Gears of War: Reloaded could easily be called average nostalgic reissue for the fans. It comes at an interesting time, when Microsoft is actively exploring the PlayStation territory, where former Xbox exclusives (Forza Horizon 5, Indiana Jones) suddenly hit the top of the sales charts. And while the company is putting its former exclusives back on the PlayStation shelves, it’s time for the legendary series that once defined the face of Xbox. It’s symbolic that right now the gears are getting a chance to make a noise again. We in the editorial office played the remaster before the official release on August 26 and can say that nostalgia is not the only trump card here.
Content
The plot of Gears of War: Reloaded doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but at the same time demonstrates why the original story is still considered a classic of the genre. The story takes place on the post-apocalyptic planet Sera, where humanity is barely holding the line against the Locusts — notable creatures not only for their appetite for destruction but also for their organized cruelty. Focusing on the elite Delta team, Reloaded skillfully balances personal drama, combat strategy, and global threat.
The storyline, despite the classic “infantry vs. monsters” structure, feels alive thanks to the details of the world around it. Each location tells its own story, and the game skillfully alternates between action and moments of contemplation, creating the effect of a cinematic epic.
It is important that Gears of War: Reloaded is not afraid to show the brutality of the conflict, but it does it with artistic taste. Blood and ultra-violence are not just for shock; they emphasize the cost of war and the danger to each team member. This approach makes the plot richer and the characters more real.
It’s also worth noting the simple humor that has remained an integral part of the series. Despite the gloomy setting, Marcus’ jokes and Dominic’s friendly banter add the necessary balance between drama and emotional release. Reloaded skillfully integrates these moments even into cutscenes, making the game feel lively and organic.
The characters in Gears of War: Reloaded, though painfully archetypal by shooter standards, have gained more depth. The remaster allowed us to add more expressive facial expressions, more natural animations, and interactive reactions during combat.
With redesigned and beautifully directed cutscenes, environmental details, and improved character animations, Reloaded offers not just nostalgia, but a real experience of a familiar story. This is the first hook for players.
And the second is visual. The world of Gears of War: Reloaded has changed so much that old fans may feel like tourists in their memories. What was once a gloomy ruin is now perceived as a majestic monument to a destroyed civilization: the sun breaks through the wreckage of skyscrapers as if trying to revive a dead city, and the rain pounds on the metal structures of the factory, creating an atmosphere of an apocalyptic symphony.
Even the underground complexes and aristocratic mansions that we’ve seen dozens of times in the original look so alive and detailed that you catch yourself thinking: you’re no longer just fighting in the game, but you’re also involuntarily stopping to look around.
Lighting — another trump card of Gears of War: Reloaded. The use of modern lighting algorithms adds depth to the scenes, emphasizes the volumes of characters and the environment. The shadows became dynamic, which is especially noticeable in closed rooms and narrow corridors, where the light from shots and explosions creates a tense action movie atmosphere.
The metal surfaces shine in a new way, and the fabrics and skin of the characters look more natural, albeit a bit vanilla. But the game does its best to make the player feel the materiality of Sera’s world.
It is worth noting the improved animation. Characters now move more smoothly, and the Locust’s attacks look more aggressive and believable at the same time. Animated transitions between walking, running, and shooting have become more natural, which increases immersiveness.
Gears of War: Reloaded is not limited to visual upgrades. The special effects system has been revised: smoke, sparks, explosions, and debris now look realistic and do not overload the system. The explosions are especially effective during mass shootings, emphasizing the chaos of the battle.
The improved graphics also affected the environment. Locations are filled with small details: broken windows, knocked out doors, pieces of furniture — all this creates the feeling that the planet Sera has experienced a real disaster. Such attention to detail makes the world come alive and rich.
The post-processing system has also been upgraded: depth of field, motion blur and color correction further emphasize the drama of the scenes. Watching the cut-scenes, it’s easy to see how Reloaded works on the atmosphere, not just on the graphic showmanship.
The Gears of War series has always stood out for its tactical combat system, and Reloaded doesn’t break this tradition. The main emphasis is on cover and positional combat: characters cannot just run around the battlefield, shooting mindlessly because it immediately sends them to respawn in the spirit of the movie Edge of Tomorrow. The player has to constantly think about their location, choosing the best shelters and controlling the space.
The third-person shooting system has retained the same important weight of each shot. Weapons in Gears of War: Reloaded feels different: shotguns and rifles require accuracy, and automatic firearms allow you to effectively cover several enemies at once. Reloaded has slightly emphasized the recoil and sound of shots, making them more tangible.
The classic “porch and take cover” mechanic works as usual, but now with smoother animations and enemy reactions. Locust soldiers have become more aggressive, using group attacks, forcing the player to constantly seek an advantage and adjust tactics on the fly.
The remaster has added some minor improvements to the interaction with the environment. For example, you can more easily use elements of the local landscape as temporary barricades, and explosive gas cylinders and other objects are integrated into combat scenarios more organically. This emphasizes the dynamics of battles and allows you to combine tactical techniques.
Characters move more smoothly, crouching and rolling are performed without sticking. This update is especially important in chaotic shootouts, when every second can decide the outcome of the battle.
The co-op mode of Gears of War: Reloaded remains a key component of the gameplay. Joint actions with a partner in a campaign require synchronization and planning: who covers, who attacks, and who distracts the enemy. This element makes the game interesting not only for solo players but also for those who like team strategies. However, we recommend that you run through the campaign solo first.
The weapons arsenal has undergone minimal but noticeable changes. Some projectiles now interact with the environment more effectively, and explosions have an additional tactical effect. Reloaded does not add new weapons, but makes the existing ones more exciting and lively. And everyone knows that a Lancer (not a Mitsubishi!) with a chainsaw — is a one love and a calling card of the series!
Ammunition is limited (this is mainly true for the last two difficulty levels), and the player must be careful about using it. This creates tension at key moments and encourages tactical thinking rather than chaotic shooting.
The enemy AI hasn’t changed much. And yes, it’s still not the level of the first F.E.A.R., but it’s very close. The Locust’s thick-skinnedness, or survivability, increases proportionally with each level of difficulty. But sometimes his partners let him down. Take, for example, the fight with the Berserker, where Dom just stood in the doorway and waited for the treacherous female (don’t be surprised!) to fatally throw him into the wall.
In general, the game looks like a cinematic shooter, with smooth gameplay and clear images without blurring or artifacts.
Gears of War’s soundtrack has always been a part of the atmosphere, and Reloaded doesn’t break this tradition. The transition to modern audio technologies has improved the sound quality, making shots, explosions, and impacts more “dense” and tangible.
The music emphasizes the tension of each battle. The themes remained recognizable, but the remaster added volume and detail, especially in dynamic shootouts. The soundtrack harmonizes with the rhythm of the game, making each scene more dramatic and cinematic.
The work with the characters’ voices is worth mentioning separately. The dialogues of Marcus and his partners sound natural, with the right intonation and emotionality. Yes, we are watching a B movie of the VHS era, but a high-quality one!
The positional sound system of Gears of War: Reloaded has become significantly more accurate. The player can hear enemies behind him or in the next room, which adds tactical depth. This aspect is especially noticeable in cooperative and more difficult difficulty levels, where the success of the battle also depends on hearing.
Switching to modern audio formats has made it possible to reproduce low frequencies more clearly, which makes explosions heavy and three-dimensional. In previous versions, some details were lost, but now everything sounds more vivid and rich, even with headphones.
The sound balance was also carefully worked out. Shooting, enemy screams and music are organically combined, do not overlap each other and allow you to hear important audio cues without compromising the atmosphere.
The music of Gears of War: Reloaded music in quiet moments helps to create contrast, making dynamic scenes even more emotionally powerful. This is a classic technique that Reloaded uses to great effect.
The multiplayer of the remaster has received a noticeable update, although the basic mechanics remain recognizable to fans of the series. The maps have been adapted to modern standards, with updated lighting and textures that make orientation more convenient and pleasing to the eye.
We should also mention one of the key trump cards — crossplay, which now works between all platforms. This means that regardless of whether you are playing on a console or PC, matchmaking is faster and the community is not divided into separate “islands”. For a series that has always relied on co-op and competition, this is without exaggeration one of the most important upgrades to Reloaded.
The cooperative campaign allows you to play with friends while maintaining a balance of difficulty and emotional drive. Even beginners can join the fray, and veterans will appreciate the difficulty at high levels, where tactics and teamwork become key.
The class and equipment system remains recognizable, but new customization options have been added, allowing players to choose weapons to suit their style.
Synchronization and network mechanics have been improved. Lags have become rare, and the reaction speed of enemies and allies in the cooperative is noticeably more natural.
The multiplayer maps remained compact, but the remaster added more environmental details that can be used strategically. Enemies and allies have received additional points of cover, which makes the shootouts more variable.
Navigating the menu, selecting weapons and active items has become intuitive even for those who are not familiar with the series.
Impressions Pavel Chuikin
Let’s start with the fact that running Gears of War: Reloaded on PS5 is strange, unusual, and fun at the same time. Without exaggeration, the cult game by Microsoft Game Studios has finally been released on Japanese consoles. The project runs in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second in the storyline campaign and delivers up to 120 FPS in multiplayer. Of course, if your TV or monitor supports it. We also have Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 for 3D surround sound, HDR, VRR for enhanced images, optimized and improved lighting and shadows, and post-processing.
Human memory is capricious, and modern gamers’ opinions of graphics in old games are very distorted, even if they have played them. So if you launch Gears of War: Reloaded right away without seeing what it looked like in 2006 when it was released, or even the updated 2015 version of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, you might think there aren’t that many updates.
But then, when you watch the gameplay of those games on YouTube, you will realize what a great job the developers of Gears of War: Reloaded. Of course, it’s not without its nuances, but the game looks great, the picture is modern and detailed as much as possible, we see great shadows, reflections in puddles, realistic sunlight, and so on. It’s real 4K and the same 60 FPS. And the main thing is that there are no loading and splash screens between levels, which improves the experience and immersion in the plot.
You can’t switch between Performance and Quality modes — the game works in one mode.
The developers have definitely modernized the gameplay and character animation, but even here the movement of the protagonist, his partners, and enemies looks strange. Even the aliens walk very similarly. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the strange walk of the stalkers from the first installments of the game of the same name.
I also had some strange impressions of shooting, it’s kind of slow, the sights seem to be lazy, but at least the recoil in the DualSense triggers adds to the joy.
Otherwise, Gears of War: Reloaded on PlayStation 5 makes a good impression, it’s fun and engaging. It’s not the best remaster that has come out recently, but it’s definitely not the worst.
The appetite for hardware in Gears of War: Reloaded turned out to be quite humane. The minimum configuration looks like this: Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5-9600K, 16 GB of RAM, and something like GTX 1660 Ti or Radeon RX 5600 XT. That is, even veterans of gaming clubs can squeeze honest 1080p out of the remaster with decent settings.
But the recommended level raises the bar: Ryzen 7 5800X or Core i7-11700K, the same 16 GB of RAM, and an RTX 3070 or Radeon RX 6800 series graphics card. In this case, you can count on a stable 60 fps in 1440p.
I played the remaster on two machines: a laptop with Intel Ultra 9 275 HX and RTX 5070 Ti and a desktop with Ryzen 5 7600 and RTX 5060 Ti. In both cases, Reloaded pulled 4K assemblies without any problems and consistently delivered high FPS at Ultra.
And now for the bonuses of Gears of War: Reloaded for PC owners. The 240 frames per second limit is now a reality, although I would like to see full DLSS 4 support. Currently, only version 3.5 is available, without Frame Generation. But here’s where it comes in Smooth Motion by Nvidiawhich operates at the driver level, so it throws in a smooth performance boost even in games that are not DLSS-friendly at all.
Gears of War Reloaded looks like a polished classic, but the glossy graphics hide certain problems that both new and experienced players experience. The first thing that catches your eye is the lack of significant changes in the gameplay mechanics. Shooting, cover, and enemy reactions remain the same as in 2006/2007. For fans, it’s a lamp nostalgia, and for newcomers, it’s a feeling of the Paleolithic era.
I got an old original and compared it to the Ultimate Edition in the following screenshots. Of course, the resolution here is not — 4K as in the review, but regular Full HD.
The reissue also omits the infamous “piss filter”. Do you remember it? Although it was a trademark of those times, the picture actually looked dull and dirty. Now the shades have become more natural: the grass is finally green, the sky is blue, armor and fabrics have acquired deeper colors. The game no longer resembles an old photo filled with iodine, and in some places even looks modern thanks to HDR.
Although the game runs stably on modern machines, if you look closely, you can sometimes see short texture loads on not the fastest SSDs. At the same time, the developers cleverly got rid of loading screens — a small sacrifice for a faster start.
Although there are not as many enemies as in the subsequent sequels, their accuracy and speed remain at a good level, which creates an “old school” effect and at the same time can irritate those who are used to modern casual “story mode”. There is one here, by the way.
Not critical, but an unpleasant moment — the lack of Ukrainian localization. In 2025, this looks so-so, because, for example, here is a fresh Mafia has our translation on the release.
And, of course, graphically Gears of War: Reloaded — is far from even current-gen. Compared to modern standards, the remaster doesn’t look completely perfect.
At the time of writing Gears of War: Reloaded is available on PC on Steam for UAH 1299. Console version for Xbox will cost a bit cheaper — 1030 UAH, which, considering the upgrades, looks quite generous. For the first time in the franchise’s history, the game was also released on PlayStation: the re-release is available in PlayStation Store for PS5 for UAH 1299.
A nice bonus is that users who have already purchased Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will receive the remaster absolutely free of charge — a decision that will clearly fuel the interest of fans and show that Microsoft can sometimes act with an eye to player loyalty.
To this is added another trump card: Gears of War: Reloaded has been available on Game Pass from day one. For those who already have a subscription, the cost of the game is virtually zero, which makes the remaster as accessible as possible to the general public.
In fact, we have a situation where the series has become multi-platform for the first time. Microsoft is expanding the market and keeping old fans in the warm embrace of nostalgia at the same time.
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