Gears Tactics Review: The COG Chainsaw Conquers Turn-Based Strategy

Introduction: From Third-Person Shooter to the Tactical Grid

Adapting the visceral, cover-based third-person shooting of Gears of War into a turn-based tactical strategy game sounded like a risky proposition. However, The Coalition and Splash Damage (2020) succeeded by refusing to compromise the franchise's identity.

Instead of creating a slow, defensive clone of XCOM, they engineered a hyper-aggressive tactical combat loop where executions and chainsaw duels constantly reward you with extra actions.

Serving as a prequel set 12 years before the original Gears of War in the immediate wake of Emergence Day, the campaign follows Gabriel Diaz (father of Kait Diaz) and veteran soldier Sid Redburn.

Operating outside the standard COG command structure, Diaz must recruit ragtag survivors across Sera to track down and assassinate Ukkon, the sinister Locust geneticist responsible for breeding the Horde’s deadliest biological terrors.

Combat System and Gameplay: Gridless Aggression

Gears Tactics discards several genre clichés to prioritize speed and offensive momentum:

• 360-Degree Free Movement: Moving units is completely freeform rather than locked to rigid square or hex tiles. Units move across smooth radiuses, making positioning around low and high cover feel natural.
• Flexible 3-Action-Point Economy: Every unit receives 3 Action Points (AP) per turn. There are no arbitrary restrictions; you can fire three times, sprint three times, or mix and match attacks, abilities, and movement in any sequence.
• The Execution AP Engine: When an enemy Locust is downed, sending a Gear in for a melee execution (via the Lancer's chainsaw bayonet or a Retro charge) instantly awards +1 Action Point to every other squadmate on the battlefield. Chaining multiple executions in a single turn allows an aggressive squad to wipe out entire enemy squads before they can react.
• Dynamic Overwatch Cones: Rather than a binary defensive stance, you draw a custom vision cone. The number of defensive shots a unit can take during the enemy turn matches the exact number of unspent AP they held when setting the Overwatch.

Classes, Skill Trees, and Customization

Squad composition relies on five distinct combat classes, each featuring extensive 30-skill talent trees:

• Vanguard: Frontline assault tanks that leech health from damage dealt and taunt enemy fire away from fragile allies.
• Support: Combat medics equipped with group buffs, healing stims, and abilities that transfer their own AP to high-damage teammates.
• Heavy: Anchored machine gunners wielding the Mulcher who gain massive accuracy and damage bonuses the longer they remain stationary.
• Scout: Cloaked assassins wielding the Gnasher shotgun who rely on flanking mobility and proximity mines.
• Sniper: Long-range precision marksmen built around critical hit chains, headshot refunds, and perfect active reloads.

Between missions, scavenged equipment crates provide weapon mods (stocks, barrels, sights, and extended magazines) and armor plating that directly boost stats like critical chance, evasion, and raw health without any microtransactions.

Campaign Structure and Colossal Boss Fights

The campaign breaks the typical strategy mold with massive, multi-phase boss battles against iconic Locust behemoths like the Brumak, Corpser, and Hydra. These multi-turn encounters require careful spatial awareness: you must dodge telegraphed mortar strikes, seal emerging E-Holes with frag grenades, and target specific weak points on massive biological targets.

However, the game stumbles in its campaign pacing. To pad out the storyline, the campaign regularly forces players to complete filler side missions (such as retrieving supply canisters or rescuing captured Gears) before unlocking the next main story mission.

These side operations feature recycled map tiles and repetitive objective layouts that slow down the narrative drive.

Audiovisual and Technical Presentation

Powered by Unreal Engine, Gears Tactics is one of the best-looking tactical strategy games ever made.

The camera seamlessly shifts from an isometric tactical overview down to cinematic over-the-shoulder execution angles, showcasing bloody bisections, exploding heads, and crumbling structural debris in high detail.

The sound design is equally punchy: the rhythmic click of a perfect Active Reload, the terrifying rev of the Lancer chainsaw, and the guttural barks of the Locust Horde make every firefight feel impactful.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Fast, Visceral Tactical Loop: The execution mechanic and flexible 3-AP system reward aggressive, offensive playstyles.
• Gridless Movement Freedom: Fluid radius-based movement makes squad positioning feel dynamic and modern.
• Spectacular Boss Battles: Encounters against the Brumak and Corpser translate cinematic scale brilliantly into turn-based mechanics.
• Deep Class Trees: Diverse specialization options allow for powerful squad builds and synergies.

Cons:

• Repetitive Side Missions: Mandatory filler assignments between main story missions hurt narrative momentum.
• No Strategic Base Layer: Lacks an overarching geopolitical map, research trees, or base management systems found in traditional strategy games.
• Static Mission Objectives: Secondary missions rely on a small handful of recycled mission types throughout the 30-hour campaign.

Conclusion

Gears Tactics successfully proves that tactical strategy games do not have to be slow, overly defensive, or punishingly passive. By translating the high-octane gore, chainsaw executions, and squad cohesion of Gears of War into an innovative turn-based framework, Splash Damage crafted an aggressive, stylish, and thoroughly engaging strategy title that stands out as one of the best spin-offs in the franchise.