The open world aspects are stunning and it's truly a love letter to the series revisiting areas decades after we were there last however the story is just as lackluster as 4 and JD takes a backseat which leaves us with the two most playable NPCs and every interaction feels hollow right up until the decision at the end which will probably be ignored in the next game. From a competitive standpoint this is a massive step down from 4, catering to a more casual player base that didn't stick and pushing out one of the worst battle passes I have ever seen. Gears really shouldn't have been made into a second trilogy after the events of 3 and every game since trying to reignite the flames just let out hot air.