Recently we got to see Gears Tactics in action, giving us a really deep idea of what we can expect. Set in the Gears universe, Gears Tactics takes place over a decade before the events of the first game, in the early days of the Locust invasion, which has set the planet Sera ablaze. Humanity reels from the unknown threat, and throughout the game, you're tasked to fight back the horde and rally the remains of the scattered C.O.G. forces.
Gears Tactics is a strategy game through-and-through, with obvious influence from the likes of XCOM. You'll be able to upgrade your troops, customize them at will, and even name them. Iron man mode with perma-death is an option too, and you'll get to pick your soldiers from four character classes with deep specialization skill trees to boot.
Gears Tactics is hitting PC first, with an Xbox One version planned sometime in the future. Microsoft wanted to ensure this was properly catered for on Windows before shipping it out to Xbox (or so they say...); as such, The Coalition was keen to emphasize the work it has committed to bringing graphics settings, UI options, and accessibility features to the PC version.
On PC, Gears Tactics will have a wealth of options for tweaking the user interface and the graphics. On the environment side, you'll be able to tweak volumetric fog, planar and glossy reflections, and screen-space reflections.
You can manipulate almost every graphics setting you can think of, and maybe more.
You'll be able to control the level of detail in the world, as well as control the resolution on shadows and so on. You can even drill down into the spawn rate of particles, and how long objects remain on the world before vanishing. There are also segments for textures, post-processing, and all the usual stuff like resolution, character detail, shader quality, and so on. Through "advanced," you can
Beyond that, you can control the level of gore and "mature" content (i.e. swearing), alter frame rates in-game and for cinematics, as well as tweak depth of field. Practically you can manipulate almost every graphics setting you can think of and a few you might not have thought of. And then, you can test it through an in-game benchmarking tool if that wasn't enough.
Gears Tactics looks set to be quite an attractive game on PC, and hopefully well-optimized on less performant hardware. The game is aiming to launch on April 28, 2020, and we're rather excited about it.
Survive the Locust
Gears Tactics brings tactical, turn-based combat and marries it to classic, frenetic Gears action. Outfit your squad and take down a Locust leader creating monstrosities.
Affordable accessories that'll pair perfectly with your PC
Every one of these awesome PC accessories will enhance your everyday experience — and none cost more than $30.
Related: Read our Gears Tactics full review!
KLIM Aim RGB gaming mouse ($30 at Amazon)
Whether you're a gamer or not, this is an absurdly good mouse for the price. It's ambidextrous, has a responsive sensor, a braided cable, tank-like build quality, and, yes, it has RGB lighting, though you can turn it off if that's not your thing.
AmazonBasics USB speakers ($16 at Amazon)
These neat little speakers may only pack 2.4W of total power, but don't let that fool you. For something so small you get a well-rounded sound and a stylish design. And they only cost $16.
Razer mouse bungee ($20 at Amazon)
Use a wired mouse? You need a mouse bungee to keep your cable tidy and free of snags. You get no drag on the cable, and this one has subtle styling, a rust-resistant spring and a weighted base, all for $20.
