Gears Tactics

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 494 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 351 out of 494
  2. Mixed: 82 out of 494
  3. Negative: 61 out of 494

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  1. Super_Ted
    May 3, 2020
    7
    Gears of War works perfectly in a turn based format. The Xcom-like gameplay is really well thought out, utilizing everything that makes Gears of War unique; the setting and atmosphere, the range of enemies as well as weaponry and executions. Unfortunately, the game is let down with some dry characters and narrative. Part of what made the original trilogy great was the foursome squad andGears of War works perfectly in a turn based format. The Xcom-like gameplay is really well thought out, utilizing everything that makes Gears of War unique; the setting and atmosphere, the range of enemies as well as weaponry and executions. Unfortunately, the game is let down with some dry characters and narrative. Part of what made the original trilogy great was the foursome squad and their interaction with each other. While this isn't essential in a turn based Xcom-like, it's highlighted by the lack of character customization. Out-of-combat gameplay (base building, mission choice, etc.) would have also added to the fantastic base gameplay of Gears Tactics. If you can look past those points however, the game is an absolute steal on Gamepass.… Expand
  2. Akkuman
    May 9, 2020
    6
    Gears of 70€

    ++ Visuals&Sound
    + IP
    +/- Game-play
    - Useless Loot
    - Low EXP per Mission
    - Grind
    -- Price
    -- Inventory

    Overpriced average Game
  3. mondovious
    May 25, 2020
    7
    Game has a TON of potential, if they can make some improvements I could see a sequel being very good, but as it stands, this game is average compared to the likes of XCOM.

    The good: - Graphics are the best of any tactics game ever made. - Level design is pretty good. - Story is quite good for a tactics game. - Well thought out skill tree for the soldier classes. - Mission    Game has a TON of potential, if they can make some improvements I could see a sequel being very good, but as it stands, this game is average compared to the likes of XCOM.

    The good:
    - Graphics are the best of any tactics game ever made.

    - Level design is pretty good.

    - Story is quite good for a tactics game.

    - Well thought out skill tree for the soldier classes.

    - Mission gameplay has some cool innovations like action point system, boss fights, etc.

    The bad:
    - Game feels incomplete without a base building and/or upgrade strategy layer. Just running missions over and over and collecting weapon mods is not enough.

    - Difficultly is bad. Experienced is way too easy, and Insane is too frustrating to be fun (unless you enjoy getting 1 shot from across the map from a grenade launcher and having to restart a million times). You can do everything perfect and just get one shotted by these grenade dudes, which would be fine if this was aka XCOM crit, but it happens so often on missions where you instantly lose if your units die that it's simply not acceptable. What this means is that the only viable strategy in most Insane missions becomes "kill everything in one turn or re-load". XCOM2 had this very same issue in pre-expansion that they eventually had to improve with weapon balancing and enemy mechanics. And to add insult to injury, you can not only not quicksave, but when you re-load the game forces you to watch the same unskippable cutscenes over and over each time. Awesome.

    - Soldier experience gain is tuned very strangely, where you get a ton of absolute soldiers to recruit that almost always come in at... higher level than your own squad. It's almost like the game expects your soldiers to constantly die, and yet (in Insane difficulty) it's almost always impossible to succeed at a mission if a single soldier dies, which means in reality none of your soldiers can die due to having to constantly reload. So I guess you are suppose to constantly throw away your squad and replace them with the higher level soldiers? This is very unusual, IMO soldier XP should be increased.

    - Loot is not well designed. For some reason mission rewards give useless white and blue weapon mods that you get for free when recruiting soldiers anyway. Also, what is the point of having items with +health, when virtually every single enemy 1 shots your soldiers regardless?

    - Loot is tedious to constantly swap your best weapon mods on your active soldiers every mission through a scrollble UI that was obviously built for consoles and not PC.

    - Cosmetic options are cool, but the way they unlock forces you go go into menus and check them every time.

    - In a post Fire Emblem Three Houses world, any tactics game without a built in save scumming mechanic is going to get called out, and this is no exception. You're going to reload if one of your units dies anyway (in many missions this is instant failure reload anyway), so why not just build the mechanic into the game?

    - Lack of modding support. In fact, the game does some kind of file check each time that even prevents you from modifying files at all. This is inexcusable. If I had known they did this BS ahead of time I prob would not have purchased game.    … Expand
  4. qikink
    May 4, 2020
    7
    Ultimately just an OK addition to a genre that doesn't get a ton of love from AAA studios. It's got some good features, but unfortunately it does nearly everything a little worse than XCOM.

    The good: -Varied and interesting character design options -Perk-based armor customization -Solid "downed" system that gradually increases danger instead of just death -Solid production values    Ultimately just an OK addition to a genre that doesn't get a ton of love from AAA studios. It's got some good features, but unfortunately it does nearly everything a little worse than XCOM.

    The good:
    -Varied and interesting character design options
    -Perk-based armor customization
    -Solid "downed" system that gradually increases danger instead of just death
    -Solid production values in the maps, enemies, characters

    The bad:
    -No base-building mechanic
    -Without base-building, important NPC's are forced to be combat NPC's
    -Important NPC's in-combat add additional insta-loss conditions
    -Fiddling with gear required when you shuffle your crew, and you're required to shuffle your crew somewhat frequently (X-COM also has this issue)
    -Story-based missions reduce the variety of combat *a lot* - I didn't realize how important it was that X-COM randomly generates the majority of it's missions, just "samey" and literally identical really are different.
    -Lengthy animations for moments like chainsaw kills that are cool the first few times, then just repetitive    … Expand
  5. LordTiger
    May 1, 2020
    7
    Its so good to play a turn-based tactical strategy game in dark brutal gears of war world and Thanks to Xbox u can play this 60$ game on gamepass. First i must say the graphics and attention to details in this game is so amazing that it makes Gears Tactic one of the best looking strategy game i've ever played. Gameplay is simple and u learn most tools u need in tutorial like overwatchIts so good to play a turn-based tactical strategy game in dark brutal gears of war world and Thanks to Xbox u can play this 60$ game on gamepass. First i must say the graphics and attention to details in this game is so amazing that it makes Gears Tactic one of the best looking strategy game i've ever played. Gameplay is simple and u learn most tools u need in tutorial like overwatch mechanism which is really good . besides being simple the gameplay is actually very complicated in higher difficulties. I also like upgrade system which u can change all weapons parts and fully customize your characters.
    cons:
    1-story is very short and linear
    2-gameplay is repetitive especially side missions    … Expand
  6. Lamp
    May 5, 2020
    7
    Competent squad tactics game. 7/10, not essential. Play if you're a huge fan of the genre or Gears.

    Pro:
    -Fun overwatch and one-hit-kill mechanics

    Neutral:
    -Unit customization
    -Environments/maps

    Cons:
    -Atmosphere
    -Drama/Narrative
    -Repetitive, meaningless missions
  7. Zhriver
    Apr 29, 2020
    5
    One of the worst "x-com" like games I've had the pleasure of playing.
    Every single aspect of this game besides the graphics is simply mediocre and/or bland.
    The only upside to this game is the Microsoft is more or less giving it away through game pass.
  8. iseeall
    Nov 15, 2020
    5
    A bombastic clone of XCom (the recent versions) with some primitive story and 3 action points instead of 2. The game just doesn't let you play: at every step you are interrupted by cutscenes. Everything is scripted: enemies appear at scripted times, it's a "cinematic experience" more than it's strategy.
    There is no "sandbox" or multiplayer, or random battles or anything, just the linear    A bombastic clone of XCom (the recent versions) with some primitive story and 3 action points instead of 2. The game just doesn't let you play: at every step you are interrupted by cutscenes. Everything is scripted: enemies appear at scripted times, it's a "cinematic experience" more than it's strategy.
    There is no "sandbox" or multiplayer, or random battles or anything, just the linear story.
    The "tactics" word in the title is misused. It's probably more of a turn-based RPG. Well ok, that's what passes as strategy on XBox, fine.    … Expand
  9. steelx
    Dec 11, 2022
    5
    I just fell in love with this Turn based RPG game. I never thought I would connect with Such a games characters. I wish Microsoft would release a newer version with more character story. I love this game.
  10. Hack
    May 12, 2020
    6
    Gears Tactics appears deceptively good at the start, but shows its true colours the longer you play it.

    First off I will say the game is very well-made, it has butter smooth performance, the visuals are stunning and the audio is solid. The gameplay flows well with incredible animations and crisp transitions, something which is often not the case in this genre. I also love the 3 AP    Gears Tactics appears deceptively good at the start, but shows its true colours the longer you play it.

    First off I will say the game is very well-made, it has butter smooth performance, the visuals are stunning and the audio is solid. The gameplay flows well with incredible animations and crisp transitions, something which is often not the case in this genre. I also love the 3 AP system where you can do any action in any order without ending your turn.

    For the first couple of hours I was hooked, but then the problems arise. The main one being the complete lack of mission types, you end up doing the same missions over and over again, with no variety at all. There’s also little to no map variety so every mission feels the same. This is made worse by the fact you’re forced to do multiple side missions to continue the story, and they’re all the same, often with unfun rules or restrictions. If they made these side missions optional it would help massively. I cannot stress enough how boring the game gets by chapter 2, and especially chapter 3.

    Other than the repetitiveness, the other major issue is customization which is completely lacking, made worse by a confusing UI. There’s very little you can do to make your units stand out, and you can’t edit the heroes at all. Changing the colour of their armour is about as far as you’re going to get. There’s also no base building elements or overarching objective à la XCOM.

    Overall Gears Tactics is a great base of a game, just not a complete one. It’s very much possible that they could improve the game massively with patches but it’s more likely we’ll need to wait for a sequel to unlock the full potential of the series.    … Expand
  11. Tomle1202
    Sep 14, 2022
    7
    I would have liked Gears Tactics so much more had its unreasonably lengthy campaign been reduced by half.
  12. Akk3d1s
    May 10, 2020
    7
    Enough to scratch the x-com itch, until something better comes along.

    Pros: - Solid turn based tactics - Fits the gears cover shoot style - Enjoyable cutscenes - Optimization - On Game pass Cons: - Not as good as x-com - No destructive environments - Story is not interesting, but then again, its gears. - Not enough enemy variety A good solid game that does more right than    Enough to scratch the x-com itch, until something better comes along.

    Pros:
    - Solid turn based tactics
    - Fits the gears cover shoot style
    - Enjoyable cutscenes
    - Optimization
    - On Game pass

    Cons:
    - Not as good as x-com
    - No destructive environments
    - Story is not interesting, but then again, its gears.
    - Not enough enemy variety

    A good solid game that does more right than it does wrong. I just wish MS can put in more effort into their games. It sometimes feel like they are not aiming for greatness and just sort of good enough levels...    … Expand
  13. Overmorth
    Jun 20, 2020
    7
    +good plot
    +good graphics
    +interesting game-design
    +ok gameplay
    ~no destruction sysem, shame. inventory made not informative and not comfortable to use and we have no base as in xcom
    much better then xcom.sjw.poLice
    would recommend even if u don't know what is gears of war
    -small maps is not ok
    -repitative missions is not ok
    810
  14. SexiPlexi
    Apr 23, 2021
    6
    Great idea but it fails due to receptiveness' of several missions, it is the same over and over. The controls and gameplay itself is great, it would of been amazing if the creators were less lazy and actually made every mission different, I'd rather have a game half as long with zero mission repeats.
  15. playa0789
    Jul 1, 2020
    7
    The game was less in depth with base building than the likes of xcom but the skills and overall game play was fun. The story was great and filled in some holes to the rest of the gears of war games. The side missions got a little tedious and were basically just filler.
  16. arieljbz
    Jul 29, 2020
    7
    Buen juego arruinado por la cantidad amplia de misiones secundarias que no aportan nada a la historia ni al juego, lo que lo convierte en una IP repetitiva y cansina en ciertos puntos de la trama principalmente en el cierre del juego.
    22 misiones principales
    18 misiones secundarias aprox El gameplay es bueno, junto a la personalizacion pero arruinado por el contenido y la historia.    Buen juego arruinado por la cantidad amplia de misiones secundarias que no aportan nada a la historia ni al juego, lo que lo convierte en una IP repetitiva y cansina en ciertos puntos de la trama principalmente en el cierre del juego.
    22 misiones principales
    18 misiones secundarias aprox
    El gameplay es bueno, junto a la personalizacion pero arruinado por el contenido y la historia.
    Totalmente superior xcom.    … Expand
  17. augustoguiz
    May 31, 2020
    6
    É um bom jogo do gênero, mas é extremamente repetitivo. Você é obrigado a jogar as missões paralelas que são todas repetitivas e chatas. As missões principais seguem a mesma repetição das paralelas e isso torna o jogo muito chato.
  18. Nerevarinho
    May 18, 2020
    7
    Its a more accessible, easy and forgiving XCOM, in a Gears reskin, which i in general really like! Unfortunately after the first Chapter you will notice an increasing repetitivity, due to that you are forced to do sidemissions with not much variety.
  19. SerGjant
    Jun 20, 2020
    6
    The game had great potential. The universe of gears is quite interesting. In technical terms, the creators did not disappoint, but in terms of the structure of the campaign itself, as if they did not bring it to mind.
  20. VigilanteOito
    Jan 27, 2021
    7
    Game tatico legalzinho.
    Sou muito fã da franquia Gears, em termos de historia esse aqui não agrega em nada.
    Tem muita missão repetitiva e para abrir as missoes principas, as vezes tem que completar as secundarias, isso é ridiculo.
  21. watchm824
    Jul 26, 2020
    7
    Gears Tactics is a good game. It will be just a gift for all fans of tactical games. But one big minus - towards the end the game becomes rather boring and monotonous.
  22. rinshun
    Dec 10, 2020
    7
    Gear tactics is an excellent game. But it focuses too much on the missions/story aspect and leaves the strategy part completely shallow.

    There is almost no point in leveling up and caring for your soldiers, because if they die, you can hire another one of the same level. Or even higher level. Replayability suffers greatly because of this. Replaying from the start will never feel like    Gear tactics is an excellent game. But it focuses too much on the missions/story aspect and leaves the strategy part completely shallow.

    There is almost no point in leveling up and caring for your soldiers, because if they die, you can hire another one of the same level. Or even higher level.

    Replayability suffers greatly because of this. Replaying from the start will never feel like a different playthrough, because you will feel every mission as a scripted part of the story, and not an effort to accomplish a goal.

    The tactics part, though, is awesome. Outrageous gore and some exciting moments makes this a very fun game.    … Expand
  23. mrfiki
    Jul 26, 2022
    6
    Average, fast food game. Is like X-Com only it is the arcade sibling. First half feels good but it gets very boring after that. No enemies variety, terrible AI, only a handful of missions types. But the worst part is that you can't skip side missions to make the game shorter.
  24. Sepherim
    May 25, 2021
    6
    Gears Tactics es un juego entretenido, pero lejos de los principales exponentes del género. El punto de partida inicial está interesante, con cinco tipos de personajes cada uno pudiendo equiparse con distintos elementos y con cuatro líneas de progresión para cada clase. El problema, en ese sentido, se encuentra en que el juego se centra casi exclusivamente en el combate, siendo lasGears Tactics es un juego entretenido, pero lejos de los principales exponentes del género. El punto de partida inicial está interesante, con cinco tipos de personajes cada uno pudiendo equiparse con distintos elementos y con cuatro líneas de progresión para cada clase. El problema, en ese sentido, se encuentra en que el juego se centra casi exclusivamente en el combate, siendo las opciones de gestión casi inexistentes, de modo que la progresión de equipo de los personajes es básicamente aleatoria, porque depende de las cajas que vamos encontrando. La variedad de enemigos no es muy alta, y aún entre ellos tampoco tienen unas diferencias inmensas. Finalmente, el juego es relativamente corto para el género porque apuesta por su trama (que, realmente, es más bien tirando a mala), de modo que hacemos solo misiones principales y secundarias, y está limitado el número de ellas que puedes hacer; y como en general solo hay un puñado de tipos de misión (básicamente 3/4 según se miren) pues se acaba haciendo repetitivo. Y los bosses de final de cada acto son un coñazo, especialmente el último.

    Gráficamente el juego es correcto, nada especialmente llamativo. Y lo mismo se puede decir del apartado sonoro. Al menos en mi recorrido, he encontrado algunos bugs que me han obligado a tener que cargar partida o a no poder usar ocasionalmente alguna de las habilidades (las minas de Jack, por ejemplo, "colgaban" el encuentro del boss final).

    El resultado es un juego entretenido un rato, pero que a medida que va acumulando horas acaba perdiendo el interés al hacerse muy repetitivo. Un 6.    … Expand
  25. AxeWould
    Nov 14, 2021
    6
    Честно скажу не понимаю таких восторженных отзывов, да тактических шутеров на ринке мало и надо всяко поддерживать такие игры, и я скажу GT не плохая, вот первых часов 6-7 было очень увлекательно и интересно, но потом я начал замечать подвох. А все из за того что в игре локаций 4-5, ну это ладно если бы был отличный геймплей, то с локациями можно свыкнуться, но тут 5 разных разновидностейЧестно скажу не понимаю таких восторженных отзывов, да тактических шутеров на ринке мало и надо всяко поддерживать такие игры, и я скажу GT не плохая, вот первых часов 6-7 было очень увлекательно и интересно, но потом я начал замечать подвох. А все из за того что в игре локаций 4-5, ну это ладно если бы был отличный геймплей, то с локациями можно свыкнуться, но тут 5 разных разновидностей миссий, и это и сюжетки и побочки, если бы можно не выполнять побочки то игра б только выиграла и на одних декорациях и одни те ж мисси выполнять по 4 кругу утомляет, и просто становиться невыносимо скучно. Притом мини анимации скипнуть нельзя, и они все одинаковые, ускорить передвижений противников нельзя, поэтому приходиться ждать десятки секунд пока они походят, и это бесит. Геймплей реально отличный, но где-то механика сломана, где-то не доработали врахов, оружие, и все эти минусы очень напрягают. Про графон скажу что он отличный как и музыкальное оформление, сюжет не напрягает но и не сильно радует.… Expand
  26. JackPlack
    May 5, 2022
    7
    Story boring, just could been better with X-Com almost no-story style. Graphics too much outdated, dont like this style also, a specially bad shadows (like all Halo/Xbox like series) Maybe not so much linear like other games, but little not much choice (progress too much limited by story). Variation of mission types - genereally interesting, pretty good equipment/rpg/recruiting system.
  27. Dwgh
    Aug 1, 2022
    7
    it's not as good as expected but still a nice pace of change from the usual games in the series
  28. Erabaxer
    Apr 16, 2023
    5
    Side missions are just a joke on the players. Not interesting, repetitive, time killing. Shame on the developers! Otherwise, its a very good game )
  29. Young_Fawn
    Jun 21, 2023
    7
    I'd give it a solid 7/10.

    A lot of negative reviews come from people complaining about needing an Xbox account, it's 2021, multiple platforms are needed for both TV and Games and even music now, time to get over it. As for Gears Tactics, it's like XCOM and it isn't. You get a bit more freedom in Gears Tactics I feel, in terms of positioning and action points. Being able to redeem    I'd give it a solid 7/10.

    A lot of negative reviews come from people complaining about needing an Xbox account, it's 2021, multiple platforms are needed for both TV and Games and even music now, time to get over it.

    As for Gears Tactics, it's like XCOM and it isn't. You get a bit more freedom in Gears Tactics I feel, in terms of positioning and action points. Being able to redeem action points through executions also adds another layer of tactic to the game.

    The armour customisation is phenomenal, you can make some really badass looking gears with the different colour and decal scemes.

    There is little to no character customisation though, unlike XCOM you can't change the gender or race of the characters you recruit, so making accurate (somewhat) looking versions of your friends can be difficult. (Use helmets and long t-shirts to sorta overcome this).

    The gameplay is satisfying with all the sound effects and animations that we've grown to love over the years since 2006.

    The story is alright, some people don't like it, I personally think it's not bad; very middle of the line, if you're not a Gears lore fan, it might be somewhat forgettable.

    The Boss fights however, I feel, take far too long. It's not that the bosses are hard, it's just that mobs spawn in during the boss fight, forcing you to deal with them, which just creates artificial length. However there is an argument to be had that the bosses might be too easy without these added swarms.

    Tickers are a genuine threat in this game as opposed to the shooters.

    Overall, a 7/10. Get it on sale if you like a XCOM or Phoenix Point, or even if you like Gears and want to broaden your horizons a little. I don't think you'll be disappointed.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Best PC Game of 2020
29
#29 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 92 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 92
  3. Negative: 0 out of 92
  1. GameMAG
    Sep 14, 2020
    80
    Gears Tactics is an exciting game with incredibly beautiful graphics, interesting missions and well-developed mechanics, which could have been better if the authors of the game paid more attention to the story. Anyway we have a great project for fans of the genre, regardless of their loyalty to the Gears of War franchise.
    Read full review
  2. Riot Pixels
    Aug 21, 2020
    65
    Gears Tactics proves that there is a place for an awesome turn-based strategy game in the Gears universe. Now, someone needs to develop that game.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 23, 2020
    60
    Gears of War from a bird's perspective. An interesting system of action points is brought down by repetitive content with a boring grind of boxes with equipment and a weak story. [Issue#303]
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