Gears 5 Review: The Best One Yet?

Online remains a sizeable part of the package with Gears 5 with the return of Versus, Horde and the addition of a brand new mode called Escape. Escape sees a team of free start deep within a Swarm hive trying to get out after intentionally being captured. At times this mode can feel half baked with the map layout becoming confusing, but is fun enough to drop in and out of.

Horde over the years has seen many changes, but it is my pleasure to say that, this is the best it has ever been. Previously it has been made too complicated and fiddly to set up defences and work as a team to fight off the horde, but now this mode has been streamlined enough. Each character has set weapons and abilities in horde. So if you feel like just shooting then pick Kait, as she has a neat invisibility power-up, but if you want to build and maintain a position, Del is the character for you. These slight changes have made horde exciting again and a thrill to play.

As for Verses, well you know by now whether this is your jam or not. It hasn’t changed drastically from games past and is still relentless, especially for newcomers, but at least with this being on Game Pass, it means there will be a load of new fresh players entering the fray. And for now, this seems to ensure that not every match is filled with shotgun-wielding bounce masters. They type of player you see come, but have no power to stop. For now, these players seem to be sticking to ranked execution.

However, Arcade mode seems to be the way to play Gears online now. With the ease of jumping in quickly to play, this mode lets players purchase weapons after earning enough skills, rather than the old style of finding them on the map.