Gears 5 grew on me as I played through its meaty, 12 hour campaign. At first it felt so Gears of War. As JD, Marcus Fenix’s son, you spend a lot of time doing that Xbox 360 whack-a-mole Gears thing from behind cover, shooting up the Swarm, a new twist on the Locust horde, almost in cruise control. Accompanied by Jack, a chirpy drone-like robot whose upgradeable, RPG-like support abilities prove incredibly useful during the more challenging firefights, you soldier through acres of Destroyed Beauty; the world of Sera, which, it seems to me, looks a lot like Croydon on a Sunday morning, under threat once more.
These early hours felt like The Coalition doing its best Epic impression. All of Gears of War 4 felt like this to me, perhaps understandably so for a new studio charged with continuing a beloved series built by a developer who had moved on to what would become Fortnite. But then, a couple of hours in, Gears 5 does something different, and for most of the rest of the campaign I couldn’t help but think The Coalition had finally stamped its authority on that most head-stompy of video games, and I was pretty delighted for them.
When you get to play as Kait Diaz, a COG soldier who’s troubled by visions in which Locust speak to her, not only do we leave the urban chaos behind for a new, frozen wasteland setting, but we go open world… sort of.
Gears 5 – First 28-Minutes of Opening Gameplay Watch on YouTube
Via a skiff, you surf along the snow and ice, heading to objectives and, very occasionally, stumbling across something of interest that’s off the beaten track. Now, it is not right to say Gears 5 has gone open world. This is not Gears of Skyrim, or Assassin’s War. It’s more of an open hub akin to a destination in Destiny, where there’s no real need to explore because while the map is big, it is not packed with secrets to uncover. Rather, it is a play space for surfing to and from objectives, marveling at the impressive visuals and listening to the Delta banter. But, it is right to say this is different for Gears of War, and while this is no revolution for video games, it is a significant evolution for Gears 5, and I found myself enjoying my surf in the cold.