The iconic Xbox saga returns with a remastered version, is it worth it?
Image credit: PlayStation (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Summary
- Name of the game: Gears of War: Reloaded
- Launch date: August 26, 2025
- Developer: The Coalition
- Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
- Genre: Third-person shooter
- Context: Remastered/enhanced version of the original classic set in a world devastated by the war against the Locust.
History and narrative
Let's see, to start, I'd like to say that I've always heard that the Gears of War saga is one of the best things on the Xbox console. I've always been a PlayStation user, so I decided to play the first game in this series.
Our story follows Marcus Fenix and his Delta Squad on the planet Sera, a world already struggling with resource scarcity, where the infamous Emergence Day is upon us. This is when we are attacked by nasty grubs known as the Locust. And as you know, grubs everywhere... well, they're a plague to be exterminated. The game's objective is very simple: stop the Locust threat.
What I feel sets this game apart from others of its genre and style a bit more is the narrative part, where they present us with more human characters, not superheroes. It brings us a strong focus on the brotherhood between the soldiers of Delta Squad; they are seen as simple soldiers looking for how to survive while completing their objective.
Additionally, it's understood in the game that the Locust have a deeper origin and that humans aren't as innocent. For the time this game was released, these premises weren't very common. Its story is very straightforward, has a good foundation for its era, and builds interesting characters that, despite not having many cutscenes, are memorable.
Gameplay
Now we get to the weakest point of the game in my experience: its gameplay. Although I'd like to talk about the good aspects of this section first, as it was very innovative at the time, bringing us the cover system and peeking out to shoot, which in 2006, in my opinion, wasn't very common. The impact was so great that many other games implemented these ideas and mechanics.
It has a mechanic that at least I hadn't seen in shooters, known as Active Reload, which consists of pressing a button at the right moment when reloading to make it faster and, additionally, do more damage; otherwise, the gun jams and Marcus scolds you, saying, “Ah, please.” The weapons are simple: shotguns, chainsaw rifles, revolvers, snipers, grenade launchers, and grenades. Of these, I only highlight the Lancer, truly the only one I felt was worthwhile. With the bad gameplay, brace yourself, because I have a short list of details that aren't improved enough for a remastered game.
The game's artificial intelligence is trash, that's the word to define it. It's pathetic to see how both the enemies and the NPCs in the game behave, who besides that are few. It's very inconsistent: sometimes they are cunning and at other times they seem like beings without neurons. Even worse, you have the option to command them and honestly, the difference is almost nil.
Our protagonist feels stiff, feels very heavy. Despite the fact that you can roll, a tree feels more agile than Marcus. And I can't deny that the running mechanics... are speechless. It's the worst running movement I've seen to date in a character, it's simply horrible. That sprint is very strange to watch and you lose almost all ability to rotate and look around; that is, the sprint is moving in one direction. So if you're not looking in one direction during the sprint, you have to stop and then change direction. It's terrible, and it's a mechanic that's just as bad now as it was 20 years ago.
Despite the cover system being a success and innovative, incredibly in this game it's a problem, as many times covering yourself or peeking out to shoot doesn't work well. Other times, when changing cover, it feels like you're teleporting unintentionally. The grenade throwing mechanic is stiff; aiming and throwing it feels eternal. The shooting, on many occasions, when you hit those grubs, two things come to mind: either you feel like they're bullet sponges (which in part they are), or you feel like you're not doing any damage to them, or not even hitting them, despite aiming well.
I'll add that the enemy from "The Sower" seemed really bad to me, luckily it only appears a few times. But the award for worst enemy undoubtedly goes to the final boss: its combat is garbage, nothing more to add. It's one of those combat designs so poorly made and buggy that you don't know how it was possible for the game director to approve such a thing. It's horrible, and even worse that they didn't even fix it.
Honestly, for its time it's not bad, but by 2025 standards, its gameplay is very weak.
Graphics and visual design
Graphically, it clearly improves, which is the least one would expect from a remaster, but for a game from 2025, it doesn't meet standards. It really looks like a game from the previous generation; I'd say the graphical quality leap is about 10 years. It often strikes me as a 2016 game, which isn't bad, though it doesn't reach what we're seeing today.
The zone design is very linear, there's almost no way to get lost, and in my opinion, its design is simple and more focused on the gameplay experience. It's not bad, but it's not a visual spectacle. Many zones really feel similar.
Outside of bosses, the enemies are almost identically designed: some are just bigger than others, and perhaps a few have armor. Beyond that, they are similar. Overall, it does improve textures, lighting, and character modeling, but that's the least you'd expect from a remaster.
Sound and music
I liked the soundtrack; it goes very well with a guerrilla-type concept, keeping you entertained during combat. I'm not highlighting any particular track, but I can say that it fits in very well at the necessary moments.
The sound effects for weapons, explosions, and ambiance are well done, where you really feel every shot you take. I would say the voice acting is average; I don't think it's the best, although it's noticeable that it wasn't a point where they put a lot of effort into excelling. Still, I can't help but remember Marcus calling Baird or Anya every time something happened.
Difficulty and accessibility
The game offers several difficulty levels. I played it on normal and it was very accessible. I'd say it's quite easy; the highest difficulty does represent a challenge requiring more patience, as expected, with almost instant kills.
In terms of accessibility, details like subtitles, visual options, and control adjustments have improved, which is important for those who require these aids, although they are not the most advanced on the market.
Additional content
The main campaign can last approximately 6 to 10 hours. I took about 7 hours. It has a local co-op mode for the campaign, which increases its replayability a bit if you have friends; otherwise, it's a mode that goes unnoticed.
The online mode... I've played a couple of matches and got bored. Their multiplayer is definitely not the best part of the game and it's very poorly balanced. In my match, we were 4 against 4, where we were 4 players under level 10 against 4 guys with levels of 80 or 90... of course, they destroyed us in minutes. I understand that balancing can be annoying, but when there's no balance, it's not enjoyable either. Rookies against experts, no thank you.
Technical Aspects
I've noticed stable performance in various parts of the game overall. I played it on PS5 and occasionally my console sounded a bit with this game, nothing major. The loading times are fine, decent for a remaster.
The problem with this game is its bugs and glitches. More than one made me laugh, but it's clear it isn't very polished. The game's AI is terrible, especially your companions, who, while managing to do something in combat, really feel very useless and clumsy.
Honorable mention to the character Dom, one of the buggiest characters I've seen in a game. I've had moments where he would die and revive himself repeatedly, or other times where Marcus would lean and take cover behind an invisible wall. I'd say technically it's not the worst I've seen, but they certainly didn't do an excellent job.
Value for money
Its launch price was around $50 USD, which I never recommend paying. The reason is simple: a short campaign and a multiplayer that isn't worth it. Practically, if you buy it, it would be for its campaign mode, and it can take you a few hours depending on the difficulty, in addition to the number of bugs you'll encounter. There isn't much else to do, so the price I recommend would be around $20, really on sale, for everything I've expressed here.
Trophies / Achievements
- Platinum obtained: No
- Trophy percentage: 38%
- Estimated time: 70 hours
- Platinum Difficulty: I'd give it a 6 out of 10. Getting the platinum can take about 70 hours, which honestly I would never waste my time on, especially not putting that many hours into this game. It's just not worth it, mostly because you have to put time into the online mode, which is really weak and I don't think it'll be active for long.
Conclusion
In general, Gears of War is a game that clearly marked an era, and it's easy to see why it was so important at the time, especially for its narrative and the foundations it laid in gameplay. It has memorable characters, a simple story but with good depth, as well as a setting that effectively captures that tone of war and survival.
However, playing it today, its age is quite noticeable, and even more so in this remastered version where I expected more polished work. The gameplay is undoubtedly its weakest point. In the end, it's a game I would recommend more for nostalgia. If you've never played it, it might be worth giving it a shot, especially on sale. But if you're expecting a modern experience or a remaster up to current standards, it will probably leave a bad taste in your mouth.
My final rating for Gears of War Reload is:
2.9 / 5.0
