When Gears 4 originally came out on the Xbox 360, it was a revelation for the third person shooter genre. The duck and cover mechanic the trilogy created have been used over the past 17 years to great success, being implemented into numerous shooters since its inception. As the original trilogy progressed, there was more attention to detail: the story became more interesting, the grey color scheme was replaced with more vibrant environments, and the COG characters became more complex in terms of back story and motive as they took on the Locust horde. Fast forward to 2016, a new developer, The Coalition, developed a new entry into the series in what the plans were to be a new saga on the planet Sera with new characters and a new threat. However, an overreliance on nostalgia and a familiar plot cannot disguise Gear of War 4 from feeling more like a marketing scheme instead of a fresh new entry into the saga.
Story
The game starts off rather strong taking place 25 years since the events of the third installment. Providing a prologue that shows the events of the original war from the COG's perspective and their eventual defeat of the Locust horde and the Lambent. From there, we are introduced to our new trio: James, Kait and Del - former COG soldiers who now live as outsiders. The first Act is rather anti-Gears...but in a good way, focusing on the political climate on the COG's actions and why they decided to sever ties with the government organization. It's also pretty limited in blood and gore, which gamers familiar with the original trilogy will really start scratching their heads. However, it does not take too long before the story begins to reveal itself and the blood and gore begin to dump onto the screen. One night, a bunch of mysterious creatures ambush your settlement and begin to abduct outsiders from the area, one of which is Kait's mother. From there, you and your team are taken on a journey to find out what the mysterious creatures are and where they took Kait's mother.
Without spoiling this almost seven-year-old game, the story continuously reminded me of the structure of the seventh installment in the Star Wars franchise, which came out in late 2015. One of my many challenges with that film is that the story is almost a complete copy of the fourth film in the series. The film was almost a nostalgia overload...before that event a thing in the film industry (I'm basically saying it was the culprit). While the story of Gears 4 was developed way before the Star Wars film, it unfortunately provided the same experience. The new threat, the Swarm, is a very familiar threat to the planet Sera and there's quite a few nods to the original trilogy. In fact, it feels like the game needs you to feel nostalgic because the story is pretty one note throughout its eight-hour length where even the game's cliffhanger feels like the developers did not know how to end it properly. It's such a strange ending where when the credits started to roll, I immediately rolled my eyes.
The original trilogy is not known for its story but at least it had some character and gut-wrenching moments as the story progressed. Gears 4 feels very much like a soft reboot, which is both a good and a bad thing.
Gameplay
Whether you played the original trilogy or not, the gameplay will feel very familiar. Gameplay is very much based on the duck and cover mechanic. As you progress through the campaign, you and your team will come across multiple areas where you need to kill swarms (no pun intended) of enemies. These sequences follow the same baseline: seek cover, poke your head out, shoot, take cover, reload, and repeat. Overall, the mechanic still rocks in this series. If you do not take cover, eventually you will be downed and one of your allies (either AI or a friend you play with in Co-Op) will need to come and revive you. Old-school weapons have made their return, including the iconic Lancer, an assault rifle that includes a chainsaw attachment to slice through locks....and enemies with ease. There are some new weapons but I mainly stook with what I know best: the Lancer and either my shotgun or the trusty longshot sniper.
There are also instances where the game will take a pause and you will need to establish defenses in preparation for hordes of enemies to attack your location. It is a mini-version of Gears 2's horde mode, where you had to fight off against swarms of enemies until you all fell in combat. It is designed to take a break from the typical shooting sequences (uncover a new place, shoot enemies, move on), which is a good idea in concept. However, I never felt these sequences were tied to an element in the story. I understand they are there to break up the repetitive shooting sequences but I never really enjoyed these sequences.
Graphics and Audio
It goes without saying Gears 4 on PC is a beautiful game. Playing on my 3080, the game looks stunning at 4K ranging between 120 and 150 FPS on my screen. At times, the came can lag but that's mainly during cutscenes and the game is stuck at frames around 30 FPS. Other than that, it was a smooth experience.
The game also sounds amazing. From the sound of your weapon to the strikes of heightened weather effects (especially the Windflares) sound incredible. Voice acting is also top notch, which complements the dialogue that is more substance than just "wooooos."
Verdict
Overall, Gears 4 is a mixed bag for me. While I found the gameplay to be fun and the new characters to be likeable, I felt the rest of the game was smothered in nostalgia. Nostalgia can work when it is done right, such as providing a nod to a character at the beginning of the game then moving forward. But the nostalgia creeps into the characters and the overall story. It truly feels like Gears 4 was designed to hook you with the nostalgia so it can then expand the story later on. That is not the way to do it. I would have rather taken a brand new story with an actual new threat over the constant head nods to the original trilogy. However, that is not what we get here. Fans of the original trilogy looking for more of the same will be right at home. However, I felt that nostalgia was given priority, which resulted in a mediocre story and a familiar new threat.
Score: 6 out of 10