The COGs are back in Microsoft’s latest installment of the Gears of War franchise Gears 5. Taking place almost immediately after the events of Gears of War 4 the new entry continues the story of Kait D as she tries to unlock the mysteries of her questionable family tree. Like the previous title, players switch between character perspectives as the story moves forward. New to the series is an A. I. companion known as Jack whom can be upgraded with component parts found throughout the world map.

Gears 5 is a 2019 third person shooter, it is developed by The Coalition and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is available on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One as an Xbox Play Anywhere title. It’s available now on Windows 10 PC and Xbox One via Xbox Game Pass & Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as well as the Gears 5 Ultimate Edition respectively, and will launch worldwide on September 10, 2019.

Editor’s Note: An advanced review copy of Gears 5 was provided by Microsoft Studios in support of this review. Medium spoilers for Gears 5 may be present within this review. This is a review of the main campaign and the core gameplay elements of Gears 5, a separate multiplayer based review may be released at a later time.

Kait D discovers the family secrets her mother left behind in Gears 5.

The Gears of War franchise returns in a big way with its latest entry from the team at The Coalition. Taking plenty of time and effort to not only evolve the series, but also making sure not to remove what makes it so great, Gears 5 provides returning players a new learning curve of sorts as we’re introduced to our first A.I. companion and a skill tree with a slew of abilities to aide you against the Locust. These range from digitized armor, stuns, finding enemy locations, and plenty of other useful abilities. Kait Diaz is searching for answers into her history and as the clues unravel she learns that her family may be much more involved with the enemy than initially thought.

Secrets and lies are revealed in Gears 5.

THE GOOD: Although Gears 5 has players controlling multiple characters throughout the campaign, this is very much the story of COG Kait Diaz. In Gears 4 during the final act we learned that the Locust were specifically interested in Kait and her mother Reyna, though it’s not entirely revealed just how deep the connection goes. As the story progresses in Gears 5, Kait’s dark fate is realized and its at this point in the story where some interesting gameplay elements for future installments are potentially teased (at least I hope so). Like in Gears 4, JD, Del, and Marcus are also back and in some instances playable during the story. Unlike Gears 4, however The Coalition made a number of tweaks to the core gameplay mechanics of the Gears formula starting with the A.I. partner Jack. Jack is upgraded through component parts released throughout the world and parts acquired within the story. On the surface it feels like your typical ability shooter, but it goes much deeper when you upgrade Jack to the point where he can aide you in recovering a downed ally if you’re too busy facing off against a horde of Locust. Jack’s skill tree grants him four upgrades per perk with each upgrade costing a certain amount of components to unlock. Speaking of changes, Gears being known for its linear tight corridors for its game maps has also received an uplift here with a semi-open world based on a snowy plain.

Jack is likely to be your greatest weapon in Gears 5.

In this openish world you ride around on a skiff which allows you to stow weapons for emergency (and it’ll likely come in handy throughout the play through), with a compass like indicator to help you traverse the map. Eventually you’ll come across optional side quests which you can do for more collectibles, components for Jack, and some occasional story advancement here and there. Most of the familiar gameplay mechanics from Gears are present in Gears 5 and haven’t really changed much themselves and that’s perfect. The staple mechanics don’t need to change for Gears to feel modern, but the additions (notice I said additions) to the gameplay mechanics is what keeps the game feeling incredibly fresh and welcomed to stay as we head into the tenth generation of consoles.

The skiff used in Gears 5’s open world map.

THE BAD: Some occasional frame drops can be experienced on base Xbox One, but other that this is a fairly well put to together game.

Gears 5 is not only a return to base Gears, but a major upgrade that will ensure its longevity into the next generation of gaming.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: In what may very well be Xbox’s greatest game this generation, Gears 5 puts the franchise into the discussion of challenging Halo for the title of Microsoft’s true flagship series with a consistently changing game world and gameplay mechanics that make the series rather unforgettable regardless of how long the next entry takes to get into players hands. The Coalition’s uncanny ability to evolve and change the very foundation of Gears’ core mechanics will likely give Gears 5 a place as GOTY contender for 2019.