Gears of War: Reloaded Review – A Legendary Shooter Returns

Originally released in 2006, Gears of War was a turning point for 3D action games. Alongside Resident Evil 4, it helped define the third-person shooter genre for the next decade, for better or worse. Now, Gears of War: Reloaded essentially remasters the previous remaster, proving once again why publishers should never use the term “Ultimate Edition.”

This latest version brings additional visual upgrades, makes its PlayStation debut, and finally arrives on Steam. At its core, however, it's still the 2015 Ultimate Edition enhanced for modern consoles and PC hardware.

Gameplay Gears of War: Reloaded – The Classic Cover Shooter Formula Still Works

Thankfully, the gameplay remains largely unchanged. This is still the same cover-based third-person shooter where Marcus Fenix and his squad fight to stop the Locust Horde from destroying humanity. Movement has always felt somewhat heavy, especially in the original game. Characters are bulky, animations are weighty, and the camera shakes dramatically whenever you slide into cover or take heavy damage. This was likely intentional, emphasizing the enormous armor worn by the COG soldiers, which wouldn't look out of place in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Oddly enough, it still works. Aiming feels responsive, snapping into cover remains intuitive, and combat retains its incredibly visceral impact. Landing a perfect sniper headshot or turning an enemy into a cloud of red mist with the Gnasher shotgun remains just as satisfying as ever, thanks to the excellent combination of sound design and visual effects.

So, what exactly separates Reloaded from Ultimate Edition?

Visual Upgrades and Modern Features

The biggest improvements come in resolution and performance. Console versions have been upgraded from 1080p to 4K, while the campaign now runs at 60 FPS instead of 30. Multiplayer can even reach up to 120 FPS on supported hardware. Native HDR support has also been added, although the improvement is fairly subtle due to the game's famously muted color palette and dark environments. Lighting and shadows have received some upgrades, but the changes are so minor that I often had to compare old and new versions side by side to notice them. Players jumping directly from the 2006 original, however, will immediately notice the difference. Perhaps nostalgia simply made me remember the original looking better than it actually did.

Seamless Campaign with One Frustrating Issue

One of the campaign's best improvements is the near elimination of loading screens. After the initial load, the game flows seamlessly unless the player dies.

Unfortunately, that's where a problem appears. Death can result in loading times exceeding thirty seconds, which becomes particularly frustrating on Hardcore and Insane difficulties where dying is common. The Gears franchise has always approached difficulty in a fairly simplistic way. Higher difficulties simply make enemies tougher while reducing the player's survivability. It works, but it's hardly the most creative approach to increasing challenge. I don't remember this bothering me back in 2006, probably because most of my high-difficulty runs were played cooperatively. This time around, I spent plenty of time staring at loading screens.

Ally AI Remains the Biggest Problem

The largest issue I encountered was the ally AI. Honestly, I don't remember it being this bad. Your teammates frequently make terrible decisions that force unnecessary restarts. One particularly frustrating example occurs during the final act aboard the train. Several sections lack protective railings, allowing characters to fall to their deaths. More than once, Dom apparently decided he'd had enough of the war and sprinted directly off the side of the train, forcing me to restart the encounter.

I enjoy challenging games, but this feels more like broken AI than intentional difficulty. Since this review was written before launch, there's still a chance that future patches could improve these issues, significantly enhancing Hardcore and Insane playthroughs.

Multiplayer – Familiar but Better Connected

Multiplayer remains largely identical to Ultimate Edition.All nineteen maps return with updated visuals, including 4K textures and enhanced effects.Since the game was still in its pre-release phase during testing, I couldn't reliably find live multiplayer matches outside the beta. Behind the scenes, however, several improvements have been made. Dedicated servers now operate at a 60Hz tick rate, additional data centers have been added for smoother online play, and the PC version includes anti-cheat protection. Cross-platform multiplayer is fully supported, allowing Xbox, PC, and PlayStation players to compete together while sharing progression.

Hopefully, this helps maintain a healthy player base for much longer than Ultimate Edition managed. Linking an Xbox Live account remains optional but provides access to Xbox achievements and friends lists.

Performance on Modern Hardware

Gears of War: Reloaded is fundamentally the 2015 release running on modern hardware. On PC, performance is excellent. Cutscenes remain locked at 30 FPS, which can feel slightly jarring after the smooth gameplay, but it's hardly a major issue.

Final Verdict

Overall, Gears of War: Reloaded is an excellent package. It successfully modernizes Ultimate Edition while finally bringing the original Gears experience to Steam and PlayStation players. Outside of the frustrating ally AI, there isn't much to criticize. The game is still aggressively gray and brown, just as it was back in 2006, although there are now a few more colorful accents throughout the world. The gameplay loop remains straightforward, but what it does, it does exceptionally well.

Whether you're a longtime fan or someone experiencing Marcus Fenix's story for the very first time, Gears of War: Reloaded is absolutely worth playing. Now that the franchise has reached an entirely new audience, here's hoping Microsoft and The Coalition eventually bring the rest of the series to PC and PlayStation as well.