Gears of War: Reloaded PS5 Review – Blast From the Past

The Gears of War franchise certainly needs no introduction. But as a PlayStation owner who has not had a chance to play it over the years, I jumped at the chance to try out Gears of War : Reloaded . The experience has been largely nostalgic, taking me back to a time without complicated mechanics to learn or multiple systems to engage with.

As a remaster of the original game, Reloaded is easy to learn and quite hard to put down. I found myself pushing past my usual bedtime just to see what surprises were in store for Fenix and his crew as they went about trying to put an end to a war between the last dregs of humanity and the deadly Locusts.

It’s a credit to Epic Games’ ability to weave a riveting story, with the action never letting up from the moment Dom unlocks the door to Marcus’ prison cell. That’s made even better by the fact that the combat remained full of tension right up until I managed to roll the credits after laying waste to the Locust’s tunnel network.

Gears of War : Reloaded is a blast, and while it does come with a few minor issues, they melt away in the face of an adventure that has me very excited to see what Gears of War : E-Day brings to the table.

"I would recommend bringing a friend along for the story via the game’s online co-op multiplayer option."

One of the most striking things about Marcus Fenix’s debut adventure is the simplicity of its presentation. You are thrust right into the action, with the game introducing its mechanics quite quickly before the COG gives you your orders and ships you off to your mission.

Things never seem to go according to plan for Marcus and his crew, and the Locust hordes constantly give them new challenges to overcome. The story unfolds at a breakneck pace, remaining quite hard to predict over the course of your playthrough.

The inclusion of collectibles that unlocked a bit of exposition via comic books is a nice touch, as it allows the game to focus on what it does best while also ensuring that players are not left wondering about how key characters fit into the overall narrative.

The story in Reloaded was among the highlights of my experience, and it’s an adventure I might even replay at some point. Its relentless pace and the tension it builds from moment to moment make it stand tall in comparison to some of the best ones I’ve played in recent times, made even better by the memorable cast of characters it introduces to us.

I would recommend bringing a friend along for the story via the game’s online co-op multiplayer option. Having an actual player at your side who knew what they were doing can drastically change the gameplay experience, making tough fights go a lot better than they did with the game’s AI controlling Fenix’s comrades.

Versus multiplayer gives you a ton of options, and the developers have pulled out all the stops to ensure that every player has the best possible experience they possibly can. I can’t wait to try it out at 120fps on a PS5 Pro, considering the way 60fps made the entire gameplay loop feel incredible.

Multiplayer gameplay here leans into slow, heavy engagements rather than the twitchy pace of modern shooters, rewarding smart positioning, cover discipline, and team spacing over raw reflex. All 19 maps from the original return and still hold up today, but it’s best to temper expectations. This is the old-school multiplayer fans on PS5 will vibe with, not a revolutionary, contemporary overhaul, so expect classic run-and-gun rhythms when taking cover.

"On the base PS5, Reloaded offers a choice between Quality and Performance modes for its graphics, with the former bringing higher visual fidelity at the expense of a lower framerate."

Cross-platform play and cross-progression sweetened the deal by promising a bigger player pool at launch and fewer dead queues across modes and platforms. Beyond splitscreen and co-op, eight PvP modes cover a spectrum from arcade to cerebral.  For example, King of the Hill demands constant rotations and utility discipline and Execution slows the tempo and raises decision pressure and play the clock. It’s good old Gears, and if it feels dated, treat it as a sturdy, nostalgic additive alongside the campaign, not the main course.

The Coalition, Disbelief, and Sumo Digital must be commended for ensuring that Reloaded runs without any issues on the PlayStation 5. The remaster brings the original game to life while managing to make it feel like it belongs on current-gen systems. A buttery smooth framerate ensured that I was tearing through hordes of Locust troops with ease, while the many environments on offer showed no pop-in or any other issues.

On the base PS5, Reloaded offers a choice between Quality and Performance modes for its graphics, with the former bringing higher visual fidelity at the expense of a lower framerate. However, the Performance mode remained my personal choice since 60fps just made the entire experience feel a lot better. I’d recommend giving them both a shot and sticking with what fits. Load times were excellent, putting me back in the action with a speed that felt almost instant.

"While the story and gameplay manage to hold their own despite the intervening years, the visuals could have been more than what they currently are, despite the outstanding quality they present."

I must also point out that this build of the game is mostly the same one as the Ultimate Edition released in 2015 for the Xbox One, and comes with a ton of content that wasn’t on the original title. Like Oblivion Remastered earlier this year, this is a remaster that could technically pass off as a remake, considering that the 2015 build included a massive overhaul of the original title, including visuals built from the ground up, the addition of new maps and chapters, and a whole lot more.

While the story and gameplay manage to hold their own despite the intervening years, the visuals could have been more than what they currently are, despite the outstanding quality they present. The audio, however, remains serviceable, with Fenix’s growling voice and menacing demeanour lending a sort of imposing gravitas to the character.

While the story was among the highlights of my time with Reloaded, it is the gameplay loop on offer that kept me invested in the experience. The Locusts hit hard and fast, and keeping them at bay proved quite the challenge, even on the easiest difficulty settings.

Reloaded lays an emphasis on strategy and the clever use of its Active Reload mechanic, in which hitting reload again at the right moment after you start the animation lets Marcus get back into the action much faster while also enjoying a damage boost on his next attack. It’s quite an important mechanic when you’re facing down enemies that are relentless in their attacks.

Staying behind cover and taking a few shots is the core of the experience, and while the controls may feel awkward at first, they work just fine once you get used to them. The enemy variety is a sore spot, though, as there are only a few types of enemy grunts and the game quickly runs through them. I quickly began to feel like I was killing the same few grunts over and over.

However, that certainly doesn’t apply to bosses. Each giant Locust is terrifying and deadly, requiring you to change your tactics on the fly before you’re squished to a pulp. The first time you take on a Berserker is sure to leave you wanting to take a break after an intense sequence in which you lure it outside to leave it vulnerable to the COG’s Hammer of Dawn, a weapon that’s really cool but limited in its usage.

"If this is going to be your first time as a COG Gear, you’re definitely in for a treat."

Speaking of weapons, some of them suffer from the same lack of variety as the game’s basic enemies. While there were some cool additions like the Torque Bow, you use either pistols, shotguns, or assault rifles for the most part, swapping them out on the fly based on your ammo or the situation at hand.

Over time, each weapon felt the same, with minor changes to its damage output or magazine size being the only tangible variables. That lack of variety stands out even further when you pick up weapons like the aforementioned Torque Bow. It made me wish for more unique weapons with functionalities that made me switch things up.

For example, the Long Rifle was my personal favorite, allowing me to snipe at enemies from a safe distance with its excellent range and high damage. There were many instances where I just held on to it despite lacking the ammo to use it, choosing to search for bullets instead of just picking up a fairly useful assault rifle that was right in front of me.

If you’re a franchise veteran wondering if you want to play it on a platform other than the Xbox, know that it is the same solid experience you played back in 2006. It’s well worth the nostalgia and can perhaps be something you bring a few buddies along to, thanks to a robust multiplayer system and cross-platform compatibility.

If this is going to be your first time as a COG Gear, you’re definitely in for a treat. Gears of War: Reloaded is an excellent remaster of a game that has stood the test of time. It’s easy to see why the franchise has risen to dizzying heights over the years, and the adventure that began it all is well worth your time.

Marcus Fenix and his band of battle-hardened warriors are sure to stay with you long after you finish the main story. And like its protagonists, Gears of War is a solid, dependable title that is going to keep you entertained from the second you get started with it.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.