Gears of War 5 exists, brings skull-smashing melee maces, fleshy turrets, a Kait-led story (and pretty snow)

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Gears of War 5 exists. It exists, and it looks stunning on a whole bunch of levels. Firstly and most obviously, the gameplay trailer at the Xbox E3 2018 press  conference depicts a whole new level of graphical fidelity, its multiple, contrasting environments - from snow to jungle- rendered with tangible ambience, lighting, and shadow. Also, the guts and explosions look really good too. 

But beyond that, there's a whole lot more going on in this Gears. Gears of War 5 looks to bring a stack of new gameplay additions, by way of excessively bloody and surprisingly dextrous melee combat (using massive, spiked, Locust maces), fleshy, biomechanical turrets, and a host of brand new Locust types. 

The story side looks no less impressive. Fully steering into the more human, youthful, and emotional vibe set up so well with Gears of War 4’s time-jumping reboot, Gears of War 5 looks to be taking us on a continent spanning, deeply personal quest, led by a Kait as new lead, player character, going through some serious emotional trauma. There's also the conspicuously raised matter of whether she might have been comprised by the Locust. Oh, and JD now has a splendid beard, so that's rather lovely too. No projected release date, but we'll keep you posted. Check out the reveal trailer above. 

David Houghton
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.