Gears of War: Reloaded feels so wrong on a PS5 - but it gets one key thing so right

Gears of War on PS5? Bear with us, that's going to take some getting used to...

19 years since the iconic title was first released, Gears of War: Reloaded is a fresh take on one of the greatest and most influential games of all time that started off one of gaming's most renowned series - and it's now multiplatform.

Gears of War is synonymous with Xbox and the first entry with the Xbox 360. The original starts off the story soon after the Locust, a race of mutated reptilian humanoids that originated from genetic experiments, wage war on humanity. The game mostly focuses on Marcus Fenix and his comrades as they battle the threat.

Even loading the game up on a PS5 feels so wrong to begin with, let alone playing through the campaign and against others online. Yet, as far as remasters go, Gears of War: Reloaded gets it so right - especially in one particular area.

Gears of War looks better and more spectacular than ever in Reloaded / Team Coalition, Xbox

Xbox has made no secret this is a remaster and a remake, so much so that owners of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the 2015 remaster, receive this next gen update at no extra cost.

Gears of War: Reloaded has all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a remaster for the current crop of consoles - it runs at 4k, up to 120fps on compatible displays or 60fps otherwise, has HDR, Spatial Audio, variable refresh rate, improved lighting, the list goes on. And it all runs as promised which is great.

But the one key thing it gets absolutely spot on for a remaster is its multiplayer.

To its credit, Ultimate Edition had the multiplayer component and this has carried on into Reloaded but it's frequently something that gets ditched altogether with remasters - think the Uncharted games and even Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) that had its campaign remastered.

However Gears of War: Reloaded reminds us all how remasters should be done.

All 19 multiplayer maps have been remastered with 4k textures and visual improvements, with all the modes, classic characters and cosmetics included.

There's even cross-play which was not present in Ultimate Edition, meaning developer The Coalition isn't just re-releasing and bumping up the quality of how it looks on a new platform - but is enriching the experience for all so everyone can play together across all formats.

Multiplayer is a mode often forgotten about with remasters but Gears of War: Reloaded not only includes it, it enhances it as well.

Team Coalition has done a brilliant job with the remaster of the original Gears of War for the current generation of consoles / Team Coalition, Xbox

Gears of War: Reloaded is a sign of the times where more and more first-party titles are becoming multiplatform, especially games and franchises from Xbox.

But this is more than just a release on a new platform - it shows everyone how remasters should be done by including all of the content from the original that made it so good and making it even better across different platforms.

This should be the norm with remasters but sadly isn't - and The Coalition should absolutely be commended for this.

A Gears of War: Reloaded review code for PS5 was provided by the publisher.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Gears of War movie may finally have its director - and he's a big name
• New Gears of War: E-Day release date rumour isn't great news for gamers

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