A brand new mode is coming to Gears of War 5, called Escape.
From what we saw from the release trailer, a group of players is going to be inside of a massive Swarm hive where they’re going to be fighting waves of enemies, while also attempting to escape a deadly gas that’s chasing them the entire time.
The toxic gas chasing players causes these pus-like pores all over their bodies, exploding and killing them over a brief amount of time. Players are going to have a limited amount of time to move from room to room.
It did not look like players had to kill all of the enemies to move on to the next room, as escape was the more prominent focus. It could be a mix between the wave-like gameplay they have in the horde mode, with more objectives that create a time crunch all of the players have to respect. It’s going to encourage players to play more aggressively, rather than opting for a defensive position.
We do know the game is going to feature three different players, which is unusual given that it’s normal for at least four players to assist one another. But given the unique nature of this mode, four may have proven too challenging to keep everyone alive or it may have made it too easy for the players to run through each room. Whatever reason, players can expect only to have to keep track of two other party members as they carve a path forward.
The three characters players can choose from are Mac, Lahni, and Keegan. They come from a group called Hivebusters. Hivebusters are new to the Gears of War franchise. The team goes out of their way to get captured by the Swarm so that they can get inside the enemy’s nest. Once they’re in, they wait until they’re deep within the hive before fighting their way out. The trio can’t leave without planting the poisonous gas, which is going to destroy the Swarm’s colony from the inside out.
Because they had to get captured, they do not go into the hive with any of their weapons. They instead have to rely on finding all of their ammunition, weapons, and whatever else they want to use to get them back to the surface. This strategy proves especially tricky because it means they’re going to limit themselves on anything they want to do. Each of the three characters has different skills and abilities to make them stand out amongst the group. For example, Mac has an invulnerable shield he can summon, Lahni has an electrical knife, and Keegan can toss ammunition to his team.
Before the game begins, players are going to have the opportunity to modify and just the difficulty setting, and there are going to be numerous options. Players can choose how many enemies they have to fight, the frequency of ammo and health, the type of enemies they’re going to face, and there’s going to be even more.
Gears of War 5 launches on September 10, and you can expect to have the chance to jump into the mode with a couple of friends on launch day.
