I started this with a friend of mine in local coop. It's a solid experience, but as a fan of the old games I didn't get the hang of it completely.

Why?
Well, the new cast isn't as cool, funny and dynamic as the old one. The story is a bit "boring", especially in the first act where you're fighting the robots. Then you're hunting down "something" for at least 2 more chapters. It feels like a constant chase for something that is really close in front of you, only that it can vanish within another second.

The next thing: gameplay.
It fealls extremely repetitive. Yeah, the Gears gameplay is rock solid, I get that. But this is really just room after room after room with the same old enemies. Robots, little Locust, Locust, those "jumping around assholes", the big guys with the machine gun... I don't know, it feels really undynamic. Which is sad, as the first act especially (this tutorial/recap thing) feels soooo powerful as a start.

So in general: This is a solid game. In coop it is fun, but compared to the other Gears games, it falls a little short for me. But, as it is on Game Pass, it got 3.5 stars from me and I'd recommend it to play with others.

I am still excited for Gears 5 though. :)