Gears Of War: Reloaded PS5 review – a remaster of a remaster of a classic

The original Gears Of War turns from Xbox 360 exclusive to multiformat PS5 remaster but how does the game hold up after nearly 20 years?

So here it is, Gears Of War on PlayStation 5. In terms of former Xbox exclusives, only Halo is bigger, and its appearance on a PlayStation format is clearly just a matter of when, not if. If you’d told anyone this would happen 10 years ago, they’d assume it would be accompanied by jeering and celebration amongst PlayStation fans, especially given how Xbox console sales have collapsed recently, but the reality hasn’t worked out like that at all.

It’s been such a slow, drawn-out death for Xbox’s console machinations, filled with U-turns and miscommunication, that by the time the games actually appear on PlayStation there no longer seems any point getting upset about anything, especially when Sony has made it clear it will be following suit to at least some degree.

In the end, all that remains is the only thing that ever truly matters in gaming: the games themselves. Forza Horizon 5 has been a huge hit on PlayStation and made it clear that Xbox titles will be welcomed with open arms, if they deserve that reception. Although determining whether Reloaded does, is a surprisingly difficult call to make.

Although there have been rumours of a remaster trilogy, of the first three Gears Of War games, for years, that’s not what this is. It’s not a remake either, which you would’ve thought was justified given the Xbox 360 original is now almost 20 years old. Instead, it’s a remaster of a remaster, which seems to be carefully calibrated to be the absolute least effort possible, to put into any new Gears Of War release.

The original remaster was Xbox One title Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition in 2015, which polished up the visuals and performance, while adding in content that was originally exclusive to the PC version. The biggest changes were to the multiplayer modes though, which was beefed up considerably, with elements from all the current games at the time. Although while campaign co-op has always been one of the key draws for the series, competitive multiplayer is essentially a tertiary concern.

Given all that, there’s really not a lot left for Reloaded to do. The resolution is now 4K and the multiplayer runs at 120fps, while the campaign is still at 60fps. There’s new HDR and spatial audio options but apart from that, and cross-play, that’s it. It’s really more of a re-release than a remaster, although Xbox isn’t pretending otherwise – with a free upgrade if you already have the Ultimate Edition (and, of course, the whole thing is free via Game Pass).

The real question here is whether the PlayStation 5 version is worth picking up for those new to the series or if they’d be better off waiting for new game Gears Of War: E-Day, which is due out next year.

If you’re completely unfamiliar with the franchise it was originally envisioned as a sci-fi version of Band of Brothers, although the cheesy machismo of the main characters and goopy alien opponents never lived up to that grounded premise. The sequels got more over-the-top with each entry, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, until the games began to resemble a sort of 3D version of Contra.

What made the original so significant in 2006 is the excellent graphics (original developer Epic Games used it as an advert for Unreal Engine) and the fact that this was one of the first mainstream third person shooters. Inspired primarily by Resident Evil 4 – released a year beforehand – it popularised the idea of third person action at a time when first person shooters were at their peak of popularity.

It’s no wonder the game became such an iconic title, as it was not only on the cutting edge of visuals and gameplay, but the 50 shades of grey and brown colour scheme made it the quintessential Xbox 360 title and emblematic of the entire generation.

The obvious problem is that 19 years later the gameplay and visuals no longer seem so remarkable and the sloppy storytelling and gravelly voiced, almost exclusively male, characters are now much more of an acquired taste. It’s a credit to the game’s original design that it’s still playable and enjoyable today, but unless you’re nostalgic for the original you may find yourself losing interesting long before the roughly eight hour campaign is over.

Although there’s nothing wrong with the release on a technical, or even conceptual, level it’s not something we’d necessarily recommend you rush to spend £40 on, unless you know exactly what you’re getting yourself in for.

Playing the game again it also raises the question of what Microsoft should do with the series as a whole. It’s currently in no better state than Halo, with all the games since Microsoft bought the franchise, in 2014, proving disappointing to one degree or another. They’ve never found an adequate replacement for Epic Games as developers and despite Gears 5 ending on a cliffhanger that may never get resolved, given E-Day is a prequel.

This is a common problem for games that were once groundbreaking but, by virtue of their popularity and influence, now seem overfamiliar and unremarkable. Especially when the story and characters don’t have wide appeal.

Gears 5 was a half-hearted attempt at doing something different (its open world segments were very obviously influenced by the modern God Of War games) and retreating back to a prequel does not imply a franchise with big new ideas. One obvious conclusion then, is that Gears Of War has simply run its course; it sparked a revolution, had three great games, and now its time is done.

Except no popular franchise ever really dies and Gears Of War will continue on regardless. We hope it can find some new source of inspiration, because it’s upsetting to see it decline like this, like an elderly relative forever trying to remind themselves of the good old days, but as loathe as publishers are to admit it nothing lasts forever.

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £39.99*
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: The Coalition, Sumo Digital, and Disbelief (original: Epic Games)
Release Date: 26th August 2025
Age Rating: 18

*available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one

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