Gears of War 4 is a 2016 third-person shooter game created by The Coalition and released by Microsoft Studios for Windows and Xbox One. It is the fourth main game in the Gears of War series and the first main game not made by Epic Games. The story happens 25 years after the events of Gears of War 3. Players can choose to play alone or with a friend. The game follows James Dominic "JD" Fenix, the son of Marcus Fenix, as he and his allies fight the Swarm, a new enemy connected to the Locusts.
When it was first released, the game got mostly good reviews. Critics praised the game's fighting, pictures, and important scenes. However, some people criticized the story and how it was written. A follow-up game, Gears 5, was released on September 10, 2019.
Gameplay
The game includes many features from earlier versions, along with new additions. One new weapon is the Dropshot, which shoots explosive drills, and the Buzzkill, which fires sawblades that bounce off surfaces. Players can use a short shoulder charge move to push enemies off balance. Enemies can also pull players out of hiding spots and perform moves that knock them down. The game has four types of weather: starting with a heavy breeze that makes trees, leaves, and dust move, and growing into powerful category 3 windstorms that change how combat and weapons work.
As in earlier games, the story campaign can be played with another player in a local or online co-operative mode.
Story
Gears of War 4 takes place 25 years after the events of Gears of War 3. At that time, the Imulsion Countermeasure weapon destroyed all Imulsion on the planet Sera, killing the Locust and the Lambent. This weapon also stopped the use of fossil fuels and caused powerful windstorms called "Windflares." To protect the remaining humans, who numbered in the hundreds of thousands, the reformed Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) built walled cities to keep people safe. The COG also imposed martial law, banning travel outside the cities. Some humans disagreed with the COG and formed a group called the "Outsiders," who lived outside COG control and raided COG areas for supplies.
The game's main story follows J.D. Fenix, the son of Marcus Fenix and Anya Stroud. He teams up with friends Delmont "Del" Walker and Kait Diaz to face a new threat to humanity. First Minister Jinn, the leader of the COG, celebrates the 25th anniversary of humanity's victory over the Locust. An older Hoffman recalls past battles, including those at Aspho Fields, Emergence Day, and Anvil Gate.
Meanwhile, J.D. and Del left the COG after disagreeing with Jinn's strict policies and joined the Outsiders, led by Reyna. To help their village, they raid a COG settlement to steal a special fabricator. They are joined by Kait, Reyna's daughter, and her uncle Oscar, a former soldier. During the raid, they fight COG robotic soldiers called DeeBees and an unknown person controlling the settlement's machines. They successfully steal the fabricator but are later attacked by Jinn, who accuses them of kidnapping COG citizens. J.D. and his group defeat Jinn's forces and repair their village's power generator. However, unknown creatures attack the village, capturing Reyna and Oscar. Before dying, Reyna locks J.D., Del, and Kait inside the power station to protect them.
The creatures are named the "Swarm." J.D. asks his father, Marcus Fenix, for help. Marcus is angry at J.D. for leaving the COG but agrees to help after seeing evidence that the Swarm is not human. Marcus leads the group to Fort Reval, where thousands of Locust corpses were buried. They are attacked again by Jinn's forces but reach the city, where a Snatcher captures Marcus. J.D. and his friends find proof that the Swarm is made from Locust bodies that did not die but instead changed over 25 years. They rescue Marcus, who explains the Swarm operates as a hive mind and that Reyna is alive but being held at another Locust burial site.
Determined to save Reyna, Kait insists Marcus take them to the site. They go to Tollen Dam, where they discover the burial site has become a Swarm hive. They fight the Swarm leader, the Speaker, who refuses to reveal Reyna's location. Realizing the hive is too strong, they use a radio to call for help from Augustus Cole, Damon Baird, and Samantha Byrne. Baird, who created the DeeBees, helps them with mech suits. Inside the hive, they learn Reyna is part of the hive's network and that removing her would kill her. Reyna asks Kait to end her life, which Kait does. Kait inherits Reyna's amulet, which resembles the symbol of the Locust Queen Myrrah, suggesting Reyna was Myrrah's daughter and Kait is her granddaughter.
In a post-credits scene, Oscar is seen cutting himself free from the Snatcher that captured him.
Development
Gears of War 4 was originally developed by Epic Games. Some of their work was used in The Coalition's development. During E3 2013, Phil Spencer, vice president of Microsoft Studios, said more Gears of War games might be made. On January 27, 2014, Microsoft bought the rights to the franchise from Epic Games. A new game was planned for Xbox One by Black Tusk Studios, which later became The Coalition to show its responsibility for the Gears of War series. Rod Fergusson, who led production at Epic Games on Gears of War, joined Microsoft and became a key leader at The Coalition. Ray Davis from Epic Games said, "I'm confident Rod will do a great job with the franchise at Microsoft." On April 1, 2015, The Coalition's producer, Allie Henze, said Gears of War 4 would not be released for Xbox 360.
Gears of War 4 was first shown during Microsoft's E3 2015 press conference. Rod Fergusson said the gameplay shown reflected the game's tone, returning to the franchise's roots as a "monster game" with a "personal, intimate, dark, and mysterious" feel. The setting was inspired by Northern Italy. The game takes place on Sera, 25 years after Gears of War 3, with JD Fenix, Marcus Fenix's son, as the main character. New weapons were inspired by construction equipment because people on Sera were rebuilding society after the Locust war. A new enemy group called "the Swarm" appears in the game. "Drones" act like previous Locust enemies, "Juvies" move quickly and can burst enemy pods with their screams, and "Pouncers" pin players to the ground and fire quills from their tails.
The multiplayer part of the game was developed by Splash Damage, who also worked on Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. A multiplayer beta was released on April 25, 2016. People who bought Ultimate Edition got early access starting April 18, 2016. The campaign allows two players to play together locally or online. Gears of War 4 was the first game to use SGX technology to automatically animate dialogue. Rod Fergusson said Microsoft's investment meant the team would likely make another game in the series if this one was successful.
Gears of War 4 runs at 30 frames per second in single-player mode and 60 frames per second in multiplayer mode, both at 1080p resolution. The game uses Unreal Engine 4. Like Halo 5: Guardians, it uses a dynamic scaling system to keep the frame rate steady by adjusting resolution during intense scenes. Rod Fergusson said the Xbox One S has better hardware, allowing more consistent resolution than the original Xbox One. At E3 2016, Microsoft announced Gears of War 4 would be released for PC on Windows 10. It is an Xbox Play Anywhere game, with cross-buy and cross-platform multiplayer between PC and Xbox versions. In August 2016, Ramin Djawadi, composer of Game of Thrones, confirmed he would create the soundtrack for Gears of War 4. He said the music would be different from Game of Thrones, using orchestra and percussion but creating a new sound.
On September 19, 2016, The Coalition announced the game had "gone gold," meaning development was complete and production had started. At E3 2017, Microsoft said several Xbox games would get free 4K updates. The Coalition's technical director, Kate Rayner, said the team had worked with the Xbox One X console. Gears of War 4 will support native 4K resolution with higher-quality textures for characters, environments, and effects. It also includes HDR colors and wide color gamut support. Other improvements include fully dynamic shadows and better reflections. The game also supports Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 sound technology for a more immersive experience.
Reception
Gears of War 4 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to the website Metacritic, which collects and summarizes game reviews.
Ryan McCaffery of IGN gave the game a score of 9.2 out of 10. He wrote that the game reminded him of The Force Awakens, a popular movie, and said it was directed by new creators. He noted that the game shares similar storytelling elements with the first game in its series and offers enjoyable experiences in its campaign, Versus, and Horde modes. He also said the game plays it safely but does a good job with its varied campaign and strong multiplayer features.
Mike Mahardy of GameSpot gave the game a score of 7 out of 10. He said the game had the potential to be great but had some problems that limited its success. He praised the creativity in its multiplayer modes but criticized the weak campaign and technical issues. He called the game a mix of good and bad elements that did not fully match the quality of its best parts.
Arthur Gies of Polygon gave the game a score of 9 out of 10. He said that after finishing the game’s campaign, he wished it had done more. However, he later played it again because he enjoyed it. He noted that the game did not change the genre completely but was well-made and consistent. It offered strong solo, cooperative, and competitive features, making it one of the best action games of 2016.
Critics had mixed reactions to the game’s soundtrack. Some fans were disappointed because the music was less heroic compared to the work of previous composers, Steve Jablonsky and Kevin Riepl.
In the UK, Gears of War 4 was the second most sold retail game in its first week of release, behind FIFA 17. In the United States, it was the third best-selling game in October, behind Battlefield 1 and Mafia III. Overall, it was the twentieth best-selling game of 2016.