GEARS 5

Gears 5 is a beautiful balancing act of new and old, and it manages to offer the franchise’s trademark action and gore while telling a compelling story that sets up the future of the series in a big way.

The Coalition has simply knocked it out of the park with Gears 5. A more-open ended campaign, the introduction of Arcade and Escape, and the cool changes added to Horde mode stand out as this sequel’s finest aspects. All of this worthwhile content is made even better thanks to the always enjoyable cover-based shooting mechanics and varied weapons locker Gears of War is known for. Gears 5 weaves an awesome tale and makes sure to keep you entertained long after the credits roll.

I can say with absolute certainty that Gears 5 is an astonishingly fun video game. The excellent flow of combat established in prior entries has been implemented here almost flawlessly, the audio/visual feedback is intense, and there’s even a compelling, touching narrative in there to boot. The open world areas let the pace down a bit, and some difficulty spikes can frustrate, but overall if you’re after an action experience, you cannot go wrong here.