The Gears of War franchise may not be as narrative-focused as, say, Mass Effect, The Witcher, or any of TellTales' games. However, that isn't to say their single-player components shouldn't be played in sequence. As such, if you're intent on buying Gears 5, you should definitely play Gears of War 4 beforehand. Here's why.

If you had asked if you would have needed to play the first Gears of War trilogy to understand Gears of War 4, the answer is an emphatic "no." With Gears 5, the situation is different. Gears of War 4 takes place decades after the events of the original Gears trilogy. The main characters have moved on, largely, and players now control the next generation of characters, leading to a whole new experience without the need for context. While the backstory is definitely helpful and gives the events of Gears of War 4 more weight, it is more than possible to play Gears of War 4 without having played the previous trilogy; you'll just miss out on the references is all.

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However, you must play through Gears of War 4 before playing Gears 5. Not only does it teach players the gameplay ropes of its tight third-person shooting mechanics, but it contains important story elements that must be experienced before venturing into Gears 5.

As Gears 5 is a direct follow-up to Gears of War 4, whose shocking ending appears to be the catalyst for Gears 5, Gears of War 4 is a necessary download on whatever platform you're playing the game on. As depicted in the trailers revealed so far, Kait Diaz, first appearing in Gears of War 4, is the primary subject of Gears 5. With some heart-stopping revelations at the end of Gears of War 4, Kait appears torn with regards to which side she's on, and Gears of War 4 sets up the premise for why.

Gears of War 4 also importantly establishes JD's troubled relationship with his father, Marcus Fenix, who was the protagonist of the original trilogy. While that may be unimportant itself in Gears 5, Marcus Fenix appears to want to help Kait as much as possible in her conflicted state, as seen in the E3 2018 trailer.

Plus, the relationship between the main crew, consisting of JD Fenix, Kait Diaz, and Del Walker, is established in Gears of War 4. As per the trailers so far, there seems to be a great deal of tension between them now, so Gears of War 4 catches players up as far as their existing relationships are concerned.

There are high expectations for Gears 5 at the moment, as The Coalition has billed it as being far different from any series entry thus far. That said, the trailers so far depict a narrative and gameplay elements that closely adhere to that of Gears of War 4, which means that players should definitely play Gears 5's predecessor before the new game's release.

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