Games Like Gears of War
Quick Answer
The closest games to Gears of War are Gears 5, Vanquish, Binary Domain, Space Marine 2 and The Division 2. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Gears of War, and what does not.
What Made Gears of War Work
Gears of War invented the cover shooter as we know it: heavy characters, a roadie run, chest-high walls and a shotgun duel at close range. The active reload and two-player campaign co-op matter as much as the shooting. Fast arena shooters are the wrong direction — weight and cover are the point.
Gears of War was made by Epic Games and published by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 in 2006. Its roadie run, snap-to-cover shooting and the Lancer's chainsaw bayonet set the template for third-person cover shooters, and Gears of War 2 (2008) added the Horde co-op mode. The series moved to The Coalition with Gears of War 4 in 2016.
9 Games Like Gears of War
1.Gears 5(2019)
The best-playing entry in the series and the most generous with co-op.
Why it fits: The Coalition, 2019. Kait Diaz's story, with semi-open areas crossed on a skiff and the series' Horde and Escape co-op modes.
What is different: Semi-open areas and a skiff to travel between them, which some players find loosens the pacing.
Where to play it: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
More about this game →2.Vanquish(2010)
Takes the cover shooter and adds a rocket-powered slide — same DNA, opposite tempo.
Why it fits: PlatinumGames, 2010, directed by Shinji Mikami. Cover shooting with rocket-powered knee slides and slow motion.
What is different: Very fast and very short — cover is somewhere you leave, not somewhere you live.
Where to play it: PS3, Xbox 360, PC; remastered for PS4 and Xbox One.
More about this game →3.Binary Domain(2012)
An underrated squad cover shooter with far better writing than it needed.
Why it fits: Sega's Yakuza team, 2012. Squad cover shooting against robots that lose limbs and armour as you shoot them.
What is different: Less gore, more robots, and a squad-trust system driven by voice or menu commands.
Where to play it: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
More about this game →4.Space Marine 2(2024)
The current best heavy third-person shooter, and openly built for Gears fans.
Why it fits: Saber Interactive, 2024. Third-person Warhammer 40,000 against Tyranid swarms, with three-player co-op.
What is different: Cover barely exists — it is a melee-and-parry brawler with guns.
Where to play it: PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
More about this game →5.The Division 2(2019)
Cover shooting as the core loop, with loot on top.
Why it fits: Massive Entertainment, 2019. Cover-based looter-shooter in a fallen Washington, D.C.
What is different: A looter with RPG damage numbers, so enemies are bullet sponges.
Where to play it: PS4, Xbox One and PC.
More about this game →6.Mass Effect 2(2010)
Cover shooting with the best squad in the genre.
Why it fits: BioWare, 2010. Cover combat inside an RPG, with a squad you recruit and can lose.
What is different: An RPG first; the shooting is lighter and conversations take up half the game.
Where to play it: Xbox 360, PS3 and PC; in the Legendary Edition on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
More about this game →7.Remnant II(2023)
Third-person co-op shooting with real difficulty.
Why it fits: Gunfire Games, 2023. Third-person shooting with Souls-like bosses and co-op for three.
What is different: Procedurally assembled areas and soulslike dodging rather than a scripted campaign.
Where to play it: PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
More about this game →8.Helldivers 2(2024)
If co-op chaos with friends was the reason you played Gears.
Why it fits: Arrowhead Game Studios, 2024. Four-player co-op against overwhelming alien waves — Horde mode on a planetary scale.
What is different: Friendly fire everywhere and short missions rather than a story campaign.
Where to play it: PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S.
More about this game →9.Resistance: Fall of Man(2006)
The PlayStation answer to Gears, from the same year.
Why it fits: Insomniac Games, PS3, 2006, released within a week of Gears of War. An alien-invasion shooter with Insomniac's inventive weapons.
What is different: First person, not third, and no cover system.
Where to play it: PS3.
Games like this →
Where to Start
Gears 5 is the best-playing Gears and Space Marine 2 is the best heavy shooter outside it. If you want the cover-shooter idea with a twist, Vanquish is short and brilliant.
How We Picked These Games
Picks had to share either the weighty third-person cover combat or the co-op survival of Horde. Shooters that only share the military look were left out.
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Games Like Gears of War Compared
Year is each game's first release anywhere, on the platform in the next column. "Play it now" is where it can be bought or played today.
| Game | Year | First released on | Play it now | Closest to Gears of War in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gears 5 | 2019 | Xbox One, PC | Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC. | Same series, Horde and Escape |
| Vanquish | 2010 | PS3, Xbox 360 | PS3, Xbox 360, PC; remastered for PS4 and Xbox One. | Faster, flashier cover shooting |
| Binary Domain | 2012 | PS3, Xbox 360 | PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. | Squad cover shooting |
| Space Marine 2 | 2024 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. | Armoured soldiers versus swarms |
| The Division 2 | 2019 | PC, PS4, Xbox One | PS4, Xbox One and PC. | Cover-based looter-shooter |
| Mass Effect 2 | 2010 | Xbox 360, PC | Xbox 360, PS3 and PC; in the Legendary Edition on PS4, Xbox One and PC. | Cover combat plus a squad story |
| Remnant II | 2023 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. | Co-op third-person bosses |
| Helldivers 2 | 2024 | PS5, PC | PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S. | Co-op against hordes |
| Resistance: Fall of Man | 2006 | PS3 | PS3. | Same launch window, aliens |
Which One to Play, by What You Liked
If you liked Gears of War for the cover-and-chainsaw combat, try Gears 5 and Binary Domain. The series itself at its most modern, and the best cover shooter that was not Gears.
If you liked Gears of War for Horde mode with friends, try Helldivers 2, Space Marine 2 and Remnant II. Three co-op games about surviving waves together.
If you liked Gears of War for wanting cover shooting faster, try Vanquish. Rocket slides and slow motion turn cover into a launch pad.
If you liked Gears of War for the squad and the story, try Mass Effect 2. Gears-style fights inside a story about the people you bring along.
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