Gears 5 Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by The Coalition
Released 6th September 2019
Played Co-op
With the 5th instalment in the series, The Coalition pick up the blueprints they redefined in Gears of War 4 and continues to stick to them, and while many critics adored this sequel, with an 84 on Metacritic, I am the complete opposite. Not only did the game's content bore me, but the most interesting piece of information I could find about the behind-the-scenes for the title is that they dropped the "of War" segment from the series' name for this game - for some reason.
Story
The narrative of this sequel to the amazing franchise is nothing short of a disappointment in my eyes. Gears 5 continues with Kate and her search for explanations for the mysteries, enshrouding her past. This whole concept and form of storytelling, not only is mindlessly boring but could've been achieved 10x better as a side story, especially considering how dull the characters are at certain points. The campaign dreads on for about 10 hours with painful pacing before reaching a semi-abrupt ending that doesn't feel conclusive. In previous Gears games, the pacing was rapid and drenched you in incredible action. This game decides to give the player some breathing room in Acts 2 and 3, but that cooling down period is quite ineffective and pointless when basically nothing of interest has happened.
Gameplay
The gameplay returns to the sub-par greatness it held previously in Gears of War 4. Gears of War gameplay never disappoint in any shape or form, as it always feels fantastic, sounds fantastic and reacts fantastically. However, it can suffer from severe flaws; just like this game. The breathing room sections within this game consist of semi-open world levels with plenty to explore - not. The semi-open world parts of the game are as empty and uninteresting as the narrative. While it was the correct step forward, delivering a new option in progress, it wasn't done well at all as the 10-minute travels on the Skif became bland, quick.
The game also failed to grasp my attention mid-battle, as the tactical cover-based movement has disappeared from this game, leaving behind a basic and straightforward prototype for cover-based combat. The enemies also feel lazily done, with most new enemies being elite types or slightly altered variants from Gears of War 4. The Swarm Flock and Warden are amazing to look at and fight but everything else is a no from me.
The game also introduces some lacklustre weaponry, most noticeably, the Cryo Cannon, a Salvo Rocket Launcher and Breaker Mace. These 3 are probably the most interesting out of the minuscule amount of additions, and the 3 are semi-varied weapons of the loveable arsenal in the original trilogy - a "cold" flamethrower, a simple rocket launcher and the Cleaver but less intimidating. The game does, however, manage to intrigue me with one brilliant aspect: Jack's skill tree. Finally, after 4 games, the beloved drone companion is of use in combat and in a major way as you can unlock and upgrade his arsenal, from a supporting health boost Stim to a turning-the-tides-of-battle Hijack. I wish this element of the game was more dominant and noticeable in the form of higher variety and usability, possibly even upgrading the weapons you have equipped, however, that's probably some brainstorming for Gears 6.
Bossfights
This game, like in Gears of War fashion, has some brilliant bosses visually and audibly, however, unlike its god-sent ancestors, this game has some lousy and tedious boss fights that desperately need fixing. First and foremost, the beginning act's Brumak was predictable and nothing excitingly new, but overall it was decent. Then the Matriach. Great art and sound design but Jesus Christ it is tedious and annoying to play for 15-20 minutes straight - the complete opposite of fun. However, the Kraken showed much promise; being the Leviathan from Gears of War 3, but even more grand, all while fighting it as you're trying to protect a rocket ship. However, unfortunately, it douses itself with more annoyance and unoriginality regarding gameplay. The same applies to the second time it appears.
Characters
The characters in this game are in the way of possibly a better narrative. First of all, Kate. She quickly became the most annoying character I've ever seen in a video game. Her whole arc and personality are more frustrating than trying to pass a tonne of kidney stones. The entire personality split and divide on her belonging to one type of species or another is genuinely fascinating and amazing to look over but it overall was executed poorly due to her core as a character. Del is a legend and continues to give off great vibes, JD is criminally underused as I wanted to know more about him considering he left the cookie-cutter role he played in Gears of War 4, Fahz is an unlikeable asshole and the OG characters once again leave a terrific impression as always. The voice acting, in general, deserves a gold medal for being stupendous and delivering some great bro moments that I partially liked.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is just immediately a near-10/10. While soundtracks aren't usually Gears of War's thing, the sound design and engineering are just so phenomenal that it lacks a need for music. The game is a gorgeous beauty to awe at and each environment is brought to life from the lightning-striking crimson desert to the crackling tundra. I could go on and on, but there's no point as I would be wasting mine and your time.
Story- 2/10
Gameplay- 6/10
Bossfights- 5/10
Characters- 5/10
Atmosphere- 9/10
BAD
A beautiful way to be bored.
