Gears Tactics
When you think of Gears of War, you probably think of the Xbox-defining series of third-person shooters. But the smartest game in the series isn’t an action game at all. It’s Gears Tactics, a spinoff set before the events of the main games. You play as Gabe Diaz (the dad of Gears 5 protagonist Kate Diaz) and lead a squad of soldiers on a series of missions with various, creative parameters, rarely ever confined to the rote structure of “kill all enemies.” A handful of primary characters have to stay alive for story purposes, but many of your recruits are procedurally generated, and susceptible to permadeath as a result. But if that’s not your speed, you can effectively clone fallen comrades using the game’s robust customization options.
Platforms: Xbox, PC
Playtime: 31 hours
