Gears of War: E-Day, the prequel exploring the early hours of the Locust War, has arrived, showcasing the latest in Unreal Engine 5 technology. Developed by The Coalition, the game leverages UE5 features such as MegaLights, Nanite, and hardware Lumen ray-tracing, alongside NVIDIA's RTX Mega Geometry. This combination aims to deliver an atmospheric and visually impressive experience across PC and consoles.
The game's timeline is set 14 years before the original Gears of War, making it the earliest entry in the saga. E-Day also marks the return of the iconic duo Marcus Fenix and Dominic “Dom” Santiago as playable characters in a squad, a pairing not seen since Gears of War 3.
To test the game's visual capabilities at their peak, an experience with NVIDIA GeForce NOW was undertaken, requiring a Steam account and a robust internet connection. Targeting a 5K resolution with uncapped FPS, the service also offers ultrawide support.
Initial setup involved a brief shader compilation, significantly quicker than experienced on a local PC. Upon launching, the graphics settings were pushed to 'Ludicrous' for the 5120 x 2880 resolution, utilizing the available VRAM to its fullest.
A notable feature highlighted is RTX Mega Geometry, which requires NVIDIA cards with at least 12GB of VRAM. This technology works in tandem with Unreal Engine's Nanite to produce more accurate shadows for ray-traced effects while minimizing noise. With DLSS 4.5 set to 'Balanced' and multi-frame generation on 'Dynamic', the visual fidelity was assessed during gameplay.
The level of detail in E-Day is immediately apparent, with Nanite technology enabling environments to feature extensive geometric detail without noticeable pop-in. The optional Hair Strands setting further enhances character models, rendering individual strands of hair.
Screenshots taken with DLSS 4.5 set to 'Balanced' demonstrate the Super Resolution's capability to maintain visual fidelity while mitigating the performance impact of high resolutions. Artifacts are reportedly reduced compared to previous DLSS versions, with improvements noted around foliage.
Cinematic lighting is showcased effectively in scenes set within dimly lit interiors. Characters, including new squad mates Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes, are illuminated by various light sources with differing temperatures and intensities. The integration of ray-tracing options and RTX Mega Geometry creates realistic shadows and bounce lighting, supported by Unreal's Mega Lights technology.
In motion, the game presents intense combat scenarios on the streets of Kalona. Hordes of enemies, including Wretches, Tickers, and new Grunt enemies, attack relentlessly. DLSS 4.5 and NVIDIA Reflex reportedly ensure a consistent, high FPS for fluid gameplay, with GeForce NOW maintaining low latency comparable to a desktop experience.
Graphical fidelity remains high even amidst chaotic battles. The streets are illuminated by numerous light sources, casting reflections on wet surfaces and highlighting the accumulated grime on characters. Intense neon lights from emergency vehicles contribute to the scene's deep reds and blues.
Across the play session on NVIDIA GeForce NOW, an average of 143 FPS was achieved. This performance was maintained at the highest in-game settings, even over Wi-Fi, a feat not possible on the reviewer's home GPU. The combination of high bitrate, dynamic multi-frame generation, and NVIDIA Reflex provided an overall low-latency experience.
Gears of War: E-Day is available on GeForce NOW's Performance and Ultimate tiers, offering players access to its graphical fidelity and performance benefits.