More than in any other Gears game I can remember, I felt like this was a fight I wasn’t going to win. Each roughly 30-minute chapter lasted just long enough, and featured varied combat encounters, so almost nothing got old.

Gears 5’s campaign had a mix of linear and open-world sections, but Hivebusters returns to the series’ roots with a more focused approach, and that applies to more than just linear exploration. Weapons and enemies from the base game as well as Gears 4 return, but the addition of an impressive new avian creature that plays a key role in Scorpio Squad’s tale is a highlight, both because of its story significance and the fact that it is so visually distinct from the hordes of fleshy Swarm we’ve fought for so long.Ĭombat is as tight and responsive as ever, with the same “gold standard” cover-based shooting I’ve come to expect from every Gears game, and battles range from chaotic firefights in wide-open spaces to almost claustrophobic, tense struggles for survival in narrow hallways, and the scenarios flow together naturally in a way that felt refreshing. Hivebusters stays action-packed and tense across its six-chapter campaign and the story of a ragtag team coming together, trying to find a way to turn the tide against the Swarm, is engaging. I’d love to see them appear in another story expansion focused on more of their exploits, or even in the next main game alongside the likes of Kait, Marcus, and others. They all feel like characters who belong here, and a lot of their banter works well. Even with those occasional “team-building” hiccups, Keegan, Mac, and Lahni are welcome additions to the world of Gears.

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