Gears of War: E-Day's story campaign successfully balances a compelling narrative with evolved gameplay mechanics, offering a welcome return to the series' core themes of brotherhood and survival. The prequel, set 14 years before the original game on the emergence day of the Locust horde on the planet Sera, explores the early days of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago's partnership.
The narrative centers on Marcus and Dom as they navigate the chaotic initial hours of the Locust invasion. While players know the protagonists will survive, the game effectively conveys the uncertainty and horror of the unfolding events. The story also dedicates significant time to supporting characters Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes, allowing players to connect with them through meaningful and enjoyable dedicated sections.
The unfolding nightmare is mirrored in the evolving Locust enemies and the arsenal players must use. Early encounters involve familiar foes like Wretches and Drones, handled with series staples such as the Gnasher shotgun and the original Lancer. Players will also get their hands on the iconic chainsaw-equipped Lancer early, complete with its origin story. As the campaign progresses, the threat escalates with more formidable enemies, including frog-like creatures that spit acid and heavily armored brutes armed with a deadly chain-hook weapon.
One notable issue identified is inconsistent AI behavior during downed-but-not-out situations, where allies occasionally fail to revive the player, leading to unnecessary deaths. While playing in four-player online co-op or two-player split-screen can mitigate this, the developers are urged to address this with a patch.
Gears of War: E-Day features a robust mix of familiar and new weaponry. Beyond the classic Gnasher, Lancer, and Longshot, the game introduces or revisits weapons like the Breechshot, known for its range and stopping power, the Incinerator for its flesh-melting Imulsion blasts, the heavy Ripper, and the explosive Torque Bow. The variety of firearms offers diverse combat strategies.
Customization plays a key role through the new Weapon Mod and Tactical Gear system. Players can find dozens of Hard Cases hidden throughout the world, each containing weapon mods like accuracy enhancers or scopes. Completing optional secondary objectives in industrial city of Kalona also yields these upgrades. Each weapon has four mod slots that can be unlocked and tweaked to suit individual playstyles. Additionally, Tactical Gear modifies armor with special abilities, such as a Stim that allows for self and ally healing, encouraging players to experiment with different loadouts.
The game's boss encounters, a mix of old and new foes, are generally memorable and challenging, often requiring careful weapon selection and tactical adjustments. These boss fights punctuate the campaign's intense action sequences.
The environments in Gears of War: E-Day are visually striking, depicting locations like the war-torn Kalona, subterranean Locust caves, and an Imulsion refinery. The dense, large-scale battle arenas in Kalona are an evolution of Gears 5's open-world design, offering more organic exploration and discovery. Hidden objects scattered throughout the world provide additional lore details.
Despite the gorgeous visuals, the game experiences infrequent but noticeable framerate hitches, even on Xbox Series X in Performance Mode. Playing in the 30fps Quality Mode is not recommended until post-launch patches are released.
The campaign's conclusion is described as satisfying, successfully providing emotional weight without relying on the trope of a gauntlet of previously encountered enemies. The game ends with ten years remaining before the events of the first Gears of War, leaving room for future installments set in the past.
Ultimately, Gears of War: E-Day successfully revisits the series' foundational elements, delivering a heartfelt prequel with strong character development and engaging combat. Its mechanical evolution of enemies, weapons, and combat systems allows it to stand among the franchise's best entries.