Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 82 | 58 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 75% | 70 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 68% | 66 | 27 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 78 reviews sampled · 78 total reviews in window · weighted 39.5 up / 18.5 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (116)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“For being such a genre departure, its honestly surprising how well Gears Tactics plays. It not only fits perfectly into the series, but manages to do so with some excellent turn-based tactics gameplay and some great graphics and optimization to match. For the first half of the game, it’s easily some of the best I’ve seen from the genre. However, that’s just for the first half. By the time the latter half rolls around, you’ve already seen all the game has to offer. The mission variety drops off hard and the recruitment system just becomes a pain to deal with.”
read full review ↗ - 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 ↗ - 80
“Gears Tactics is a great fast-paced strategy game with cleverly designed systems to keep the player engaged. It won't go without its flaws such as mandatory side missions and some UI imperfections. It successfully innovates by the absence of the grid system which gives the player more freedom and makes for a better experience. Overall Gears Tactics is definitely a game worth playing.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Gears Tactics is a successful experiment for both Gears franchise and Splash Damage. But there is much more potential than the game shows us.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Gears Tactics requires a specific approach. Players looking for complex gameplay similar to the ancient UFO need to be warned, GT is even simpler than the newest XCOMs. It’s definitely not a game to cater to core veterans. However, this is the perfect introduction to tactical strategy for anyone who found the complexity intimidating!”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Gears Tactics is a solid iteration of Gears' gameplay as a tactical game. And despite having a few frustrating moments, I enjoyed the ~30 hours I spent on it, the combat choices and strategy elements are both fun and satisfying, although the missions end up getting repetitive and monotonous with a few difficulty spikes. Nonetheless, I hope The Coalition and Splash Damage expand on this game with future DLC or a sequel.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Gears Tactics is a fun and cerebral-challenging addition to the turn-based strategy line of games that go beyond what is expected. While it’s not wholly original, it presents a lot of time-tested mechanics in a streamlined and intuitive way while also not being afraid of challenging its audience.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“I didn’t go into Gears Tactics expecting very much. Why would I? And yet really it makes so much sense. Those giant walking meat-slabs have jumped perfectly from their cover-based shooting to turn-based cover shooting. Splash Damage have done an outstanding job taking the foundations laid by XCOM and building on top of that before loading it all in a heavy, sweaty layer of Gears armour before strapping a Lancer to it. The lack of a more meaningful metagame between the action hurts it a little, but Gears Tactics more than makes up for it with it’s fantastically fun tactical plotting and in the way it lets you chainsaw Grubs in half. Which XCOM doesn’t. And really, isn’t that what we all want in life?”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Unexpectedly, Gears Tactics is quite a competent and enjoyable tactical strategy game. The roots of what make a good tactics game are embedded in the DNA, combat is fun and yet somewhat familiar. However, Gears Tactics falls into the trap of laying down a great foundation with awesome mechanics but it does feel that the few creative ideas showcased begin to feel repetitive after the thirty plus hour campaign. That isn't to say that Gears Tactics is devoid of ideas either, Gears fans will be impressed with how the title pushes forward the narrative and newcomers will also be left in awe at how good the characterisation and cutscenes are, which are just as good as Gears 5, from a graphical and presentation standpoint. This is a great foundation into what should become a great spin-off series, should it continue.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Gears Tactics is a great fit for the IP and its gameplay complexity matches, and sometimes surpasses, that of other long-established IPs in the genre.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Even with some flaws, Gears Tactics manages to meet and exceed expectations. Fluid and fast-paced action, along with tactical decisions, will keep you on the move. Likewise, brutal firefights and executions, as well as battles against massive bosses, capture the frenetic Gears of War experience for an entirely different genre.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Gears Tactics shows that the series has great potential in other styles if implemented properly.”
read full review ↗
cublikefoot
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
3DNews
GRYOnline.pl
Fun Factor
Kakuchopurei
Wolf's Gaming Blog
Cubed3
Nexus Hub
PC Invasion
Zoomg…and 104 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Update - 23rd March 2021Mar 23, 2021
- Gears Tactics Title UpdateDec 1, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Gears Tactics Developer Blog - Jack UpdateNov 4, 2020
- Gears Tactics Update Dev DiaryNov 4, 2020
- Gears Tactics New Content Update Coming Nov 10!!!Sep 18, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Gears Tactics Title Update 3Jul 16, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Gears Tactics Title Update 1May 11, 2020significant · resets scoring window