10) Gears of War 4 (Xbox One) – 84
10 Best First Party Exclusives of the Generation, According to Metacritic
Editors note: This list includes home console first-party games only. Xbox One exclusives that also appear on PC such as our first entry here are being counted on this list. We’ll update this list as new first-party home console exclusive games are released.
Gears of War 4 was a hugely anticipated installment to one of the Xbox brands’ most iconic titles. Along with Halo, the Gears series helped to build a reputation for Microsoft’s first-party exclusives in the early years of the original console, and its debut on the Xbox One promised gorgeous visuals, scintillating action, and the most poignant story in the series so far. The stage was set for a less whimsical, tonally darker version of the brotastic shooting we’d become accustomed to.
Unfortunately, while Gears of War 4 certainly did impress in certain areas, it didn’t quite manage to stamp its mark as the definitive game of the franchise. The game’s 84 Metacritic score is respectable, but lower than some of the earlier games on the Xbox 360.
