Once upon a time, Gears of War erupted out of the ground and took a chainsaw to the gaming industry. Bringing the idea of “HD gaming” to life early in the Xbox 360’s generation, it was a monumental hit for Epic Games, and was followed by several more titles, comics, and books. It even spawned its own competitive, esports league, and soon the iconic Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad will finally make their debut when the franchise’s movie premieres on Netflix.
Xbox took over the reins from Epic Games in 2014 and built upon the foundation of the original trilogy with J.D. Fenix (Marcus’s son), new story elements and enemies, and an intriguing narrative surrounding Kait Diaz and her connection to the Locust. Though both critically and commercially successful, some felt the series’ continuation in Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 was lacking compared to the original trilogy. I don’t personally agree, and I generally loved Gears 5, but Xbox and The Coalition’s answer was to go back to one of the most talked about events in the universe: Emergence Day.
Gears of War: E-Day sees a young Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago returning to the city of Kalona after the Pendulum Wars, in which Dom’s older brother, Carlos, was killed in action. Set 14 years before the original Gears of War, players will finally get to experience the first moments of the Locust’s emergence from the depths of Sera.
Note: our video review can be found below if preferred. All screenshots below are a combination of PC and Xbox Series X captures
Suit Up
While Marcus and Dom enjoy a beer at the bar among a few other veterans, the ground begins to rumble, emergency sirens ring out, and it quickly becomes clear that something isn’t right. E-Day wastes no time in immersing you in throes of citywide distress amongst the citizens of Kalona, but as a civilian you are not combat-ready. This opening is excellent for a few reasons. Not only does it ground players in the story immediately, but it also enables E-Day to introduce new and returning players alike to the characters and revised gameplay mechanics.
As citizens scream and run for their lives, Marcus, Dom, and new squad members Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes grab a few pipes and begin doing what they can to assist. Immediately noticeable is the fluidity of your character’s movement. Gears has always had a unique feel that’s heavy and grounded, yet with E-Day, The Coalition has managed to retain those elements at its core, while somehow making it feel fast and smooth as well. It’s excellent, and for the first few hours, my co-op partner and I kept commenting on how impressed we were.
Eventually, the squad meets up with on-duty COG leadership, gears back up and is officially named Bravo Squad. While Marcus and Dom are instantly familiar, Mags and Lucas are new, so their stories unfold throughout the game. Gears has always had stronger character development than the “bro-shooter” it was often made out to be, and thankfully, E-Day carries that torch proudly.
Alongside the standard chatter and set-piece moments shared over the course of the journey, both Mags and Lucas get scenes where the locations you visit highlight their history. These are woven seamlessly into the story and made me appreciate both characters in ways that pleasantly surprised me. Living up to the nostalgic love for Delta Squad was never going to be possible, but it’s a testament to E-Day that Mags, in particular, became one of my favorite characters by the end.
Of course, Marcus and Dom’s relationship is at the center here, as it should be. Marcus, grieving the loss of Carlos, feels a strong sense of duty to protect Dom. Dom, meanwhile, is mourning his older brother while also unnerved by the uncertainty surrounding his wife and children. As each grapples with his own pain, they begin to lean on one another, and the foundation of their brotherhood is laid.
For the Horde
The Locust’s “debut,” so to speak, unfolds exactly as you’d expect. Wretches begin to wreak havoc in droves while the foot soldiers spread out like a plague. Their portrayal is as terrifying as the circumstances demand, and veteran players will fall right back into the fold, fighting Rushers, Tickers, Boomers, and Snipers. A few new enemies are introduced as well, including the Bile Frog and Spore Matron, which mix things up from time to time.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a new Gears game without a big, bad boss Locust to go after. Enter Svore Krav Vraahk. Known to the COG as the “Impaler” for his habit of skewering humans with spears, Vraahk is an imposing, brutal antagonist you’ll hear about often. A few cutscenes demonstrate his lethality and do a good job of setting the stage for the battle to come.
That said, I wish there were both more variety in the Locust engagements and a more consistent threat from Vraahk himself. You’ll frequently come across his trail and its ghastly results, but given his amazing design, I would have liked to encounter him more. Similarly, the couple of new Locust enemies in the mix aren’t very interesting and get repetitive quickly. I recognize that being a prequel makes this challenging to a degree, but it feels like The Coalition could have done more in these areas.
In contrast to my complaints about the enemy variety, however, the boss battles that cap off each of the five acts are fantastic. Gears as a franchise has struggled with this at times, but thankfully, most of E-Day’s large-scale battles are both interesting and spectacular. Combined with a variety of set pieces and greatly improved mechanics, they give E-Day the best overall combat of any Gears campaign.
The Long Walk
One of my favorite aspects of E-Day is how the Locust’s emergence and Kalona’s fall are portrayed over the course of a few days. As you cross the city and do what you can for the populace, the weight of the struggle is ever-present across roughly 72 hours of in-game time. As events unfold and more Locust emerge, you’ll watch the moment-by-moment destruction of Kalona, which you’re helpless to prevent. It’s a somber presentation that anchors you to the larger conflict and to Bravo Squad as well, since their own communities and families are at stake. Witnessing Dom first learn that Maria and his children are missing, while knowing what Gears of War 2 eventually reveals, was harrowing.
With Gears 5, The Coalition attempted to broaden gameplay scenarios by including open-world areas. These were controversial, with critics arguing that they detracted from the flow of combat and the traditional Gears campaign structure. With E-Day, the studio has revised that approach through the city of Kalona itself.
Kalona is a vast, sprawling city detailed to a remarkable degree. Throughout E-Day, you’ll have the opportunity to traverse the city across multiple acts, and in doing so, you can uncover side objectives, gun and gear upgrades, and Locust skirmishes that serve as a microcosm of the larger battle. This approach feels more focused and grounded than Gears 5’s. Many of the side objectives involve other COG soldiers facing their own challenges or civilians just trying to stay alive. It’s not revolutionary by any stretch, but it’s an effective way to broaden the campaign’s scope without detracting much from what players expect from a Gears of War campaign. It also feels more dynamic by design.
For instance, while my co-op partner and I were exploring separately, I noticed a building in the distance with “HELP” banners hanging from a window. I thought, “I wonder if you can interact with that?” Sure enough, as I approached, I was given a side objective to clear an escape path for a few civilians trapped in an apartment. These types of events tie in well to the overall story and feel more integrated than simple “open-world exploration.”
Scattered throughout the city are collectibles, hard cases, and supply caches to discover. Naturally, COG tags return as one of the primary collectibles, but they’re found alongside a wide variety of items representing Kalona’s culture. When you examine them, you can read more details and even get some unique backstories behind events, which I really appreciate as someone who enjoys the franchise’s lore.
Hard cases, meanwhile, provide a few upgrades for your weapons and gear that can be applied at supply caches. In a feature shared with the upcoming Horde Siege mode, you can modify your weapons for the first time in a Gears game. It isn’t game-changing, but being able to adjust the scope on your Breechshot or add flame rounds to your Gnasher is a nice option that offers a small amount of customization to your playstyle. You can also equip one of a handful of armor abilities, which align with the class ultimate abilities in Horde Siege. They certainly come in handy at times, particularly the auto-revive when playing on Hardcore or Insane difficulty.
Each entry in the franchise introduces new weapons, and E-Day is no different. We got a preview of some of them during the multiplayer beta, but having ample time to toy with the new weapons and the sandbox gave me a better feel for them. The Gut Puncher is likely my favorite new weapon and almost feels like a Gears version of a noob tube, with more flexibility in how you use it. The Incinerator Shotgun is a menace and likely the most powerful CQB weapon in the sandbox, save for the heavy pickups. Plus, watching your enemies melt in front of you never gets old. Joining them are an LMG called the Ripper and a burst-fire pistol called the Stryga. Neither impressed me much: the Ripper has far too much recoil, and the Stryga feels underpowered for its rate of fire. The returning Breechshot, though, is excellent, and I’m glad we get to use it again outside of Gears of War: Judgment. After all, there’s no better head pop in games than in Gears.
Niiice
To call Gears of War: E-Day a technical marvel would be selling it short. It’s an absolute tour de force. From the opening moments to first exploring Kalona to all the cinematics and set pieces, E-Day consistently showcases The Coalition’s talent with Unreal Engine 5. Playing on a combination of “Ludicrous” and “Ultra” settings on PC with ray tracing enabled, I think I wore out the capture button on my controller.
Character models are nothing short of astonishing and easily the best I’ve encountered in a game to date. E-Day accentuates this by often framing the characters in close-ups, which not only makes them feel real but also lets them display a wide range of believable emotions. Hell, there’s even a moment of downtime for Bravo Squad where Marcus shows a subdued smirk. It’s subtle but powerful given the context and the character.
As an industry, we often debate the need for realistic graphics in games, but no matter where you stand, there’s simply no denying their impact on the character performances in E-Day.
In a similar vein to the character models and facial detail, lighting is a key focus in E-Day. Save for maybe Cyberpunk 2077 with path tracing, I’m once again not sure I’ve seen a more impressive implementation. From the moment you step onto the lamplit streets of Kalona, E-Day uses lighting to accentuate its environments in striking ways. Over the three days spent defending the city, you’ll traverse subway tunnels, buildings under siege, imulsion factories, underground Locust passages, parks, forests, and a lot more. Every step of the way, I was in awe of what was on-screen. And if you wanted Gears to lean back into some of its darker, more horror-esque elements, you’ve gotten your wish as well.
Knowing the time and effort The Coalition put into bringing E-Day to life, I hope much of that foundation can now be built on, allowing future Gears games to arrive on a shorter timeline. Time will tell.
It’s worth noting that I also played parts of the game on Xbox Series X while my co-op partner played the entire game on XSX where it is also extremely impressive.
Celebration Day
As a Gears diehard, I’m extremely pleased with how E-Day turned out. The Coalition managed to walk the fine line between making the franchise feel modern and preserving what made it memorable in the first place, which is never an easy task. We’ve heard Emergence Day referenced countless times over the past 20 years, but getting to actually play through it left me grinning from ear to ear.
With two decades of expectations on its shoulders, The Coalition succeeded in crafting another classic Gears game with E-Day. Its technical brilliance is matched by strong character development and modernized gameplay, resulting in one of my favorite experiences of the year. Now, I’ve gotta go see a guy about a Gnasher. I hope to see you in the arena.
Thank you to XBOX for providing review access to the Gears of War E-Day campaign. You can view Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.
