Unpopular opinion: Gears 5 is my favourite moment of the franchise so far (as far as the campaign goes, multiplayer does not interest me much), and it's not due to recency bias. The originals relied too much on tight brown corridors, where every extra angle gave you a secret, limiting the battles to an endless repetition of moving from one cover to another in eerily similar locations. There were variations like the giant worm in Gears 2, but even there you effectively did the same thing.
Fast forward to the 5th game, and the game takes players through colourful locales, slightly undercooked but interesting open world hubs. The addition of a controllable (both through team commands and with a controller) Jack adds several new tactical options, as it allows players to use him as distraction, stun enemies, bring over guns and such. With a more open and varied level design and more variety in side content (no longer just tags to collect), it's the only Gears to this point that didn't feel like going through the motions 2-3 hours in, but managed to stay fresh enough to not outlast its welcome.
It's no perfect game by any means, but I never loved either Gears so far. It is however the one I enjoyed most, and I think the evolutions they brought to the formula did improve the gameplay. Excited to see how they can iterate upon that in 6. First time I am legitimately excited about the franchise.
