With the debut of Gears 5 (here the review of the version for Xbox Series X) in September last year, The Coalition presented us the new one modality Escape, thanks to which we made the acquaintance of 3 new Gears: Keegan, Lahni e Poppy. Despite having dressed in their shoes in the multiplayer sections, we have never had much information about their history, disconnected - but as per the tradition of the brand united - to the main narrative vein of the brand. Moving away from Kait and the main Gears, The Coalition decided with the first DLC of his new work to explore the adventures of Scorpio team, proposing the expansion Gears 5: Hivebusters just after the debut ofOperation 5.
A rather short campaign, which ends in a handful of hours, but which is undoubtedly interesting and breaks what will surely be the long wait towards the hypothetical Gears 6. This is being sold at a budget price, but it is also included as part of the Gears 5: Game of the Year Edition (playable for free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate); moreover, to its completely it also gives as a small gem some skins linked to the 3 protagonists of the DLC. Strange to say, but This content is the first true new production from Xbox Game Studios to accompany the debut of the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series S, which certainly places a rather heavy weight on his shoulders. We have had the opportunity to complete the DLC and we are here to tell you about it, let's find out together if it has met expectations!
Word to the Hivebusters
By connecting directly to the main strand of the Gears of War saga, the 3 Gears we get to know better in this chapter are preparing to set out on an arduous mission to save the planet from locusts, as the brand's tradition is now a bit. The main destination is a hive that those who have already played Escape mode will find quite familiar, but the proposed settings vary greatly, embracing further locations and the now iconic underground hell of the depths colonized by the Swarm.
The gameplay is not ultimately revolutionized, as it is perhaps right that it is since it is a real guarantee for TPS lovers and for those who have already had the opportunity to appreciate the saga in question. However the level design shows itself particularly painstaking in different phases, albeit with the right amount of recycled models from Gears 5 and Gears of War 4, while new tactical ideas and small innovative sessions are not lacking during the adventure. The dialogues and the characters are well developed on their journey, although at least one can do with such a modest longevity, which however is formed by a well-elaborated condensate of action and narration, which lets itself be played without ever giving way to boredom.
In the PC version we were able to admire a production graphically highly evolved, which makes a further small leap in quality from the already magnificent result obtained in the main campaign. There are no real new enemies (with one exception, which we avoid mentioning to avoid any spoilers), but the glimpses presented shine without a doubt and will easily leave you speechless. The technical side is also well taken care of as per The Coalition tradition, too bad for some small visual bug found during the cutscenes in the testing phase, which did not affect the use of the game and could be a mere isolated case.
Gears 5: Is Hivebusters Just a More of the Same?
Being the DLC of a rather important game for the Xbox division, it would have been reasonable to expect something more from this production. While not giving the side to particular criticisms, it is clear that - perhaps also due to the pandemic, which has probably delayed its release away from the debut of the new generation - the originality has been dosed with a rather stingy dropper. Those who have appreciated the Gears 5 campaign will therefore be able to embark on an adventure that will certainly not disappoint them, which, however, fails to leave its mark as the main trend of the brand. On the other side of the coin we find instead 3 somewhat charismatic characters, which would be nice to see in further dedicated content. We can therefore define Gears 5: Hivebusters a More of the Same in some ways, which however has a rather high background quality, and that we do not hesitate to recommend to anyone who has enjoyed the main campaign and is a fan of this historic brand.
