Gears of War: Reloaded Review – A Polished Classic That Still Packs a Punch

Gears of War: Reloaded, released on August 26, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, is a remaster of the 2015 Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, itself a remaster of the iconic 2006 third-person shooter. Developed by The Coalition with support from Sumo Interactive and Disbelief, this latest iteration brings the original Gears of War to modern platforms with enhanced visuals, improved performance, and cross-platform play. While it remains a faithful tribute to the game that revolutionized cover-based shooters, Reloaded struggles to justify its existence for veterans, offering only marginal upgrades over its predecessor. For newcomers and PlayStation players experiencing Gears for the first time, however, it’s a slick, visceral dive into a genre-defining classic that still holds up—warts and all.

Gears of War: Reloaded thrusts players back to the war-torn planet of Sera, where humanity battles the subterranean Locust Horde. You play as Marcus Fenix, a gruff ex-convict and soldier, freed from prison to join Delta Squad in a desperate mission to detonate a Lightmass Bomb and halt the Locust invasion. The narrative, spread across five acts and roughly 7-10 hours, is unapologetically straightforward: it’s a testosterone-fueled, B-movie sci-fi romp with minimal character depth and a focus on relentless action. Marcus and his squad—Dom, Cole, and Baird—are macho archetypes, with dialogue that leans heavily into early-2000s bravado (“dickwad” makes a memorable appearance). The story doesn’t aim for emotional nuance, unlike later entries like Gears 5, but its simplicity is part of its charm, embracing its era’s unpretentious grit.

For those who played the original or Ultimate Edition, the campaign feels like a familiar roadie-run down memory lane. The Coalition has preserved the core experience, including the additional PC-exclusive chapters from 2007, which extend the fifth act with a climactic Brumak encounter. However, the lack of new narrative content or significant tweaks means the story shows its age. Marcus’s backstory is barely explored, and characters like Anya are relegated to radio chatter, while Cole’s portrayal veers into racial stereotypes—a relic of 2006 that hasn’t been addressed. Despite these flaws, the campaign’s pacing, with its relentless set pieces and varied encounters, keeps the action engaging.

At its core, Gears of War: Reloaded remains a masterclass in cover-based shooting. The mechanics—slamming into cover, blind-firing, or popping out for precise shots—are as tight as ever. The Active Reload system, requiring timed button presses for faster reloads and damage boosts, adds a layer of skill to the gunplay. Weapons like the Lancer (with its iconic chainsaw bayonet) and Gnasher shotgun deliver a satisfying heft, with every shot feeling weighty and impactful. The campaign mixes up its formula with creative detours, like a light/dark mechanic against Kryll enemies or a mine-cart sequence that feels like a post-apocalyptic thrill ride. These moments prevent the cover-shoot-reload cycle from growing stale, though repetitive enemy waves can drag in longer sections.

Playing on Hardcore difficulty reveals a mixed bag with the AI. Enemies, particularly Locust, remain impressive for their time, flanking intelligently and forcing strategic positioning. However, Delta Squad’s AI companions are a weak link, often getting stuck, running into enemy fire, or requiring frequent revives. This is a noticeable downgrade from Ultimate Edition, where allies felt marginally more competent. Co-op, both local split-screen and online, remains a highlight, with cross-play across Xbox, PS5, and PC ensuring a seamless experience. The multiplayer, running at 120 FPS, is a chaotic delight, with modes like Execution and Wingman rewarding tactical play. However, the steep learning curve and dominance of veteran players wielding shotguns may intimidate newcomers.

The Coalition’s biggest selling point for Reloaded is its visual overhaul. Building on Ultimate Edition’s 1080p/30 FPS campaign and 60 FPS multiplayer, Reloaded delivers 4K resolution, 60 FPS for the campaign, and 120 FPS for multiplayer, with HDR and VRR support. The lighting has been revamped, lifting the muddy brown-and-gray palette of 2006 to resemble the vibrant aesthetic of Gears 5. Blood splatters pop with vivid crimson, and environments—decaying cities, legal buildings with detailed paintings, and cluttered bunkers—feel more alive. The PS5 version leverages the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback, making each chainsaw kill or Lancer burst tactilely immersive.

However, the upgrades are incremental compared to Ultimate Edition. Side-by-side screenshots reveal subtle improvements in texture clarity and shadow quality, but nothing transformative. The PS5 Pro pushes resolution and PSSR further, but on base consoles, the visual leap isn’t as dramatic as one might expect from a remaster of a remaster. Performance is rock-solid, with no loading screens and smooth framerates, though PC players reported crashes after changing graphical settings during the beta phase. The absence of ray-tracing and limited new environmental details leave Reloaded feeling like a polished refresh rather than a reinvention.

Reloaded introduces new accessibility options, including customizable controls, audio tweaks, and colorblind modes, making it more approachable than Ultimate Edition. The Extras section, with concept art and behind-the-scenes content, rewards returning fans, though it’s not extensive enough to justify a repurchase alone. The cross-progression feature, allowing campaign and multiplayer progress to carry across platforms, is a welcome modern touch, though it’s limited to Reloaded and doesn’t sync with Ultimate Edition saves, which may frustrate Xbox veterans.

Gears of War: Reloaded is a curious release. For PlayStation players and newcomers, it’s a fantastic entry point to a franchise that defined a generation. The $40 price tag (free for Ultimate Edition owners before the announcement) is reasonable for a visually enhanced, cross-platform experience with all DLC included. The game’s core mechanics—cover-based shooting, Active Reloads, and gory spectacle—remain unmatched, even if the genre has evolved. Playing Gears on a PS5, with its DualSense feedback, is a surreal and delightful novelty, and the cross-play support ensures a robust multiplayer community.

For veterans, however, Reloaded feels like a hard sell. The gameplay is virtually identical to Ultimate Edition, with no significant mechanical tweaks or new content beyond graphical polish. The decision to remaster the same game twice in a decade, while Gears 2 and 3 lack modern PC ports, has sparked frustration, as seen in Reddit threads: “Gears of War Reloaded is a cash grab… we wanted a Marcus Fenix Collection.” The dated movement, clunky at times compared to Gears 5’s fluidity, and the lackluster AI companions highlight the game’s age. The beta’s technical issues, like connection instability and missing pre-order bonuses, didn’t help perceptions.

Gears of War: Reloaded is a love letter to a 2006 classic, preserving its strengths—tight gunplay, iconic weapons, and relentless action—while addressing some of its visual shortcomings. It’s a testament to the original’s enduring appeal that, nearly two decades later, chainsawing a Locust still feels exhilarating. The Coalition’s technical prowess shines through in the smooth performance and vibrant visuals, but the lack of bold innovation makes this feel like a safe, nostalgic play rather than a reinvention. Compared to other 2025 remasters, like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which reimagines its source material more ambitiously, Reloaded plays it too conservative.

For those who’ve never experienced Gears or want to relive it on a new platform, Reloaded is a must-play, earning a solid 8/10 for its polished execution and historical significance. For long-time fans, it’s a bittersweet reminder of a franchise stuck in the past, scoring closer to a 6/10 for its lack of fresh ambition. With Gears of War: E-Day looming in 2026, Reloaded serves as a nostalgic appetizer, but one hopes The Coalition will deliver a bolder vision for the series’ future.