Video Game Review: Gears of War: E-Day

Gears of War: E-Day is a return to form on everything that makes a Gears game great. With a campaign filled to the brim with a compelling, emotional story, characters both new and old you’ll hope will survive the savage onslaught, and a Horde Siege mode that will keep you and your friends locked in for hours. There has never been a better time to be or become a Gears of War fan.

Official Summary

Experience the brutal horror of Emergence Day through the eyes of Marcus Fenix in the origin story of one of gaming’s most acclaimed sagas.

Quick Information

Developer(s): The Coalition, People Can Fly
Release Date: October 6, 2026
Genre: Third-Person Shooter, Action, Adventure
Platform: Xbox Series X

What is Gears of War: E-Day?

Despite Gears of War: E-Day being the latest game in the Gears of War franchise, it takes place before any of the previous Gears games during what is known as Emergence Day, the infamous moment when the Locust Horde assaulted the surface of Sera in a global attack. E-Day has been referenced in all previous Gears media, but we have never before seen the start of the Locust War.

Gameplay

At the time of writing this review I’ve clocked in over seventy hours of Gears of War: E-Day on the Xbox Series X and pre-ordered my copy of the game on disc. For context I’ve completed the campaign, played each of the Horde Siege modes, and dabbled in Verses. Further, I’ve also played and completed each Gears of War video game (minus Tactics), and I’ve read every Gears novel. 

Gears has always been an iconic cover-based third person shooter, but now with E-Day, the gameplay has been updated and modernized. We can now jump across gaps, climb vehicles, and quickly zipline up ropes ascending to the tops of buildings. Verticality isn’t the only thing new, with enough speed on your sprint you can now slide, which is a lot of fun and reminds me of another People Can Fly game, Bulletstorm. These new inclusions help breathe a bit of fresh air into the familiar controls while still keeping the familiar gameplay at its roots.

Horde is back with a fast paced action mode called Horde Siege. This game mode has you traveling around set maps (which are locations from the campaign) and completing different types of missions. As a big fan of Horde from the previous Gears games, I feel that Horde Siege is the perfect game mode for E-Day. You really feel the tension of a city collapsing as multiple squads try to navigate their own time sensitive missions and extract safely. There still is extra equipment to use and purchase with energy, but there are constantly changing objectives which force each squad on the map to remain mobile. I do like that what you leave behind can still be used by other squads when they travel to that same area. It gives you a feeling that even though you don’t always see the other squads on the map, they are still there fighting the same threats as you and everyone can lend a helping hand at any given moment.

During my time with the game, I haven’t come across any major game breaking glitches. The most notable issue I found while playing was sometimes the sound will crack and stutter for a few moments before returning to normal. During Horde Siege, I’ve had a Corpser bug out during an Invasion Event a couple times, and I’ve also experienced some lag when trying to interact with other players and objectives. The Coalition has been patching the game every few days so I imagine that these issues will ultimately be resolved over time.

In Multiplayer there are no battlepass type gimmicks, you simply play the game to unlock each of the characters and cosmetics. All unlocks are either earned by completing certain objectives, like completing the campaign or doing something special X amount of times in a particular game mode, or can be purchased outright by using the in-game currency. The current game is a breath of fresh air to simply be able to play and unlock the cosmetics I want without jumping through hoops.

The only real money microtransaction currently in game is from the Never Fight Alone charity campaign special bundle, which includes a character skin and weapon skins set. As per Microsoft’s statement, “All net revenue from the bundle will be donated directly to Crisis Text Line to support its free, confidential, 24/7 mental health and crisis intervention services.”

Art Design/Sound

E-Day is a beautiful game, and The Coalition made a concerted effort to give this game an immersive feel through every single detail. From character expressions and body language, unique and grounded armor designs, to littered city streets full of debris, everything feels cinematic and intense in a way that makes you feel as though you are navigating the crisis of E-Day first hand. This game has set a new standard for environmental storytelling, from the stunning full cityscape views, to water reflections, to the deterioration of the world around you, you literally see Kalona torn apart in real time (more on this later).

As a whole, I honestly don’t need games to get any better graphically than E-Day. Video games should still feel like video games, though they can still feel like an interactive cinematic experience. 

The music is top tier, and even the menu music makes me emotional. It reminds me of the iconic Halo 3 menu music. The game’s music elevates the cutscenes, underscoring the emotional story beats and enhancing them in a way that if I ever go back and listen to the soundtrack, I’ll be taken straight back to how I felt when I first experienced this game and its story. 

To be deeply immersed in a video game, all of these background elements have to be working in harmony to the point where you may not conscientiously notice how much of an impact those details are having on your experience. You’ll notice immediately when something feels off in a game, whether it’s the music, environmental design, or janky character models, but when everything works perfectly, you remain immersed and engrossed in the story.

Story

The story around Emergence Day has been alluded to over the course of the Gears of War series, but we’ve never been able to see day one of the Locust attacks. The entire set up of this inciting scene is well thought out and executed. At every point we feel that growing tension and dread as the characters start to realize the gravity of the situation they find themselves in.

Gears has never been for the faint of heart, and E-Day is a reminder of why. The horror is back in a whole new way. One of the most horrifying things I came across during the campaign wasn’t a fight scene but seeing the bodies piled up on top of each other as civilians tried to flee through the underground subway turnstiles. I still get chills thinking about it.

Environmental story telling does major heavy lifting throughout the campaign. There are lore objects that add further context to the world and underscore the horror of E-Day in quieter but no less impactful ways. There are cinematic vista shots that will take your breath away from the scale of the devastation across the city. There are moments throughout the story where you will be reminded that everything that happens occurs over the span of only a few days, further heightening how quickly and ruthlessly the Locust Horde lay waste to humanity.  

Characters have always been an integral part of the Gears universe, and E-Day not only brings back fan favorites who have been with us from the beginning, but also adds brand new characters to round out the cast. The newly formed Bravo Squad consists of far more than just Marcus and Dom. Newcomers Mags and Lucas add interesting and complex character types that we haven’t seen fleshed out before. Mags easily became one of my favorites as the story unfolded, feeling grounded and human with many of her ambient dialogue lines. Even characters from the novels are finally receiving serious screen time, as with Raven pilot Gill Gettner and my personal favorite from the entire series, Captain Quentin Michaelson (both of whom are playable characters for the other game modes). 

E-Day may just be my favorite of the series as a whole. It felt like the culmination of all the lore, characters, and world-building that has been with us through all Gears media. The story paid tribute to the lore which came before without needlessly retconning past games or introducing spectacle shock value moments. What was slightly changed with the lore is, in my opinion, nothing drastic worth complaining about. Further, E-Day serves as a perfect opportunity for those unfamiliar with the Gears franchise to hop on board, offering a new entry point into the series by starting at the beginning. You don’t need to know who Marcus, Dom, or any of the other characters are because the game establishes their personalities and backstories thoroughly within the game itself. Of course, if you’re already a fan and have played the previous games, you’ll pick up on references and details that might otherwise go unnoticed. 

Conclusion

Gears of War: E-Day is proof that the best is still yet to come in this franchise. To me, this game serves as the best entry in the series since the original trilogy. This is the Gears game I have been patiently waiting for and without a doubt my personal game of the year. I hope that The Coalition continues on and makes E-Day a proper trilogy since there is certainly enough space in the story to continue forward. I have so many questions and look forward to seeing how this emotional story evolves in the future. The Gears faithful may know how the story ultimately ends, but the journey is just as important as the destination.

It took a considerable effort to pry me away from the game long enough to write out this review. I highly recommend Gears of War: E-Day as an incredible feat of storytelling which focuses on nuanced characters. This is a grounded sci-fi story showcasing humanity at its best and lowest. You’ll root for these characters, you’ll loathe some of them, but most of all, you’ll want to see how they survive and overcome overwhelming odds. 

Don’t just add this game to your wishlist. Go out and purchase it as soon as possible to enjoy one of the best games of 2026.

Rating: ★★★★★