Gears Of War Needs A 'God Of War-Like Reboot', Says Original Lead Designer

@themightyant Personally, I want to see the Gears storyline end with 6 and have the Coalition move on to something completely new.

Other studios can do varying genres of game that place within the Gears storyline as side-stories/non-canon fun. Perhaps have a twin-stick shooter. Maybe a Telltale-style game. Or how about a Tower Defense style game for kicks?! Thrashball sports title, anyone?

In my top three of Xbox franchises gears of war.
It’s five years next year, so desperately hoping for something very soon.
I’m assuming the coalition are working on it and I think they have a big team.

I don't disagree - but I also don't think every aspect as become 'tired'. I enjoyed 5 more than 4 and Hivebusters too, but the more 'open' nature of 5 didn't help the pacing.

My biggest criticism of the 'post-epic' era is the writing, the stories. Gears 2 was a great story and to me, the best in the series. I don't feel the games after gave the same sense of scale either as Gears 2 in the world with some 'epic' moments and was much 'darker' in tone than anything the Coalition have done.

Its like making a great 'Horror' franchise more accessible to more people, toning down the horror to target a younger audience and losing some of the grit, scale and emotion of the Originals.

Certain aspects, particularly the reload 'mini-game' and Chainsaw Bayoneting, Roadie Running etc to me are what makes Gears Game-play.

I don't mind if they want to do a Spin-off - like Gears Tactics to offer a 'different' Game-play loop. I don't expect Gears to go First Person and be yet another FPS competing with Halo, CoD, Doom, Perfect Dark etc etc - but I really think they could do a great Horror Survival spin-off for example...

Disclaimer: and a tired one at that. But for anyone new reading. Diablo, Red Dead and Gears are my top 3 gaming franchises and something i play 1000 hours into. Already over 500 hours into Diablo 4. Ok Gears of War does need a reboot. But it needs a reboot that makes it what the first 3 games were and thats horror and excellent cover for firing. Sounds simple i know. But the open world rumors don’t in my opinion allow for great around the corner suspense. Also Gears needs stories that make the enemies seem near impossible to defeat with high stakes. Gears 5 story did nothing for me. Personally i just want the first 3 games in a collection with massive bells and whistles. That would bring them to the PC and of course get online multiplayer back and rolling.

@BAMozzy a survival horror spin off could be really cool. It would be interesting to follow the stories of some regular people handling emergence day and the following months instead of just playing as jacked up soldiers who shoot anything that moves.

I’m just a bit burnt out on the standard gears format. I completed the first three and have played but not completed 4 and 5. While the first gears pretty much reinvented what a third person shooter could be, in the 15 years following they have barely done anything innovative with the gameplay loop aside from some new weapons and a robot. I dunno what it would look like but if they can reboot the franchise in a way that GoW did in 2018 with fresh gameplay, story and mechanics I would be all up for it.

I reckon its time they started something new. Preferably something NOT Gears because it wasn't really my thing. God of War is an excellent example. Its a completely different genre with just the story being taken across. I'd also request whatever The Coalition work on next they use more than just grey and brown. My TV does loads of colours. Please use them

@GeeEssEff Gears of War really influenced games like Uncharted for example as a third person cover shooter and whilst I do get that after years, the fundamental game-play hasn't really changed, short of changing genre away from 3rd Person Cover shooting, there is 'little' they can do.

God of War changed genre - from that button bashing combo building action game to a much more narrative driven third person action/adventure game. You could argue that Gears Tactics does something ''different' too but unlike God of War, exists in parallel - more like Forza Horizon and Motorsport. Its a bit like people finding Motorsport stale and wanting a more Arcade 'reboot' but of course, we have that already.

4 was a bit too 'safe' but still had some good moments - particularly in the second half when its not 'just' Robot enemies - but the story - and 5's too, just don't seem as dark or as emotional, the 'scale' is different too - Giant Rift Worms that can sink cities and opening up the doors to the underground Locust City seemed to have much greater 'scale/impact' than modern games - and nothing since has had the same 'impact' of Maria. The first too were much darker in tone - certainly much more than the recent ones, and I don't just mean the Colour palette...

I am talking mostly about Single Player, but Gears too has a big Online component too - and whilst the competitive PvP side doesn't really appeal as much as the PvE co-op (Horde/Beast modes), that 'game-play' loop is fundamental to that and they expect certain things to remain. You wouldn't 'reboot' Halo as a 3rd Person Cover Shooter for example and expect the FPS Halo MP crowd to be happy so MS would most likely keep Halo main as a FPS but would be more inclined to do a Spin-off...

As I said, the biggest issue from my perspective with 'Gears' is that its lost some of its 'Horror, Emotion and Scale' - certainly in the writing department. Narratively its less thrilling, scary, exciting, immense in scale etc and with the more 'open' nature of 5, loses some of the pacing too but the actual game-play in Combat was still something I enjoy and would want more of - Hivebusters was certainly interesting too and I could see them doing a more 'Squad' based Gears game too...

Well which ever way it goes please don't put I live service elements they are ruining games hence forza horizon and the crappy redfall and other games

A reboot would be nice after 6 as i still want to see what the Unreal engine masters will do with gears 6 as final act (hopefully)

I think that the coalition have so much potentials and i would love them grow bigger to be able to work on 2 games a time and show wha thzy can do out of gears

Reboot, maybe. GoW like reboot? Absolutely not. Those games are awful GoW games, Sony are so creatively bankrupt they basically shoehorned Kratos and Boy into The Last of Us: Uncharted the Kratos Edition and called it a reboot.

This is one of the most wholesome and awesome threads/discussion. Gears fans are awesome. You would never see this on a Halo article haha

So, I'm replying to the lot of you because it's clear that we are all passionate about Gears, @BAMozzy @HonestHick @GamingFan4Lyf @themightyant. First off, one little annoyance is the loss of 'Of War'. To me, that is essential to the history of the games. Why they removed it, I have no idea, but it sucks!

I have played through, and enjoyed, every single campaign both solo and in co-op. I pride myself on having completed each campaign solo on the hardest difficulties (so both Insane and then Inconceivable for the later titles). I agree that the pinnacle of the series was the original trilogy, and that of them, the second game was probably the best, though I still (vaguely!) remember the first time I played the first game and realising that I had stumbled across something particularly special.

I am not adverse to what they did with 4 and 5, and to those advocating a reboot, that is precisely what 4 was. That is what it was and is why it is different to those that came before it. And as Bamozzy said, if you move too far away from the originals, or indeed 4 & 5, then you risk alienating those that have become invested in what came before the reboot. Then, if you play it too safe, and stick to what you've been doing in recent times, people will say the series has become stale. So in that, lays the conundrum; do you return to the series roots, stick with what you are doing, or forge a new path? For me, the initial answer is to basically stick with what they are currently doing. The open world was okay, and added a slightly new dimension to the game, and the traversal was fun (until you hit the fiery tornadoes on Inconceivable, anyway!). 😂 Regardless, what they must do is finish the current storyline, and in particular let us know which characters death is canon (that is to assume they don't try to allow for both). I think a tonal shift at this moment in time will be too jarring, and therefore needs to both finish and follow what preceded it. After that, I'm up for a reboot, though whether I'll be around to see it is another matter! 🤣

Lastly, I'm with Bamozzy, and though we used to play Destiny together, we never have done the same with Gears. However, when it comes to Gears, the thing I do most is Horde. Multiplayer PvP does not interest me, but I do between 3 and 6 Hordes a week with a friend as a duo. I'm currently at number 121 in the World for most runs as an Engineer. I was in the top 100 at one time, but stopped playing for a few months, which has seen drop down a little, but I'm steadily climbing back up again now. I'm ashamed and proud in equal measure to say that I have put more than 48 days into Gears 5 alone! 😜

I absolutely loved playing Horde in GoW2 with my youngest son, and then we moved on to 3, where the mode really started to pop. I didn't particularly enjoy the card system in 4, but it is better in 5, though there is still room for improvement. I'm excited to see what they do with 6 because I know that it is the mode that I will play the most.

Regardless, I for one cannot wait for the next instalment of the franchise, and I also hope that they bring out a second Tactics game, as that was also very enjoyable indeed...

@Fiendish-Beaver Thanks for including me, i always enjoy your takes and perspectives. Right off the bat i would like to just say that while taking out the of war and calling it just Gears to most causal fans of the series is probably not a big deal. To us hardcore fans of the franchise. I find it to be an issue and was happy to see you say it and i wouldn’t have said it in fear of being petty. I also agree it kind did get a reboot with 4 & 5. Tho not such a big one that many looked at it very differently until the open world stuff in 5. I think the series does need a reboot i am just not sure they should do that until after Gears 6. Last point i would just like to make is when gears players say the original trilogy is best and 4 & 5 is just ok. That is the problem, Gears of War is just to important to the brand of Xbox to be just ok. This series was up there with Halo back in the day and in large part for me it was always Gears of War than Halo, never the other way around. Gears has to get back to making a game that sparks excitement around not only the Gears of War brand but the Xbox platform. While i do believe it will be one of the best looking games of the generation. It needs to tell a story and play like it as well. I hate to come off as a downer on the series as of late, but it should and could be in a better place.

I have never played a Gears game. No reason for it other than I missed the first one for some reason I don't remember. So each subsequent release I would tell myself, "oh, I still need to play the first one before I play this one."
This has gone on for years.

Yeah I think it should get a reboot. I don't see how well it would do if they were to continue the story.

Not sure what they mean by god of war like reboot tho as I've never played god of war.

A reboot, yes.

GoW-style? Absolutely not. Microsoft doesn't need to ape the cinematic action style Sony is primarily known for. They just need to find their own lane and excel at it.

I think Gears or halo will end soon. Not because it’s bad or anything, but due to the ABK deal.

That would be 3 big shooters taking up a lot of resources (although yes all slightly different) without all the f2p ones also. Once CoD hits gamepass I think engagement numbers will drop in other shooters.

I agree with most of what you say, @themightyant. First off, I do consider 4 to be a soft reboot of the series. It was a fresh story, with mostly new characters, and took the series in a new direction (even more so with 5), and had an overall tonal change (out with the horror aspects completely). However, in reality, we are talking semantics it's just a matter of opinion as to whether all the changes amounted to a reboot or not.

That said, I feel quite strongly that now is not the time to reboot again (or have a further tonal or style change). If we consider the first three to be a trilogy, and that Judgement was a side-story, I think we can certainly agree that 4 and 5 are part of a further sequence of stories that are likely a trilogy. Therefore, 6, which will presumably end the Kate saga, needs to be more of the same that we saw in 4 and 5, or it will just feel completely wrong. After that, game on! Go in a new direction, have new characters and a new story, but right now, we need to finish the current story arc.

Personally, and just by chance I was talking to my horde mate about this last weekend, I think it would be good to have an Emergence Day story. Take the game right back to the beginning. It could still feature the original characters (or at least some of them, as not all meet until the first game) or even have a completely new cast of characters.

My mate thinks that having the Pendulum Wars as a setting would be something that could be done. That would give the series a complete fact lift as obviously that would mean no Locust horde to deal with, which I personally do not like. Obviously, Horde and PvP could still have Locust, but I'd far rather have them in the campaign too.

I agree that taking the game back to feature the more horror like elements would be a good step, but I still feel it needs to retain what makes Gears of War Gears of War; namely big meatheads slamming into cover and firing at enemies that are largely employing the same tactics.

I certainly miss some of the original enemies, such as the Armoured Kantus, Reavers, Formers and Drudges for example. I miss encountering the Kantus riding on the Bloodmounts too. Bring back those original enemies is something that I would really like to see, and is something that would be particularly easy to do if the game were to encapsulate Emergence Day...

Gears is my top series and Cliffy done great games in his past but i dont think Gears need reboot, they already tried it with gears 4 by giving marcus time off and then expand the world in 5...

the open world-ish was one of the boring thing in Gears 5 and if we talking about God i still think its one of the borring games i played and i'm GoDoW fan but they made the game to become more story than a game and as much as i like good story it wasnt good compare to the old games.

what i think they need to do? maybe making it more like Outriders if they want to go open world so the world itself felt more alive but this thing need to be stand alone game and not part of the series, maybe in another timeline when the player have own avatar and our heroes are just npcs.

and about the multiplayer, i think they need to go the HALO way, making the online free 2 play with the ability to buy old and new seasons so there is no FOMO and we not paying for nothing if we dont have much time to play - us old fans not have much time as before.

@Fiendish-Beaver Yeah - after Epic left the Franchise, Judgement was a Spin-Off and 4-5 perhaps shouldn't be '4 and 5' but the first and 2nd part of Gears: 'whatever', more of that 'Gears Universe' with the same Mechanics in a similar way Forza Horizon has the 'same' mechanics...

There is still plenty of life in the fundamental Game-Play loop, its the narrative and environment, the journey that familiar Game-play loop, the 3rd person, the Cover based shooter and reload mechanics in Combat, is not the issue - its the Story, the characters and 'vibe' that's makes it feel style, somewhat bland and been there, done that 'heard that story before' feel of generically written NPC stories etc seem to have said.

When you don't know what's coming 'next' - fighting through a city as its collapsing, going inside a giant worm, the 'horror' as well as characters too - Cole train!

Reboot isn't 'necessary' - just go back to the Grit, the horror, the scale that 'War' brought to these Games - go back for that 'Adults Only' - not the tamed down 15 'Gears: 'whatever' unless you do something 'new' with the mechanics

As you say, there are Wars they could focus on too - even do it from a Civilian escaping on Emergence day to wanting to fight back to eventually becoming a CoG soldier. Plenty of Storylines they could do 'keeping' the same fundamental 'Game-play' loop - but the Tonal Shift I think is contributing significantly to the reason the Game is becoming 'stale' and feeling like we've played this before...

Edit: Although they still need to wrap up Kait's story too - I think the 'Reboot' calls are more about the tone and writing of the 'newer games' more than the Game-play itself.

I would love a reboot but not necessarily like God Of War. While the new version of God of War was fine as a stand alone game, it was nothing like the original games. I only bought the PS5 for God of War and was so incredibly disappointed. The ridiculous introduction of a child character as a side kick was dreadful and completely ruined the entire feel of the game. Don't even get me started on the axe. I never regretted buying a game so much. I doubt I'll ever buy another God of War game based on its current "reboot."

A Gears reboot would need to focus on the core of the original 3 games and go back to it's roots. There are so many directions they could take to continue the main story. While I tend to loathe prequels, a prequel could easily be a nice addition to the franchise in this scenario. Get rid of the silly bot upgrades and get back to the hardcore scare, gore, and killing.

@themightyant i very much agree they need to take a risk with it. We have seen from the other games you mentioned that those risks can pay off huge if done right. Honestly and i think I’ve said this already a few times this year. Just bring us the original trilogy with Unreal engine 5 and that gives those games to new players and PC players and that could hold us off for what I believe to be a near the end of the life cycle Series X/S game with Gears 6.

Seeing as Gears 5 had done the open area thing before God of War Ragnarok had similar to that later I would say no. I'm not a big Gears fan but own 1-4/Judgement, played about halfway of 5 I think. Don't own the remaster/remake of 1/Ultimate Edition as happy with the original versions on 360. Just make 6 follow up 5 in some other way. Why a reboot. 4 already felt like one besides being a sequel and continuation with new characters plus Marcus Fenix.

If the gameplay gets worse and the story is just bleh no thanks. If a reboot make it worth it not because this other game did it. Make it worthy for Gears. 6 as the last, a spinoff, a reboot that matters than just wasting our time. I have no issue with reboots but if they learn nothing and just waste our time that's when I don't like it. I haven't played Gears Tactics but not against it's existence either as a tactics fan/what other ways to branch it out is fine if done well.

Appeal to a new audience sure...... if that helps, whatever nonsense to do that then what people already are happy with or other changes/quality of life or new to add to it besides story. I don't know if Gears fans have the same issues with 4 & 5 as Halo but I never had issues with 4&5 of Gears at all. They didn't do much to ruin it for me. Sure they continue things but it wasn't as insulting as Halo I find of a continuation of things.

I already hate Pikmin 4. It added features I wanted yet made it the more frustrating 78 hours of casual quality of life I wanted to put the game down. If they allow me to 'toggle on and off' casual stuff fine if they don't balance both audiences or only commit to casuals then well like Forza Motorsport 8 (even if 5-7 tested my patience too) goodbye Microsoft you have even less for me to care to play on your platform same with Sony, same with Nintendo if they keep doing it.

Story whatever, but gameplay no thanks I'll move on and cut ties. I already have my Sony childhood games/certain IPs, if I have to Xbox as well by all means I don't care, my money will be better spent elsewhere. More time for retro or third parties on current gen. As a gimmicks fan for hardware yeah Switch was easy to pick (PSVR2 is fine but even then PS5 no thanks).

Otherwise in what way, what more cinematic, more bland dialogue, more reskinned enemies, more touching emotional moments, changed combat to be worse when it already is good while God of War got worse in some areas. I think Gears 5 already is on track for it's own path or changes it has. So I can't take this seriously just give us Gears 6.

Also why does 'every IP' have to have it's this and that moment, it's open world moment, it's reboot was the Ultimate Edition not enough? They can't do that again so a reboot instead? Why not some do it other ways to 'be different' to 'stand out more' not be the same standing out again all changing to badly compete then better compete in their own strengths, their own other path changes possible.

Some idiots of trends than actually smarter decisions to change other elements, keep what works.

Even Dragon Age 4 I'm like sure I guess does it need it no probably not of 'God of War 2018ness' about it. Forget 2014 GOTY at all. Refinements sure but otherwise God of War was nothing special. There is a reason I prefer the other direction of hack n slashes then bland gameplay that doesn't work or suit the game and eh story telling I don't care about and other issues.

@themightyant I made some great friends with gears 1 and 2 some of which I still talk to now ,fantastic games ,the mp maps just went too big after 2 ,it wasn't the same ,it needs small tight maps,it was the only mp game I played and the only one I was good at,the less said about judgment the better ha ha.

I agree with everything you say, @themightyant. More of the same is unlikely to be the revelation that seeing the first game for the first time was, so I can understand your perspective there.

As for Judgement, I didn't think it a bad game, indeed, I quite enjoyed it. It just wasn't at the same level as the first 3 games. I don't know whether the had Judgement in mind as either a soft reboot or the start of a new trilogy when they first made it, but it did miss the mark to some extent. The feature I particularly liked about Judgement though, was the ability to change the enemies at the start of each encounter. That was a pretty cool idea that I was saddened not to see in 4.

As @HonestHick said, I am really hoping that the next thing we see is a remaster of the original trilogy. I was hoping that that would have been revealed during the Summer Showcase, as well as an announcement for Gears 6, but obviously that did not come to pass...

You and me both, @Mephisto2869! I made 5 friends in particular whilst playing Horde in 2 and 3. Four of whom I still speak to pretty much every week. One of whom I play Gears 5 Horde each week, and one for whom I later became God Father to to their son. Funny enough, not one of us in interested in the PvP aspect, all just the campaigns and Horde. Good times indeed... 😊

@Fiendish-Beaver I hate pvp ,but in the original gears it was magical,if you've got a good team who communicates it was really something special,it wouldn't happen now ,because people are dic*s 😂

Funny to hear Parrish saying the same things as I about the 'Horror' and Survival - even from the perspective of a Civilian that I think has so much potential and much more in keeping with the vibe/feel and big reason why we loved those games and Characters....