Gears of War: Reloaded is officially out today for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Co-developed by The Coalition, Sumo Digital, and Disbelief, this updated port of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition debuts ahead of the 20th anniversary of the original game and features a few key enhancements to elevate the overall experience for new players and veteran fans alike.
Before I discuss these enhancements and my feelings reliving moments from this classic on PlayStation 5, I want to share some brief thoughts on what Gears of War is and why it’s a must-play for those who haven’t checked out the series.
Gears of War is a critically acclaimed third-person shooter franchise created by Epic Games under Creative Director Cliffy B and Producer Rod Fergusson. The first game launched on November 7, 2006, as an Xbox 360 first-party exclusive. The story revolved around COG Army Soldiers Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago helping Delta Squad eliminate the Locust threat on the planet, Sera. This title was a massive success, spawning several sequels and spin-offs, including an Ultimate Edition remaster released in 2015.
Gears of War: Reloaded is an updated version of the Ultimate Edition remaster with some enhancements. These include 4K resolution support, a 60 FPS campaign, 120 FPS multiplayer modes with dedicated servers, 7.1 3D spatial audio support, and improved lighting, shadows, and reflections. The other main selling point is that Gears of War can now be played on PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles with full cross-play and cross-progression support across all platforms. You can also link your Xbox GamerTag account to track your progress on both platforms.
I’ve been playing through the story campaign these last several days and have been reminded just how awesome and EPIC (Pun fully intended) this game was. I was a few years removed from college when the original came out, and it’s wild to see where the industry and this franchise are now, almost two decades later. The PlayStation 5 DualSense controller features include haptic force feedback, adaptive triggers, speaker support, and controller light support. These features are fairly straightforward, and hopefully, in the future, more studios can find ways to fully utilize the power of this controller, like Team Asobi continues to do with their current Astro Bot games.
Switching gears to multiplayer, Gears of War: Reloaded has 19 remastered maps and the same seven 8 PVP game modes we had in the past. These modes include Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Execution, Warzone, 2v2 Gnasher Execution, Assassination, and Annex. Everything is unlockable through progression with no paid DLC. When I previewed the multiplayer beta earlier this summer, I mentioned that the game ran smoothly and I encountered no issues. What I have experienced so far is the same, and I’m curious to see if this remains the case once the servers become more populated in the days and weeks ahead.
Gears of War: Reloaded costs $39.99 and is also available via Game Pass. If you purchased the digital version Ultimate Edition on Xbox before May 5th of this year, then you’re entitled to a free copy of this game. Overall, I’m enjoying my time with the game and look forward to Gears of War: E-Day in 2026. If you never played this game and you’re curious to try it out, this is, without a doubt, the version worth buying. Let us know if you plan on checking out the game in the comments section.
This review was based on a review copy of Gears of War: Reloaded for the PlayStation 5 provided by The Coalition and Xbox Game Studios.
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