Gears of War: Reloaded

Gears of War: Reloaded is the perfect way to experience one of the finest games of all time, with superior combat and a cover system that still hasn't been matched.

Gears of War Reloaded is a solid remaster that preserves the brutal and straightforward essence of the 2006 original. The linear campaign remains engaging, with guided storytelling, iconic characters, and heavy, cover-based combat. Visuals have been modernized with 4K resolution, HDR, 3D audio, and full DualSense integration. The multiplayer is fully featured, offering crossplay, cross-progression, and no microtransactions. While the AI shows its age, the pacing, weighty gameplay, and classic "more muscle, less brain" style make this version ideal for both longtime fans and newcomers.

Gears of War: Reloaded is a very solid game, even if the base is nearly 20 years old. The concept of a cover-based, stop-and-pop shooter may feel out of date, since so many other games have done this since the original title's release. The feeling of fast but weighted movement and meaty gunplay is still unmatched after all this time, though. It is a game that's easy to pick up and play without any compromises, and the title still has a great presentation despite the minor touch-ups from the original remake. For PS5 owners in particular, Reloaded is a perfect way to experience a very influential modern classic.

It's not just that Gears of War is a classic that everyone should know. The gameplay hasn't aged at all, and in this respect, it can rival contemporary titles. The basics are incredibly easy to learn, and the story combined with the shooting provides what games are meant for: a break from the grim reality where we won't be running through ruined cities and shooting at beasts emerging from the ground.

Taken on its own merits some nineteen years since its original release, Gears of War remains a blast to play, only showing its age in minor ways which do little to detract from what is a seminal piece of work. Though not too far removed from 2015’s Ultimate Edition, the lower price of entry makes this easier to stomach for PlayStation owners tempted to dive into the series that defined a generation of Xbox fans and that few games have bettered in the proceeding years.

Turn off your brain and enjoy blasting enemies in this straightforward yet highly fluid, quintessential game of its era: Gears of War: Reloaded. If you miss the gaming sensibilities of the PS3/Xbox 360 era, you’ll gladly embrace this experience.

It's a nice touch for the annals that long-time system seller Gears of War is now also available on PlayStation, but of course, anyone who ever really wanted to play Gears could have bought an Xbox at some point in all those years. Gears of War has been well past its sell-by date for quite some time now.

(PS5)Still one of the best campaigns around. Not as gritty as the OG Xbox release from 20 years ago, but highly memorable. Let’s hope they bring GOW 2&3 to the PS5

For a 20 year old game, this is fantastic. The shooting mechanics are still very, very good! The remaster is very bare bones tho. It's like they did the bare minimum to push this out the door. I played a lot of Gears on my Xbox 360, so being able to play this on my PS5 is real cool. I bought it for 50% off ($20) but I still feel like I over payed for what I got. They should do a solid remake of the Gears 360 Trilogy. This feels a little undercooked.

Never played gears before til this and it was an enjoyable co op experience. For 20 some year old game it holds up decently well

This version ****. I mean... really ****. I mean, where do I even begin. First, the AI is terrible, from both the enemies and squad members. If an enemy isn't just running around aimlessly on the battlefield, your teammates will. Not only that, they run into walls, freeze in place and don't even register your commands. You say "regroup," they'll say "affirmative" and literally just stare at a wall. The controls are really bad and have gotten me killed too many times to count. For example, if you press the X button, you enter cover mode. But if you double tap it, you perform a dodge roll. But, a good chunk of the time, whenever I tried a dodge roll, I would immediately stick to the wall like a magnet in front of enemies. I would be mashing the X button furiously to exit cover, only to move to different cover or dodge roll in a direction that I didn't want. Sometimes the enemy AI is so bad, they'll just stare at me having a seizure, but most of the time, they'll unload on me and kill me in just a few shots. The reloading took a nosedive too. The game incorporates the "perfect reload" mechanic from the original (hit reload and hit it again at the right time to gain a boost), but for some reason it's very unresponsive. Some weapons, when you finish a clip, your character automatically reloads and you can hit the reload button to gain the bonus. But other weapons delay this and if you hit the reload at the wrong time, you fail the "perfect reload" and it'll take longer for your character to reload the weapon which will leave you vulnerable when the enemy just randomly starts charging at you. There are also moments that just urk me in the worst ways. For example, female berserkers are so annoying to deal with. Not because the areas are suspenseful or difficult, but because the enemy AI is so bad that you're trying desperately to line up the beast so that it can tackle and demolish what you're trying to destroy to move forward. And if you die, you are sent right back to the last checkpoint which could have been minutes ago. There's another moment where you're trying a vehicle through Kryl infested night. This should be exciting, but the vehicle moves are like 20mph and you constantly have to switch between driving and the LED turret, forcing you to stop and frantically search the skies for enemies. It's slow, repetitive and just a slog to get through This should have either have been a rail-shooter section or a cool, destructive driving section, not both. Maybe I lost my nostalgia goggles for this one, but this game is legitimately vexing and no amount of remastered graphics can make me see through that.

Clunky. Can't adjust difficulty in game, which is a problem early on when you get killed taking 2 shots. Waste of time and money.