Gears 5

It only took five attempts, but Xbox’s number two franchise finally delivers a decent plot. Sensibly shunting terminal dullard J.D. Fenix aside for the far more interesting Kait Diaz, Gears 5 manages to tell a genuinely compelling story that fleshes out both its new lead character and the ever-present Locust threat. Gears are also still really good at guns and gore. While open-world style hubs, various upgrade systems, and other modern-day tropes sneak into The Coalition’s third-person blaster, this is very much an old-school cover shooter at heart. Gunfights remain thrilling and hectic, while those Locust still turns into extra squelchy chunks when you take the business end of your Lancer’s chainsaw to their supremely fugly faces.