Gears of War: E-Day Review

Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel to the original game, showing what happened on Emergence Day when the Locusts first started their brutal invasion of the surface world. Fresh off the Pendulum Wars, Marcus, Dom, and their fellow Gears spring into action and waste no time arming themselves to fight off the grotesque invaders. What proceeds is a generally exciting campaign with action-packed set-pieces, jaw-dropping visuals, and classic Gears of War cover-based-shooter gameplay elevated by the new movement system.

The most important changes to the Gears of War formula are the upgrades The Coalition has made to the movement. Whereas previous Gears of War games sometimes felt overly restrictive, E-Day gives players the ability to jump, climb on top of objects they normally wouldn’t be able to, and slide across the battlefield. These may seem like small changes on the surface, but in practice, they can dramatically change the way players approach any given combat scenario. Sure, the tried-and-true method of staying behind cover and shooting at a Locust from afar still works, but in E-Day, players can give themselves a shot of adrenaline to reduce incoming damage, charge straight for the enemy, slide, and then blow them to pieces on the way by with the Gnasher shotgun.

E-Day’s Campaign is a Blood-Soaked Thrill Ride

E-Day‘s movement changes combined with Injectors allow players to play far more aggressively than ever before. Injectors effectively give players cooldown abilities that they can use strategically to get the advantage in various situations, with new ones discovered throughout the campaign. Beyond Injector Mods, players can also find mods for their weapons, which can also change things up quite a bit. For example, players may find the long-range Locust weapon known as the Breechshot, but when they first find it, it doesn’t have a scope. With the right mod, players can add a scope and make the weapon significantly more useful.

Mods are often found in Hard Cases sprinkled throughout E-Day‘s levels. The mods themselves are definitely useful and worth seeking out, though there are times when it feels like the game is perhaps a little oversaturated with collectibles. Hard Cases are seemingly everywhere, as are the more routine lore collectibles. Still, it’s certainly possible to completely ignore these things and play the game like an old-school Gears of War title if that’s what you want, so it’s not a big deal.

Most levels in the E-Day campaign are brilliantly designed, linear levels with impressive set-pieces and exciting encounters. The game does feature some large open areas that are effectively mini-open worlds, though, and these are more of a mixed bag. Players can complete side quests in these stages (in exchange for mods) and search for more Hard Cases, and it can be fun doing these activities with friends, but they definitely hurt the pacing of the narrative. Luckily, these open world sections are not the bulk of the E-Day campaign and like the mods, can mostly be ignored if players want a more traditional Gears of War experience.

In general, E-Day‘s story is somewhat of a letdown when compared to other games in the series. While there are certainly cool moments and shocking developments, E-Day‘s narrative suffers from prequelitis. We know the ultimate fate of most of the characters in the game, so it’s hard to get invested when something happens. The emotional story beats simply don’t land in E-Day like they do in other Gears of War titles.

The two new playable characters, Lucas Reyes and Mags Carter, do not add anything meaningful to the story. They spout some of the worst, MCU-style cringe dialogue in the campaign, and neither have a compelling arc. It seems they were added for the sole purpose of making the campaign 4-player co-op, which is fine, but don’t expect to get attached to them like you may have other Gears of War characters in the past.

Co-op implementation in E-Day is excellent. E-Day supports online co-op for up to four players, and it features 2-player split-screen as well. Normally, split-screen comes with some kind of performance concession or technical compromise. Not with Gears of War: E-Day. Split-screen works remarkably well considering the eye-popping visual fidelity the game brings to the table. E-Day‘s obscene level of polish is on full display even in split-screen co-op, and I experienced zero performance issues or other hiccups throughout the entire game. My only critique is that when blood splatters on one character, the effect pops up on the second player’s screen as well, which can be disorienting at times.

E-Day reaches new heights when played in co-op, but it’s still a wildly entertaining solo adventure. The partner AI is mostly reliable, but I did run into a couple of issues where a Locust was pounding my face in and, for whatever reason, the AI partners didn’t bother to help. Issues like this were very few and far between, but something to keep in mind for those planning on playing through the E-Day campaign solo.

E-Day‘s campaign isn’t perfect, and it’s not the best Gears of War campaign that I’ve played, but it’s still a mostly good time and there’s plenty to love about it. The revamped movement system, new weapons, and new enemies keep things fresh throughout, even for longtime fans, and it’s incredibly fun in co-op.

Horde Siege is a Blast With Friends

But the campaign is only one third of the Gears of War: E-Day puzzle. There’s also Horde Siege, which challenges players to work together to fight off relentless waves of Locusts using whatever weapons they can get their hands on. The primary Horde Siege mode is about completing objectives and occasionally collaborating with other teams across a large map, with players having the option to choose between short missions or longer sessions with more objectives.

Horde Siege lends itself well to watercooler moments, with players scrambling to support each other as they move across the map, completing objectives and eventually rushing to the Raven helicopter to extract at the end of a match. Between rounds, players are able to use the Energy they’ve earned from mowing down Locusts to fortify their defenses, reload their ammo, and otherwise prepare for the next wave.

The extraction mechanics and the large maps with other squads help Horde Siege feel new without becoming too far removed from what Horde is. Horde lets players enjoy the visceral combat of the series without going through the story beats of the campaign, and that’s exactly what Horde Siege in E-Day delivers as well.

E-Day PvP is as Intense as Ever

The final piece of the E-Day puzzle is Versus mode, which is a blast from what I’ve played of it so far. Like how the revamped movement breathes new life into the minute-to-minute gameplay of the campaign and Horde Siege, it also has a big impact on Versus. There’s still plenty of wall-bouncing, but the new movement options ensure that there are many different ways players can approach fights.

E-Day features standard Team Deathmatch and Conquest, but there’s also a Search and Destroy-style mode called Demolition and a mode called Crucible that has quickly become one of my favorites. In Crucible, one player on the team has to sacrifice their ability to fight to hold a Power Core, with the object being to hold it longer in a specific area than the other team. This forces players to work together even more than the other modes if they want any chance of success, and opens the door to some interesting encounters.

There are few PvP modes quite as intense as Gears of War: E-Day‘s, and I can easily see it becoming a permanent part of my multiplayer rotation moving forward. And if players ever feel overwhelmed taking on real-life players, there’s even the option to fight against bots of varying degrees of difficulty — a great way to practice. Better yet, fighting bots still awards XP and counts towards achievements, so even if players eventually abandon the game, there will still be a viable way to enjoy Versus content for those late to the show.

Between PvP, Horde Siege, and the campaign, Gears of War: E-Day gives players significant bang for their buck. Narrative shortcomings hold it back from reaching the level as some other games in the series, but it’s still a blood-soaked thrill ride with nonstop action no matter what mode players choose to dive into. It’s a no-brainer for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers, but E-Day is also an easy recommendation even if you have to pay full price.

Systems

Released

October 6, 2026

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios

Pros & Cons

• 4-player online co-op and 2-player split-screen for campaign
• Movement changes dramatically improve minute-to-minute gameplay
• Trademark Gears of War brutal action in full force
• Eye-popping graphics and an obscene level of polish
• Intense Versus mode
• Horde Siege is a blast with friends

• Narrative isn’t nearly as compelling as previous games
• Pacing issues from the “open world” levels