As we get ready for Gears of War: Reloaded, here’s every mainline Gears of War game ranked from worst to best.
First of all, considering any Gears of War game as “the worst” is slightly unfair. Every Gears game is great, just some are better than others, so when we say worst, we’re not throwing shade on any entries whatsoever.
However, as Gears of War: Reloaded is about to come tearing onto PS5 on August 26, 2025, we thought it would be fun to rank the mainline entries of the series. Now, we won’t be including any spin-offs like Gears Tactics, as they don’t really count. But we will be ranking every game in the main series from worst to the very best.
6. Gears of War: Judgement
Gears of War: Judgement is a prequel to the original Gears of War that takes place a short time before it, but still several weeks after the dreaded “Emergence Day”. Instead of Marcus Fenix, players control the fan-favorite Damon Baird after he’s been put on trial for disobeying orders.
The game is infamously short and doesn’t do anything especially new; instead, it mostly just offers more of the same Gears gameplay that players had grown accustomed to. However, as Judgement sometimes feels more like a DLC than a mainline entry, this is forgivable, and the game is still considered an essential part of the Gears saga.
As Judgement came a couple of years after Gears of War 3, it was nice to see these characters again, and Judgement was also the most visually stunning game in the series to date when it arrived in 2013. Is Judgement the worst game in the Gears series? Yes. Should you play it before Gears of War: Reloaded? Absolutely.
5. Gears of War 4
Gears of War 4 was a soft reboot of the Gears series in some ways. It was released in 2016 and marked the series’ debut on the Xbox One, making it the most technically impressive entry since Judgement. Set 25 years after the epic showdown at the end of Gears 3, characters like Marcus Fenix were now grizzled veterans, trying to guide new characters like Kait and Marcus’s son, J.D.
The game is great fun and was a bold new way to kick off a new era for the series, but sadly, audiences struggled to warm to J.D. and Kait like they did to Marcus and the gang. We were with them for every triumphant and agonizing moment, so moving on with a new generation just didn’t feel right.
The good news is that Gears 4 was mostly supposed to be an introduction to a new era of Gears games, as things would really get going again in the sequel.
4. Gears 5
Now we’re talking. Gears 5 was the first entry to come to the Xbox Series X|S, and boy, was it the main course to the appetizer that was Gears 4. After the last game’s rather shocking ending, players now took control of Kait, who finally came into her own as a compelling protagonist—and one worthy of taking the baton from Marcus Fenix.
Even J.D. managed to be more interesting in this outing, and more importantly, the game got the balance right between letting the new characters shine but also celebrating the beloved characters from the original trilogy. Somehow, old man Marcus is even more fun to watch than his younger self.
Gears 5 also revamped the multiplayer and finally delivered an experience that mirrored the legendary moments from the early games. The more open-world approach to the campaign caused some controversy among old-school fans, but we’re of the view that they got the balance just right between exploration and high-octane shooting sections.
3. Gears of War 3
Gears of War 3 suffered from “third chapter syndrome” somewhat, especially after Gears 2 represented the series’ Empire Strikes Back moment. But that didn’t stop it from being a stellar sequel, not to mention a fitting and powerful ending to the original trilogy. Not only did it round up the Gears of War story beautifully, but it also left the door open for future sequels, which did eventually arrive.
The game saw Marcus and his surviving Gears finally take the fight to the entity that had caused them so much suffering and get some much-needed payback. Of course, there were a few twists to the tale, but Gears 3 delivered everything a conclusive trilogy-ender should. It also offered a bombastic campaign and the most comprehensive multiplayer experience the series had seen so far.
2. Gears of War
Gears of War came at a time (2006) when the Xbox 360 really needed more flagship games, and along with titles like Mass Effect, gave the console something to hang its hat on. Inspired by third-person shooters like Resident Evil 4 and fictional universes like Warhammer 40,000, Gears of War saw a planet facing an alien invasion, but from within.
The Locust swarm attacked humanity by crawling up from underground. While we won’t spoil what they were, just know that they were a threat to rival The Reapers, The Covenant, and monsters like the Tyrnaids. Players would take control of Marcus Fenix and his squad as they bravely took the battle to the Locusts, at great cost.
Gears of War quickly became one of the most celebrated games on Xbox 360, eventually spawning sequels and lots more spin-off material. The series is still going strong in 2025 with a remaster, Gears of War: Reloded, set to release in August.
1. Gears of War 2
After the slightly experimental original game became a success, a sequel became inevitable and followed in 2008. Gears 2 is easily the most beloved and celebrated game in the series, as Marcus Fenix and the gang learned shocking secrets about the Locusts and the price of defeating them.
Gears 2 was Aliens to Gears 1’s Alien, blowing the series wide open and doing everything bigger and with more explosions, drama, and compulsive gun battles. It also introduced Horde Mode for players who had finished the epic campaign. The best thing about Gears 2 is that if the third game represents the crescendo, Gears 2 is the build-up to it, which is always the best and most thrilling part.
However, the biggest achievement of Gears of War 2 is its multiplayer mode, something that helped establish the Xbox 360 as the best place to game online with friends. While Sony consoles have caught Microsoft up in that regard today, this wasn’t the case in the 360 / PS3 era, and Gears of War 2 is a huge part of why that’s the case.
Do you love the Gears of War? Then be sure to check out our Insider Gaming forum, where you can start up some fun new discussions about the best moments from the series’ history.
While you’re here, check out the Gears of War: Reloded pre-order bonuses, everything we know about the Ultimate Edition, and the release times per region.
