I've been playing Gears 1 to 5 a lot since May 2020. Doing the campaigns with friends in co-op, playing through them alone.
I have to say, I don't understand why people say 4 and 5 are shit. Gears 1-3 are good, but I like 4 and 5 even more. Graphics are insane and frame rate is so good and smooth in 4 and 5 on One X or Series X. Gears 5 is still unmatched visually, in my opinion.
I understand why people say it feels like the same old gameplay, but that's one positive point in my opinion : don't fix what ain't broken. Having tried the Outriders demo a couple of day ago, I promptly deleted it and ran back to Gears 5. It kinda has similar gameplay, but in may ways so inferior, it's almost not comparable.
Also, I have to note that me and my friends are always playing Gears in at Insane difficulty and I feel that might have something to do with why we enjoy it so much. When you play lower difficulties, you can pretty much shoot anything while being shot, no problem. While playing Insane, you will HAVE to start thinking strategically. Not just running and gunning. One small error and you're done. Also, if they get your partner, you can't just bring him back up, you start back at the latest checkpoint. Not kidding, there are times when we re-do the same part a hundred times... before figuring out the best strategy. It's not for impatient people, but I feel like without the challenge, Gears doesn't deliver exactly the best experience you can have. When you're hiding with almost no bullet left and you must try to think of a way to get past the battle, it's a very different game and so much more enjoyable.