On Sera, the Earth-like setting for the Gears of War franchise, everything wants to kill you. The most pressing threat comes from the COG, remnants of the militaristic government player-protagonist Marcus Fenix served in the first three games. Without an existential threat distracting them in Gears of War 4, they’ve gone from kinda fascist to totally fascist, and from the start they're on your tail. And that's just the problem on the ground. Overhead, unrelenting lightning storms buffet the planet so violently it tears villages apart. More frightening horrors await underground.
Gears of War 4 has the unenviable job of following a trilogy of war epics. They featured grim, sprawling battles against the Locust, a seemingly infinite horde of monsters from the bowels of Sera, a sort of martial rebellion from an over-industrialized planet on the brink of destruction. As Fenix, a growling musclebound soldier, you managed to stop them. Just barely. Twenty-five years later Sera remains a disaster area populated by a precious few humans, half-abandoned and left to rust.
In a situation like this, you can’t immediately jump into telling another sprawling war story. That would feel dishonest, and, frankly, repetitive. Nor can the franchise's new developers, The Coalition, offer an entirely different kind of story. There are fan expectations to reckon with, and Sera is so well defined---its crumbling cities, its brown and gray palette mixed with the ludicrous, hyper-realistic gore that practically birthed the last console generation—that it doesn't lend itself to narrative innovation.
Instead, Gears of War 4 must traverse the narrow line between complacency and innovation. It succeeds to a surprising degree. Gears of War 4 feels like a series refreshed, with a new, lighter tone orbiting the fundamental realities that always aligned the Gears cosmos. These realities are twofold: first, family and human connections are vital and sustaining, even in a world where everyone wears armor the size of a car; second, everything really is trying to kill you, which is why the guns have chainsaws on them.
Microsoft
Though 'Gears of War 4' may evoke a familiar sense, its renewed gameplay mechanics and narrative twists ensure an engaging experience that keeps things fresh.
Despite the familiar feel of 'Gears 5', it manages to innovate and refreshing for die-hard fans with thrilling new challenges, combat enhancements that make each level more intense while retaining its iconic atmosphere.
Despite its familiarity that quenches the throats of veteran players, 'Gears 4' offers a striking freshness in both gameplay and storytelling mechanics to intrigue newcomers as well.
