Gears of War: E-Day delivers the series’ best combat in 20 years but stumbles in its open-ended sections, according to early campaign impressions from Eurogamer, The Guardian and Windows Central. None of the three outlets has published a scored review, because access so far has been limited to the campaign.
Eurogamer reports its playthrough clocked between 20 and 25 hours on Hardcore difficulty, which it calls the intended setting, and that it abandoned collectibles and side missions about halfway through. The Guardian describes the game as set during and immediately after Emergence Day, with players controlling Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, a greenhorn private called Reyes and a combat-weary veteran called Mags, forming a unit named Delta. Eurogamer identifies the same squad members, though The Guardian names the cadet Lucas rather than Reyes. Eurogamer says the Torque Bow arrives only in the latter half of the campaign, and that each weapon has four upgrade slots filled through lockboxes or side missions.
The Guardian criticises the game’s pacing, reporting that players cross the same section of bridge three times before the credits roll and that levels are flipped between day and night for reuse. It says E-Day’s two attempts at variety are a helicopter gunner seat and slow walking sections. Eurogamer similarly faults open-ended sections for hobbling momentum and tension, comparing them to weaker pacing in Gears 4 and barren reaches of Gears 5. Windows Central calls the game gorgeous, satisfying and harrowing but undeniably messy in aspects of execution.
Eurogamer reports one fight against two Flayers in a cathedral caused frustration through one-shot kills, awkward camera work and ungenerous checkpointing, and that controls can cause players to glue to the wrong wall or melee the wrong enemy during hectic fights. The Guardian says the bulk of the game is spent in large open areas stuffed with hundreds of collectibles that trigger an audio chime when nearby.
Eurogamer notes that E-Day’s story director Juan Vaca was laid off just before the game’s launch, following a wave of Microsoft cuts, and that other developers fear being laid off straight after launch and before bonuses are due. The Guardian frames the game as returning to the start of the series rather than answering questions raised by 2019’s Gears 5, to show why Marcus has a scar on his lip and why soldiers strapped chainsaws to assault rifles.
What remains unproven is the full package. Eurogamer states its access allowed only local campaign play, with online co-op, player-versus-player and Horde modes untested, and says it will publish a scored piece after further play. The Guardian tested on Xbox and PC. Windows Central labels its review in progress. No outlet has yet assessed multiplayer or Horde, which Eurogamer notes is the sole reason many players buy these games.
