 fps. On console. Yes Madam.
An extremely well-paced adventure
Open areas, a real good idea to modernize the game without distorting it
Fighter, more mobile fights
Jack brings a real plus in combat
Ever crazier action sequences
A pleasant scenario to follow, especially for fans
Multiplayer, super full

Negative points
Some bugs, for example in the subtitles
Level design a bit lazy at times
The scenario sometimes a little alienating for those who are not regulars of the series
A hair too short, no doubt?

Gears 5 didn't just pleasantly surprise us: it fascinated us. If Gears of War 4, we had mostly chosen its multiplayer, this new episode puts the single player campaign at the center of its proposal, modernizing with great intelligence the recipe now worn cover-shooter. Whether it's thanks to Jack and his different skills, or the latitude he offers to the player with his large open areas and his side missions, Gears 5 adopts another rhythm, another tone, another way of playing. And that's good, because that's precisely what the series needed to bounce back. Add to that a breathtaking technical achievement and an always complete and catchy multiplayer, and you get one of the very best games on Xbox One.