Gears 5

I had never played a *Gears* game before, and neither had my partner, so *Gears 5* was our first experience with the series. We honestly found the opening two episodes rather "boring", and the lengthy tutorial didn’t exactly help. However, once we got past that initial hurdle, the game became considerably more enjoyable. The exploration sections were a pleasant surprise, and the campaign kept getting better as we progressed. We didn’t experience any crashes or noticeable frame-rate issues throughout our playthrough. There was only one instance where we had to restart a scene in an optional exploration area because an event glitched, but otherwise the game ran remarkably well. The final levels in particular were spectacular and made the journey feel worthwhile. We didn’t try the PvP or PvE modes, so this review is entirely based on the campaign. And honestly, the campaign alone was enough to give us a great time. It’s not quite a masterpiece —the writing can be weak at times, and some of the characters introduced early on can be irritating— but the excellent "art direction", impressive environments, and sheer scale of the later sections make up for a lot of those shortcomings. Most importantly, being able to experience the entire campaign together with a partner makes *Gears 5* much more enjoyable. We started the game feeling pretty bored, but by the end we were genuinely having a great time. For us, that says a lot: despite its flaws, *Gears 5* turned into a surprisingly fun co-op adventure and a very worthwhile first introduction to the series. The second DLC campaign was the opposite: it started off really well, and just when you felt the best part was about to happen, it ended. Far too short! It’s not a perfect game, but it’s not a bad one either; it’s worth buying on sale to play through once with a friend.