As part of Game Informer's continuing blowout of Gears of War 4, the magazine releases five new screenshots showing off the game's graphics and enemies.

Few would argue against the notion that Gears of War 4 looked stunning in its E3 2015 reveal trailer. This was to be expected, considering the franchise's reputation for delivering top-of -the-line graphics, and now that idea has been reinforced thanks to a fresh batch of screenshots released by Game Informer today.

Game Informer released five new Gears of War 4 screenshots, which reveal a lot more about the upcoming Xbox One exclusive game. Firstly, the screenshots reveal that part of the game will take place in a creepy, dilapidated church, which one can assume is a callback to the horror elements from the first games in the series.

The screenshots also offer a closer look at the Windflares first seen in the Gears of War 4 E3 2015 reveal trailer. These dangerous storms can obliterate both enemy combatants and any players unlucky enough to be caught in their blasts of lightning. According to Game Informer, savvy players will be able to use these storms to their advantage, by shooting loose objects that will then be sent flying into enemies.

As previously reported, the Locust that veteran Gears of War players may be used to fighting will not return for this fourth entry. Rather, these enemies are known collectively as the Swarm, and these new screens offer a closer look at one of the types of Swarm enemies, the Juvies. Juvies are slimy, fast, dangerous in numbers, and as can be seen in the screenshots, downright scary looking.

[gallery columns="2" ids="293715,293712,293711,293710"]

Players will be able to utilize the aforementioned Windflares to defeat Juvies and other Swarm creatures, but the additional screenshots reveal more ways players can murder their foes. For example, JD Fenix and the other playable characters in the game have access to combat knives that allow for a variety of contextual executions, offering players a little more melee variety than simply chainsawing through enemies.

Finally, the screenshots also show a new ability that is meant to spice up the franchise's cover mechanics. Players will now be able to perform a "vault kick" maneuver, in which they jump over cover and kick the enemy on the other side in the face. The vault kick will stun any enemy hit with it, opening them up to a quick combat knife execution if the player moves fast enough.

Judging by these screenshots, it doesn't look like Rod Fergusson wasn't lying when he called Gears of War 4 a graphical showcase for Xbox One. These screenshots are very impressive, and hopefully their release means we can look forward to a new trailer dropping soon. It will be exciting to see the elements shown in these screens in action, and to see if Microsoft isn't exaggerating about Gears of War 4's "stunning progress."

Gears of War 4 will be available later this year, exclusively for Xbox One.

Source: Game Informer