Centered around a surprisingly moving storyline about frayed family bonds, and featuring a cast of characters far more diverse and empathetic than the Marcus Fenix cadre, Gears 5 proves that even the most reprobate of space marines can someday grow up too. That’s a bit of a shame, because there’s a solid argument to be made that Gears 5 is the best game in the pentalogy. Gone are the Xbox 360 heights in the mid-2000s, when Epic’s saga of grim meatheads in a world gone wrong ruled the roost. Gears of War isn’t the hottest franchise in the world anymore. Here are 25 games you should consider downloading once you get your hands on an Xbox Series X. There are more than 100 games on the service, including, like, six different Maddens alone. That can be pretty overwhelming for a newcomer. Microsoft has gone all-in on the Netflixication of gameplay, so your first few hours with your brand new Series X, or Series S, will likely be spent trolling through the offerings, deciding what you want to add to the drive. Thankfully, Game Pass does a great job filling the void. For now, early adopters are spending their time playing a souped-up version of an old Tetris game, waiting for the future to arrive. This is particularly egregious on the Microsoft side of things: The Series X costs $500, and currently it doesn’t boast a single exclusive that can’t be played on other platforms. Both the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X are technically impressive and tastefully designed, but neither have much of a launch lineup to speak of. That day can’t come soon enough, because this insurgent console generation has already been marred by a lack of content. Microsoft plans on releasing Halo Infinite, easily the biggest name on its docket, to Game Pass on the same day it’s released at retail in 2021. For $15 a month, anyone with an Xbox or PC gets access to a vast library of video games, pulled from a variety of different publishers, which can all be downloaded for free. Photo-Illustration: Top: Courtesy of Microsoft, Bottom: Courtesy of Nintendo

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