Gears of War: E-Day
"A gorgeous prequel that sidelines its heroes and its framerate."
About
Gears of War: E-Day is a third-person shooter that serves as a prequel to the original series, depicting the initial Locust invasion known as Emergence Day. Players take on the role of younger versions of series protagonists Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, fighting through the early hours of the war. While advertised as their origin story, the campaign also introduces and heavily features new squad members Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes. The game includes a single-player and co-op campaign alongside a new multiplayer mode, Horde Siege.
Verdict
Gears of War: E-Day brings back the tight, brutal cover shooting that defined the series, and its best moments are a stunning showcase for Unreal Engine 5. This potential is squandered by a game that feels fundamentally unfinished. The campaign sidelines its promised heroes for unconvincing newcomers, while the experience is dragged down by constant crashes, stuttering, and a host of technical issues. It has the soul of a great Gears game, but it's buried under a mountain of frustration.
You'll like it if …
- +You're here for that classic, weighty cover-shooter feel and can tolerate significant technical debt.
- +You enjoy extraction-style gameplay and are interested in the new Horde Siege mode.
- +A visual showcase is your priority, and you have a powerful rig to muscle through the performance drops.
You'll dislike it if …
- −You expected a story focused primarily on the bond between Marcus and Dom.
- −Frequent crashes, stuttering, and general instability are deal-breakers for you.
- −You believe removing iconic series features like meat shields and frag-tagging is a step backwards.
Breakdown
- +The core cover-based shooting is tight, satisfying, and feels true to the classic series.
- +Combat encounters are smooth and the gunplay is often praised as a high point.
- +New mobility options can add depth to traversal and combat once you get used to them.
- −Key fan-favorite mechanics from past games, such as chainsaw duels and using enemies as meat shields, have been removed.
- −Enemy balancing feels inconsistent in some encounters.
- +Horde Siege mode is a welcome evolution of the classic format, blending in extraction shooter mechanics.
- +The addition of weapon and gear customization provides more player choice.
- +Semi-open areas with optional secondary objectives offer a change of pace from purely linear missions.
- −The standard multiplayer offering feels barebones and lacks content at launch.
- −For some, the game feels like a step backward from previous entries in terms of feature set and overall replayability.
- +The campaign is considered by some to be an improvement over the stories of Gears 4 and 5.
- −The story sidelines the heavily marketed Marcus and Dom in favor of new characters.
- −New protagonist Mags Carter is written as an overly capable character who consistently overshadows the original heroes.
- −Character arcs feel flat, relying on clumsy exposition instead of meaningful development.
- +Visually, the game is a stunning showcase for Unreal Engine 5, with impressive cinematics.
- +The overall art direction and gritty atmosphere are praised as top-tier.
- +Sound design is generally solid, adding weight to combat.
- −Graphical quality can be wildly inconsistent, with in-game visuals sometimes failing to match the fidelity of cutscenes.
- −The strong visuals are consistently undermined by severe performance issues.
- −The game is plagued by frequent crashes, with some linked to memory leaks.
- −Severe and persistent stuttering makes for a frustrating experience, even on high-end hardware.
- −Poor optimization is a common complaint across a wide range of PC configurations.
- −Baffling default keybinds for PC, such as mapping jump to CTRL.
- −Forced technical settings and anti-cheat implementation cause issues for many players.
score
