Gears 5: What you need to know about the story so far

Gears 5 is just around the corner, and it has been almost three years since the release of Gears of War 4. Let’s recap where we all left off.

Gears of War 4 introduced us to a whole new generation of characters along with the classic slate of characters we previously learned to love. We are also introduced to an evolved enemy of the past that is threating the small surviving population of humans on Sera. It also leaves us with a major cliff hanger about a certain character that many fans of the older games are excited to explore. Gears 5 will surely dive into that reveal even further.

With that said, if you have not played Gears of War 4 yet, then I suggest you do so, but if you are too busy playing something else than I understand. Spoiler warning for the lore leading into Gears 5 is in effect as of now!

The Aftermath of Gears of War 3

Gears 4 takes place 25 years after the events of Gears of War 3 when the COG successfully eliminated all the Imulsion on the planet, Sera. Sadly, with the destruction of this major fossil fuel, the remaining humans were thrown into a new age of living.

A new Coalition of Organized Governments (COG) was established to protect what was left of humanity. COG built cities with giant walls to protect its citizens from outside threats such as wind flares; a byproduct of destroying the Imulsion.

Unfortunately, not everyone saw the Coalition as a saving grace and defected to living outside of the walled cities. These people are known as Outsiders, which formed villages and towns to call homes of their own. These groups of people were able to survive by performing raids on COG resource depots. It allowed them to stock up on weapons, ammo, food, and other crucial resources. One of those crucial resources is known as a fabricator, which can create weapons and defenses that serve critical in an attack.

Outsiders versus COG

Gears of War 4 starts with a pair of defectors, J.D. and Del. Neither men saw eye to eye with the COG’s leadership and decided to leave entirely. They joined a group of Outsiders who is lead by Kait’s mother, Reyna. J.D. and Del want to help the group of Outsiders, so they decide to raid a COG outpost under construction. They hope to obtain a fabricator for the village. Kait and her uncle, Oscar, accompany them on their journey.

While at the outpost, COG robotic forces named DeeBees attack the group. While in the scuffle, the leader of COG, Mina Jinn, is broadcasted over one of the robot’s face. She confronts the group of Outsiders and demands they return the COG citizens they kidnapped. The entire party is confused as to what she is referring to, but they will soon know who is the real culprit.

Once they return to the village with the fabricator, the Outsiders prepare for an assault from COG. DeeBee robots descend on the Outsiders’ village but are effortlessly dispatched thanks to the fabricator. The team begins to repair what was damaged by COG forces, but are attacked by an unknown enemy. The creatures start snatching people up. Kait, J.D., and Del get locked up in the power station by Reyna in order to keep them safe. She is then snatched up along with Oscar soon after.

“THEY’RE GONNA F*** UP MY TOMATOES!”

More from Microsoft

• Halo Infinite Season 5: A game-changer amidst challenges
• The Game Awards: What is the ‘Xbox Tax’
• Bethesda’s past space endeavor: Unveiling the untold story of the aborted project ’10th Planet’
• Xbox’s shift to mobile: Phil Spencer’s vision for industry dominance
• Microsoft completes landmark $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Soon after the attack on the village from the unknown creatures, J.D., Del, and Kait, decide on what to do to stop this unknown threat dubbed Swarm. J.D. reluctantly decides to go to his father, Marcus Fenix. Marcus and J.D. do not have the best relationship because of the differences they had on the COG. Now, Marcus is even more angry with him for defecting and endangering himself and others.

Marcus has been hiding out on an abandoned estate growing tomatoes for the past 25 years. He isn’t too happy to see his son and the friends he dragged into this mess. Like his son, however, he is reluctant to help out before more DeeBee robots attack the estate. The robotic forces make quick work of Marcus’ tomatoes, which makes him quite angry. The group manages to get away, and Marcus leads the group to Fort Reval. The fort was the location of a mass burial for Locusts.

On the way their, the party runs into a snatcher which grabs Marcus and runs away with him. J.D. is determined to find his father. Eventually, the group finds and saves Marcus, who was connected to the hive mind of the Swarm. The Swarm are Locust who did not die but instead went under a major transformation. The large burial sites created large hives which are connected like neurons in the brain.

The team also figures out that the Swarm is responsible for the kidnapping of COG citizens. Marcus also felt Kait’s mother while inside the network. He said she is being treated differently from the rest of the kidnapped people. Sadly, he felt the kidnapped villagers die while in the hive mind.

Locust Lineage

The team finds out the hive in which Reyna is being kept is heavily fortified so they must call in reinforcements. Marcus knows just the people, so they make their way to a radio tower. Nostalgia begins to flourish as Agustus Cole, Damon Baird, and Samantha Byrne show up to assist in the assault. Baird and Sam have sparked up a relationship since the last time we saw them. Even funnier, Baird is the creator of the COG robotic forces.

He brings a pair of mech suits in which J.D. and Kait use to raid the hive. They make their way to the hive and find Reyna in the network of the Swarm. Reyna is weak and can barely speak. She tells Kait the Swarm has made sure she cannot be removed without dying. Before Kait cuts her loose, Reyna gives her an amulet which resembles the same amulet the Locust Queen Myrrah wore. That being said, Queen Myrrah was the mother of Reyna and the grandmother of Kait.

Gears 5

Gears 5 will primarily focus on Kait rather than J.D. because of the big reveal at the end of the previous game. Kait and Del will branch off from the other characters to learn more about her Locust ancestry. From the trailers, we will be exploring a northern Sera littered with snow. This is an environment Gears’ fans have yet to see so it will be a breath of fresh air.

Gears 5 releases for Windows 10 and Xbox One on September 10.