Gears of War: Reloaded is a strange beast. The remaster of the original remaster is almost 20 years after the original defined the era of cover-based shooters on the Xbox 360. Its impact is undeniable, creating an entire wave of similar titles, paving the way for things like Uncharted and Mass Effect.
But the question is whether that legacy is sufficient to carry it into 2025. This is the first time that Gears of War games have appeared on the PlayStation Console, marking the potential end of a decades-long console war between the two companies and the ultimate victory for gamers who can experience the franchise on other consoles.
Campaign: Classical Showing Your Age
The reloaded six-hour campaign follows Marcus Phoenix and his troops of COG soldiers, followed by a desperate push to stop the locust invasion. Playing solo or cooperatively, it’s an explosion of nostalgia, but doesn’t disguise the bones of 2006.
The levels are strictly linear, with only occasional split passes, and the firefight is more determined by the game’s strict script than the emergency action. AI quirks, teammates casually wander through chaos and enemies that recharge from the cover at strange times, all the designs become even more prominent.
However, the shooting is still ongoing. The innovative cover system of the time remains punchy and tactile, and the Lancer chainsaw bayonet and Gnusher shotgun still provide harsh satisfaction.
Encounter Design is strictly scripted, and pacing can feel like a product of another era. But when an action clicks, the reloaded reminds me why the formula is so groundbreaking. The filming is meaty, intentional, and pleased with the way many modern archers still struggle with replicating.
Treating the campaign as a museum is not a modern blockbuster, but a clear window into the way Xbox built one of its flagship franchises. if. You are looking for a long single player campaign, this may not be the game for you.
Multiplayer: Still Outstanding
Where the reloaded glow is in multiplayer. Long considered one of the most unique and competitive shooters, Gears’ online suite feels just as fresh as ever.
Cover-based movements, shotgun duels, and cruel bloody executions become a relentless, deeply rewarding, unique, highly skilled meta. Of course, there is an online player option that acts as a cross-play on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam (and cross-save too!).
What worked best for me was Couch Co-op, where the distant memories of Friday night were pizza and couch co-op games (mine was Crash Bash and Crash Team Race), Co-ops on Couch were the ones that really worked for me here, and I can understand why this game is considered the pinnacle of the genre.
All 19 maps return with visual upgrades, matchmaking runs on a dedicated server, and PS5 players can push frame rates up to 120 FPS. There’s no battle pass, cosmetic crushing, or microtransaction mess. It’s old-fashioned in the best possible way: jump into the game, play, and make sure your actions speak for themselves.
Modes include standard team deathmatches and purpose-based variants, along with gear-specific products such as Gnasher-only matches. The skill ceiling is high, and new players could compete with veterans who have been hitting role cancellations and walls for years. However, with persistence, there is one of the most rewarding and competitive experiences in the game.
While newcomers may face tough climbs against veteran veterans, permanence reveals one of the most intense multiplayer experiences still available in the game.
Presentation: Next-Generation Extensions, Final Generation Assets
The Union has worked hard to be reloaded to modern standards. On the PS5, it runs at 4K and 60fps in HDR, with improved lighting, sharper textures, and seamless transitions between missions. To play on the PS5 Pro, there are even more enhancements including PSSR scaling and high-resolution shadows. All of this adds enhancements to the remaster, but there’s no denying that it still looks like an early PS4 era game
The upgrades are noticeable, but only up to the points. The environment and assets are still firmly rooted in the design language of the mid-2000s. The corridors of tile rubs and war-torn streets have more details than ever before, but they cannot hide their age.
The character benefits from improved lighting and skin textures, but remains blocky by modern standards. The final result is a game that plays smoothly and looks more sharp, but rarely surprising. If anything, it’s not a completely modern showcase, it’s very similar to an early PS4 game that was refined for its 2025 release.
Assets and environments lack the fidelity you expect from a showcase release, especially when stacked against true next-generation shooters. It’s smoother, sharper, better lighting, but it’s not a visual impact.
If you’re a fan of the original game, you’ll notice and appreciate the enhancements here. It’s a shame it wasn’t done entirely from scratch to really make it the next generation.
Dual Sense Support adds at least some tactile talent. The adaptive triggers give weight to the devastating blasts of Lancer’s chainsaw and Gnusher, and the devotees make the shootout a little more inseparable. That’s a modest but welcome addition.
extra
The extra menu has plenty of merchandise, especially if you’re new to the Gears franchise.
There are film clips and concept art to unlock, but the most interesting one is five different issues in Gears of War comics, which can be unlocked by collecting cog tags throughout the gameplay (there are 33 to find!). You can also watch the original credits along with the reloaded credits.
A heritage worth preserving
Gears of War: Reloaded is not a perfect remaster, nor is it intended. This is a celebration of what the series was like and reminds us of how far Shooter has come since 2006.
The campaign is undoubtedly dated, but still worth experiencing as part of the history of the game, the point of origin of one of Xbox’s most important franchises. Multiplayer, on the other hand, is still very fresh and offers something clear in a market filled with online shooters.
For PlayStation players, this release is particularly noteworthy. The reloaded mark will mark the series when it first appeared on Sony hardware, offering an opportunity for an entirely new audience to discover the origins of Marcus Phoenix and Locusthold. Gears of War: E-Day, expected for next year’s PS5, will serve as both a primer and a promise for the future.
Final Thoughts
Gears of War: A reloaded paradox, dated and permanent. The campaign shows all the points of its origins in 2006, and even heavy remastering is not a surprise visually. However, the shooting remains harsh, the cover mechanics are still satisfying, and the multiplayer is as clear and convincing as ever.
For PlayStation players new to the series, this is an important thing to introduce, if incomplete, ahead of Gears of War: E-Day. For longtime fans, it’s a nostalgic return that reminds us why the franchise became the basis for Xbox in the first place.
4 stars (out of 5)
Highlights: Cross-console fun, old school Milimuyer fun.
Lowlight: Not completely reconstructed from the short adult campaign.
Developer: Alliance
Publisher: Xbox Game Studio
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC via Steam.
Available: August 29th.
Reviews conducted on the PS5 Pro are done using pre-release code provided by the publisher.
It features headers and article images provided by the publisher.
