Overall: 7.5/10
Story:
While growing up as a PlayStation kid, the Gears of War series was never really on my radar. I never had the chance to play it and, as a result, never paid much attention to its lore or universe. However, as someone who got into turn-based tactics games like XCOM once switching to pc, and heard that Gears Tactics was a prequel to the first game and had XCOM-like gameplay, that was enough to convince me to give it a shot.
First things first: the story left me with a lot of mixed feelings. The narrative is told through incredible cinematic cutscenes, and I won’t deny that the production quality is top-tier. The voice acting is excellent, and the presentation makes the world feel immersive. But the overall story? Bland, cheesy, and riddled with clichés. At times it feels like they took heavy inspiration from the MCU’s style of humor, which definitely had me rolling my eyes at times at that kind of banter in an M rated game.
I did generally like the main trio of Gabe, Sid, and Mikayla, but the longer I played, the more I realized just how one-dimensional they felt. There’s no real growth or character arcs. It became clear very early that the story was more about adding extra lore for longtime fans rather than being a compelling narrative on its own. Mikayla, for example, starts off as a strong lead but quickly gets sidelined and spends most of her screen time making it clear how much she hates the COG, but beyond that, she loses relevance as you progress. In addition, the villain, Ukkon, doesn't get much screen time nor does he have the intimidation factor you'd expect from an ominous enemy you don't see often, leading to him being really forgettable overall.
Then there’s Reyna. The way she’s introduced near the very end of the game and suddenly positioned as a major character felt jarring and unnatural. The game drops plenty of hints that she’s important, but as a newcomer, I had no idea why. It’s one of those moments where the devs likely thought, "Gears fans will get it!" but as someone with zero prior knowledge of the series, I was left confused and had to look up who she actually was after finishing the game.
Lastly, the pacing is all over the place. The first half of the game is actually decent, but by Act 3, everything slows to a crawl. You’re forced to complete multiple side missions before you can continue the main story several times. While the plot isn’t groundbreaking, there were moments where I was genuinely curious to see what happened next, only to have that momentum completely killed by the forced side content. It made the final stretch of the game feel like a slog rather than an exciting buildup to the finale. Regardless, the plot itself is pretty unremarkable; there's no real sense of an immersive threat, and in the grand scheme, not much actually happens.
Gameplay:
All I knew going in was that this was basically XCOM but with a fun Gears of War flair. I started my playthrough in the standard mode but quickly switched over to Jacked Mode, which, in hindsight, might have been both a blessing and a curse.
Jacked Mode keeps the core campaign but adds new enemies and Jack, the support bot from the main series. He’s customizable (with four skill trees and different paint jobs) and, most importantly, doesn’t take up a regular squad slot, making tough missions easier. He can interact with almost every objective, provide buffs and defenses, etc. making him the ultimate support unit. Because of this, I almost recommend playing on standard mode, depending on your difficulty preference. There were missions where Jack was a lifesaver, pulling off clutch action that massively impacted fights, but there were just as many missions where his presence made things too easy. Some of the tension that defines the genre gets lost when you have a support unit who can do so much without sacrificing squad space.
That said, I genuinely enjoyed the combat. The action feels satisfying, with a more aggressive, momentum-driven approach compared to some other TBT games. The execution system, where downing then killing an enemy gives your squad extra actions, encourages a more fast-paced/offensive playstyle, which I liked. However, the biggest drawback for me was the lack of mission variety. Objectives tend to repeat often, and this becomes especially noticeable during longer play sessions. Furthermore, the game forcing you to grind through multiple identical 'side' missions to progress the story several times makes the lack of mission variety even more blatantly apparent. While I personally had a great time after taking a long break from XCOM, I imagine if TBT games were my main genre, the fatigue would have set in even faster.
Additionally, I think only being able to get new equipment from loot boxes instead of a more straightforward loadout/shop system feels unnecessary in a single-player game. That being said, I did enjoy the weapon and armor customization. The different pieces not only changed your squad’s appearance but also provided meaningful perks and stat boosts, which added an extra layer of strategy to squad building.
World:
Right off the bat the World/Level Design is immersive and generally well done. The environments feel appropriately war-torn, and the level of detail does a great job of pulling you into the setting. Even though I never played the main series, I’ve always seen that the franchise is notorious for being very colorless, and GT is no exception, with muted tones and desolate landscapes that fit the grim tone of the game well.
That said, just like the mission structure, the level design relies heavily on reused maps. You’ll definitely start to notice the repetition as you progress, with the same layouts showing up across different missions. However, this didn’t really bother me. The maps served their purpose well, providing a solid tactical playground without ever feeling frustrating or poorly designed.
At the same time though, there was never a moment where a map layout really stood out to me, neither in a good way nor a bad way. They were just… passable. Functional. They did what they needed to do without ever blowing me away, and in a game like this, that’s perfectly fine. The focus is on the combat, strategic movement, and the moment-to-moment decisions, and the maps never got in the way of that.
Visuals:
I wasn’t expecting much in the visuals department of this game since it’s a turn-based tactics game, but I have to admit, I was genuinely surprised by how good this game looks.
The in-game graphics are great, with detailed environments, well-animated units, and some nice cinematic kill shots that add a bit of flair to the combat. But the real standout? The cutscenes.
I did not expect GT to have such high-quality, fully rendered cutscenes, and honestly, they were probably the biggest positive surprise in the whole game for me. They look fantastic, with impressive character models, lighting, and cinematography. The action is well-directed, and the story moments are elevated by how polished these scenes are.
In fact, I kind of wish there were more of them, or at least that they were longer. They did a great job of making the story feel more engaging, and I found myself actually looking forward to each one. If the game had leaned even more into this cinematic presentation, it would have been even better.
Music/Sound Design:
The music and sound design perfectly complement GT's fast-paced, tactical gameplay. The OST is intense, cinematic, and heightens the tension of every move, but the game could have benefitted from more more variety here too. Regardless, the sound design is amazing; weapon sounds are punchy and satisfying, with each shot and explosion carrying a visceral impact. Enemy snarls and squad chatter add to the immersion, making the world feel alive even in its turn-based format. Even without experience with the main series, the audio alone sells the brutality and urgency of the battlefield.
