10 Amazing Game Spin-Offs You Totally Forgot Existed
9. Gears Tactics
One of the defining franchises of the Xbox 360 era, Gears of War stood as the pinnacle of blockbuster gaming at the time, featuring cinematic storytelling, revolutionary cover-based shooting, and a testosterone-fuelled atmosphere that helped define a generation. However, as the years went on, its copy-and-paste formula started to wear thin, even among the most loyal Xbox fans. The series needed a fresh take, and ironically, when it finally got one, few people realized it existed.
Set shortly after Emergence Day, Gears Tactics follows Gabe Diaz, father of Gears 5 protagonist Kait Diaz. The game takes the familiar, grit-soaked action of Gears and reimagines it through an XCOM-style tactical combat lens - and truth be told, the combination works far better than anyone expected. On paper, the slow-burn, strategic pacing of a turn-based tactics game shouldn’t mesh with the loud, bombastic action of Marcus Fenix’s world, yet it does - largely thanks to the same tight cover mechanics that defined the originals.
It never feels like a cheap side project either. The production values, cinematic cutscenes, and story are right in line with a mainline Gears campaign, complete with intense boss fights and gripping set pieces. What began as a risky experiment ended up being one of the smartest evolutions of the series - which makes it all the more surprising, and disappointing, that it never got a sequel. Even Halo Wars managed that much.