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Gears of War: Reloaded is the remaster of a remaster of a game from 2006, and it shows.

A true classic of the Xbox 360 era, it defined how cover shooters played for a generation, influencing the likes of Uncharted, Mass Effect, and spawning a long list of copycats. Without it, many third-person games wouldn’t be what they are today.

However, almost 20 years later, the trendsetter is showing its age, and there’s only so much PS5 hardware can do to get it looking and running like a modern title again. While it remains an undeniable classic, it’s essential you understand what you’re getting yourself into when playing Gears of War: Reloaded.

It may not look like a shooter from 2006 anymore, but it still plays a lot like one.

The campaign shows its age the most: a roughly six-hour, completely linear quest to stop the Locust from completely wiping out the human race. As the iconic Marcus Fenix, you and a ragtag group of COG soldiers are on the offensive. Though the events of the original entry aren’t all that gripping, they laid the foundations for what has become a series spanning a further six games on Xbox consoles.

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Shooting does most of the talking in the first instalment, which follows a single route through its five acts and never, ever deviates. This is the kind of linearity Mafia: The Old Country marketed itself around just a few weeks ago. Save for the rare occasion where you can pick between two different paths, the game will dictate your course through the level.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s an example of how Gears of War: Reloaded shows its age despite the new coat of paint. Very dated AI — on both your side and the enemy’s — is also an issue, as teammates casually stroll around during firefights while the Locust horde leaves cover positions at the most baffling times.

In the moment, though, Gears of War: Reloaded still offers an enjoyable single player campaign (also playable in co-op with a friend) for the year 2025. It’s incredibly straightforward and won’t leave much of a lasting impression, but you can get a sense for why it’s become one of Xbox’s biggest franchises in the games that followed. Treat it as a fun introduction to the universe before Gears of War: E-Day presumably makes its way to PS5 next year.

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The shooting is solid, punchy, and satisfying, while the cover mechanic is fun to manipulate and experiment with in its original form. With the understanding this is still a campaign from 2006, you’ll find enough to like.

Whether the visuals of this PS5 remaster are included in that praise, however, is up for debate. Series developer The Coalition has put its all into supporting as many features and graphical enhancements as possible, as it ports the Epic Games work, now of Fortnite fame.

You get a 4K resolution at a rock-solid 60 frames-per-second on the base PS5, along with HDR, better lighting, textures, reflections, shadows, and the removal of load screens between missions. On a PS5 Pro, there’s PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) support as well as a 25% increase in render resolutions, even better shadows, and high-quality screen space reflections.

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All the work that’s gone into bringing Gears of War: Reloaded into the modern era is appreciated, but there’s no getting away from the fact the remaster still looks like an early to mid-generation PS4 game. While it plays smoothly, the environments and assets aren’t up to par. Even on a second remaster accounting for PS5 Pro hardware, it’s far from the graphical showpiece Gears of War once was.

PS5 at least benefits from support for all the features of the DualSense controller, including the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. While their implementation is nothing groundbreaking, you’ll feel the resistance of the chainsaw-equipped Lancer and the power the single-shot blast of the Gnasher shotgun delivers.

The enhancements of the Reloaded edition carry over into multiplayer, where the frame rate can now reach 120fps. All of the 19 maps have been remastered, and the online backend has been brought into the modern generation, along with dedicated servers. These upgrades allow PS5 players to access what has been one of the most unique multiplayer offerings for generations.

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Absolutely nothing else plays quite like Gears of War multiplayer. Where the shotgun is top of the pecking order, teams of four exploit the sticky cover system and destroy enemies with full-frontal gore. It’s got a high skill ceiling and will likely prove unforgiving for newcomers facing seasoned Xbox and PC players, but stick with it and you’ll discover one of the most enjoyable and intense online modes in gaming.

There’s the usual team deathmatch and objective-based modes mixed in with others that lean into the Gears of War heritage, such as a mode based entirely around the aforementioned Gnasher shotgun. It’s a multiplayer offering that offers enough for both new players and returning veterans to sink their teeth into, having understood where the meta is at and what its fanbase wants.

As a game nearly 20 years old, you’re not getting a Battle Pass to work through and a flurry of unlocks to aspire for, so the dated design of the multiplayer may actually please — it’s lacking the fluff and premium skins of modern online games. You matchmake into a game and simply get on with things.

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It leaves the overall package in a place where its features and mechanics of old are both a blessing and a drawback. The campaign has its moments, but it won’t impress — particularly as a first-time PS5 player lacking any nostalgia. The multiplayer, meanwhile, lacks the window dressing of current live service titles, which lets its intense action do the talking. Gears of War is old — and it still looks quite old — but in some ways, that’s one of the best things about it.

Conclusion

One of the most iconic Xbox franchises ever lands on PS5 with somewhat of a graphical thud. On its second remaster, Gears of War: Reloaded won’t impress visually. However, with a campaign that still has something to offer despite its dated design, and an excellent multiplayer mode on top, this is a welcome introduction to the Gears of War series. 20 years later, the game that started it all is still more than worth playing.