“Same,same but different” is the saying that comes to mind when booting up Gears of War Reloaded on PS5. The familiar scenes of Marcus Phoenix and Dominic Santiago firing up their Lancer’s chainsaws to obliterate some grubs really brings back the childhood memories of being introduced to this franchise on Xbox 360 via couch co-op with my brother. This faithful remaster brings the 2006 classic into the latest generation all guns blazing! Sticking to the tried and tested formula whilst delivering the signature current generation console graphics.
Visuals
The post Emergence day aesthetic has been greatly improved whilst still maintaining the gritty feeling of a world teetering on the edge. Crimson Omens have been transformed from “red marks” on the wall to clearly legible markers of interest in the world. The Locust horde instills an unnerving sense of dread in the cut scenes that brings on that classic ‘sweaty palms’ feeling as you tighten your grip on the Dual-Sense controller in anticipation of a blood soaked screen.
Gameplay
The accurate recreation of this masterpiece is both it’s crowning glory and downfall. The essence of what made a whole generation fall in love with the GOW franchise, from chaining together perfect reloads while running from cover to cover as you obliterate the Locust horde to raining terror with the Hammer of Dawn effortlessly takes you back to where it all began. Unfortunately Delta squads’ intelligence shows its age. From NPC’s running into locked doors, standing toe-to-toe with a Beserker hoping she doesn’t smell them to not moving into position to unlock a door causing more reloading of past checkpoints than is wanted.
Dualsense goodness
Hearing Anya guide Delta squad through the dual sense controller adds a layer of immersion you didn’t know you needed. Triggers and bumpers effortlessly transform into R1/2’s and L1/2’s. The controls lend themselves to muscle memory and allow a seamless transition without feeling like a fish out of water.
Nostalgia in 4K
Without a doubt the nostalgia of being able to relive this iconic game in 4K is not lost and elevates the experience beyond what is expected from a close to two decades old game. The developers definitely leaned into this fact hard and it worked. You feel transported back in time to a time when your biggest concern in life was avoiding the dreaded red ring of death whilst blasting enemies in the dozens. Hearing Marcus’ lines, brutal and to the point as ever, now beautifully recreated in 4K gives an extremely satisfying feeling throughout
Final Verdict
For players dipping their toes into the GOW franchise for the first time this game will be enjoyable and well worth getting their hands on. The refined graphics does not make it a visual master piece but it does not feel outdated either. The gameplay, more specifically the AI, might be frustrating to younger gamers who grew up with reasonably intelligent NPC’s by their side, additionally the somewhat vague, non-hand-holding nature of the objectives could cause some challenge for newer gamers.
For players returning after many years away from this franchise it will feel like they never left, muscle memory will take over and the Locust horde will tremble when you power on your PS5 and “lock and load” your dual sense controller. The joy of jumping back into the campaign or multiplayer will feel as good as at did all those years ago.
review code provided by Prima Interactive
