Gears 5

Q: Do you need to play the earlier Gears games before Gears 5?

No, but it helps. The campaign gives enough context to follow the main conflict and Kait’s role, though returning characters and older plot threads will land better if you know Gears of War 4 and the original trilogy. If story continuity matters to you, watching a short recap is enough.

Q: What kind of co-op does Gears 5 have?

The campaign supports up to three players in co-op. Two players take the main combat roles, while a third can control Jack, the support robot who focuses on utility rather than frontline shooting. It works well if your group wants a shared story run without needing everyone to play the same way.

Q: Is the campaign more story-focused than older Gears games?

Yes. Kait is the clear center of the story, and the game spends more time on her history and decisions than earlier entries usually did with their leads. That gives the campaign a stronger personal thread, even though it still delivers the series’ usual large-scale action.

Q: How difficult is Gears 5 if you mostly want the story?

It is approachable on lower settings, especially if you mainly want to move through the campaign without getting stuck on repeated fights. The game still expects you to use cover, active reloads, and squad tools, but the easier modes are forgiving enough for a smoother run. If you want tension without too much friction, the normal setting is a solid middle ground.

Q: What multiplayer modes are included besides the campaign in Gears 5?

It includes competitive Versus, the wave-based Horde mode, and Escape, which is a faster co-op mode built around breaking out of enemy hives. That gives you three very different ways to keep playing after the story, depending on whether you want PvP, team defense, or shorter co-op runs. If you are not interested in ranked play, Horde and Escape are the easier modes to settle into.

Overall Rating: 3.91 • 844 reviews

The Investment Gamer The Narrative Seeker

Gears 5 keeps the series’ heavy cover shooting and grisly close-range fights, but opens up the pacing with skiff travel, optional side objectives, and cleaner progression between set pieces. Kait’s story gives the campaign a more personal center, so it feels less like a nonstop corridor push and more like a focused action game with room to breathe.

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Details

Some of the particulars and information about Gears 5.

Developer: The Coalition

Release Date: September 10, 2019

How Long to Beat: 16 hrs

Great for:

The Investment Gamer The Narrative Seeker

Ratings

Some of the ratings and scores for Gears 5.

83 Metacritic

8 IGN

-- Our Score

Genres

Action

Third-Person Shooter

Systems

Here's where you can find Gears 5 and play.

ESRB: Mature

Blood and Gore

Intense Violence

Strong Language

In-Game Purchases

Users Interact

Overview

Why Play?

How Much Time?

Overview

Gears 5 moves between cover shooting, open-ended skiff travel, and squad-based set pieces, with upgrade hunting and optional side missions shaping its campaign pace

Weighty Combat Flow

Gears 5 still runs on the series’ signature stop-and-pop rhythm, where fights are built around hard cover, short bursts of movement, and brutal close-range finishes. Weapons feel heavy and direct, so each arena is less about spraying bullets and more about reading flanks, timing reloads, and deciding when to push for a fast kill.

Squad commands add a small tactical layer without slowing things down. You can direct Jack to stun enemies, fetch weapons, or support the team, which gives firefights more options than simply hunkering down and trading shots until the next checkpoint.

Skiff Travel Changes Pacing

Instead of chaining every battle through tight corridors, Gears 5 breaks up its campaign with larger ice and desert spaces crossed by skiff. These stretches are not full open world zones, but they do give you room to choose your next stop, tackle optional encounters, and decide whether to stay focused on the main path or spend extra time hunting upgrades.

That change makes sessions easier to shape around your mood. You can clear a story mission and stop, or use the downtime between major set pieces to pick off a side objective without feeling like you are interrupting the game’s momentum.

Kait’s Story And Progression

Kait’s role gives the campaign a stronger throughline than a simple march from battle to battle. Her personal connection to the central conflict keeps the plot moving with purpose, and the quieter story beats land better because the game actually makes space for them between fights.

Progression is tied closely to exploration through Jack upgrades, which improve support abilities in practical ways rather than flooding you with gear management. Finding components feeds back into combat immediately, so optional detours usually feel worthwhile instead of like busywork.

Trailer

A Quick Look at Gears 5

Curious what Gears 5 is all about? The trailer gives you a great first look at the world, the vibe, and the kind of story you're stepping into.

Videos

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Screenshots

Screenshots of Gears 5

Want to see what Gears 5 actually looks like in-game? These screenshots will hopefully give you a feel for what the world of Gears 5 is like.

Extras

Downloadable Content for Gears 5

DLC just means more of a good thing. Here are some for Gears 5

Gears 5: Hivebusters

What’s Included

Gears 5: Hivebusters is a standalone story expansion built around Scorpio Squad, the team from Escape mode. It adds a short narrative campaign set on the tropical Galangi Islands, with Lahni, Keegan, and Mac as the main playable characters. The expansion uses their unique abilities in combat, so it feels a bit different from the main campaign while still playing like core Gears.

You can play it solo or in three-player co-op. It is focused on story missions rather than new multiplayer systems, so the value is mainly in a compact campaign with strong production quality.

Is It Worth It

Yes, if you want a concise extra campaign and liked the combat in Gears 5. Hivebusters is not essential to understanding the base game, but it is substantial enough to feel like a real side story rather than a minor add-on.

If you only care about versus or Horde, this is easy to skip. If you want a polished co-op campaign you can finish over a few sessions, it is one of the better Gears expansions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have Questions About Gears 5?

Do you need to play the earlier Gears games before Gears 5?

What kind of co-op does Gears 5 have?

Is the campaign more story-focused than older Gears games?

How difficult is Gears 5 if you mostly want the story?

What multiplayer modes are included besides the campaign in Gears 5?

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