It was the best of Gears, it was the worst of Gears. It was an amplification of everything every Gears before did well, and it was a maturation of everything those same games struggled with. It was an identity crisis, a dysmorphic preoccupation with fixing shortcomings that weren’t actual shortcomings. It was bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter.
Gears 5 is the best Gears game to date, but just barely. In its second go-round, developer The Coalition shows a real proclivity for wringing every drop of tension out of a firefight and for constantly crafting larger-than-life sequences. However, as the new-guard stewards of Gears, the studio puts its mark on the series with game design that’s already dated. It’s not nearly enough to sink the whole effort, but it’s enough to anchor Gears 5 down.
Source: Destructoid Review: Gears 5