Gears of War: E-Day Campaign Review
Gears of War: E-Day delivers visceral combat, jaw-dropping visuals and a surprisingly emotional origin story, my full campaign review.
I’ve been a fan of Gears of War since the original exploded onto Xbox 360 nearly two decades ago. I still remember seeing it for the first time and being blown away by its incredible visuals, larger-than-life action, and brutal take on third-person combat. From that moment on, I was hooked, following Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and Delta Squad through every chainsaw rev, emotional gut punch, and gallon of gore.
Gears of War: E-Day takes the franchise back to where the nightmare began, following a younger Marcus and Dom during the opening days of the Locust invasion. But developer The Coalition isn’t simply retreading familiar ground. E-Day feels unmistakably like Gears while recapturing the danger, tension, and sense of discovery that made the original so memorable.
Nearly twenty years later, E-Day made me feel like I was experiencing Gears of War for the first time all over again. The visuals are stunning, the combat is heavier and more brutal than ever, and the Locust once again feel genuinely terrifying. Yet beneath all the blood, bullets, and roaring chainsaws, it’s the brotherhood between Marcus and Dom that gives E-Dayits beating heart.
So, does this trip back to Emergence Day live up to nearly two decades of Gears of War history? Read on for my full review of Gears of War: E-Day.
Gears of War: E-Day Details
Platform(s): Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Developer: The Coalition
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Genre: Third-person cover shooter
Available game modes: Single-player campaign, two-player split-screen campaign on console, four-player online campaign co-op, Horde Siege PvE and Versus PvP
ESRB Rating: M for Mature 17+
Ground Zero for Emergence Day
Story prequels, especially for massive franchises like Gears of War, can be difficult to pull off. Longtime fans already know where the story is headed, while newcomers need an entry point into the series. The Coalition satisfies both, with E-Day reintroducing the story, characters, and enemies in new, dynamic ways. As a longtime Gears fan, I went into E-Day knowing the ins and outs of Emergence Day, and I thought I knew what to expect. Then the opening sequence shocked me with an ultra-cinematic, Hollywood-style presentation that completely reset my expectations.
The first act carries an almost survival-horror atmosphere, and I loved the build toward catastrophe. Before the Locust Horde erupts from beneath Sera, Marcus and Dom are just returning from the decades-long Pendulum Wars, two soldiers trying to figure out what comes next. Marcus seems prepared to remain on active duty, while Dom clearly wants something quieter, a life with his family that doesn’t revolve around war.
Then Emergence Day happens.
The streets erupt, the Locust pour out of the ground, and whatever future Marcus and Dom imagined disappears almost instantly. It’s a powerful opening that finally puts you on the ground for one of the most important moments in Gears of War history rather than simply hearing about it after the fact.
The Horror of E-Day Zero Hour
The early encounters with the Locust are grisly, chaotic and genuinely frightening. Civilians have no idea what they are seeing, soldiers don’t understand what they’re fighting, and streets that looked perfectly ordinary moments earlier become killing fields. The Coalition has said it wants players to experience Kalona's destruction as it happens, not walk through ruins years later, and that distinction gives the story enormous weight. You see the streets falling into chaos and ruin in real time, civilians fleeing, buildings collapsing, total pandemonium as you try to help whoever you can.
The Birth of Bravo Squad
Through that chaos, Marcus and Dom are thrust together with former Gear Mags Carter and rookie communications officer Lucas Reyes to form Bravo Squad. I loved what each newcomer brings to the group. They aren’t Marcus-and-Dom replacements; they have their own histories, personalities and perspectives, and the five-act campaign gives those relationships room to grow.
There are some enormous, absolutely incredible set pieces here, but I feel E-Day is strongest when it pulls everything back and focuses on the people caught in the middle. Even knowing where this universe eventually ends up, I remained emotionally invested because these characters don’t know what is coming.
Gears of War Combat Evolved
When it comes to gameplay, the E-Day experience is unmistakably Gears of War but far more refined and flexible to how you want to play. Movement feels heavier in the right ways while being significantly more responsive. Marcus can jump, slide and use lower cover positions, giving firefights more verticality and flexibility than the classic formula offered. The lower cover positions are especially dramatic when you have a machine gunner or sniper overhead; it feels like a Hollywood action sequence while you are in cover.
A Masterclass in Excessive Firepower
Of course, all that improved movement and flexibility would mean little if the weapons didn’t hit with the same brutal authority Gears is known for, and thankfully, they kick harder than a 40-ft Brumak. The weapons are fantastic. Returning favourites such as the Gnasher, Hammerburst, Longshot and various Lancers feel powerful, but newer Locust hardware gives you plenty of reasons to experiment.
"Returning favourites such as the Gnasher, Hammerburst, Longshot and various Lancers feel powerful, but newer Locust hardware gives you plenty of reasons to experiment."
I especially liked the Ripper, a brutal Locust machine gun that becomes increasingly vicious as it gets going, while weapons like the Breechshot add a nasty new flavour to long-range combat.
Customize Your Arsenal
The bigger evolution is dynamic customization and how you discover these additions. As you explore Kalona and complete secondary activities, you can find and uncover Hard Cases containing upgrades. At Supply Caches, you can modify weapons, armour and tactical equipment. Some upgrades simply improve stability or ammunition capacity, while others noticeably change how a weapon behaves.
Old War Machine, New Tricks
Watching my Prototype Lancer evolve with additions such as improved optics and a laser sight gave me a reason to hunt down those yellow cases. Tactical equipment such as the Sonic Disruptor adds another wrinkle by stunning enemies, while armour perks can improve survivability or reward particular combat styles. E-Day gives the classic Gears formula a tune-up rather than an engine swap, and the old war machine has never handled better. It isn’t trying to turn Gears into an RPG, but it does give you more ownership over how you take on the Locust. It also takes the baseline combat and gives you ways to experiment within Gears of War’s signature cover-shooter system.
"E-Day gives the classic Gears formula a tune-up rather than an engine swap, and the old war machine has never handled better."
My biggest frustration with the campaign came from the friendly AI. Numerous times I was down but not out, staring directly at a CPU-controlled squadmate and silently begging for a revive that never came. Nothing destroys the heroic brotherhood fantasy quite like watching your buddy stand six feet away while Marcus slowly bleeds out.
Graphics and Performance — Beautiful Destruction
I remember booting up the original Gears of War in 2006 and being blown away. It had this almost oil-painting quality: thick atmosphere, incredible textures and grotesque detail unlike anything I had seen on a console.
E-Day is the first Gears game since then that gave me that same sense of technological wonder. Hands down, this is one of the most technically impressive video games I have ever played.
Built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, this is an absolute graphical clinic from The Coalition. Lighting pours through ruined buildings, particles fill chaotic battlefields, characters are incredibly expressive, and the level of geometric detail in the environments borders on obsessive. The E-Day experience supports 4K at up to 60fps, while Series X offers Quality, Balanced, and Performance options targeting 30fps, 40fps, and 60fps, respectively.
What impressed me even more was the environmental storytelling. Kalona changes before your eyes. You see a living city, then revisit areas after Emergence Day has torn them apart. Apartments, streets and public spaces that once felt safe become unrecognizable. Kalona doesn’t just get destroyed during E-Day; you watch an entire city transform one street at a time.
"Kalona doesn’t just get destroyed during E-Day; you watch an entire city transform one street at a time."
My one big complaint? There is no Photo Mode. That feels almost criminal in a game this beautiful. I constantly wanted to freeze battles, landscapes and environmental details and start framing shots.
Final Thoughts on Gears of War: E-Day
Gears of War: E-Day understands exactly why this series has endured for nearly two decades. It doesn’t throw away the cover shooting, Active Reloads, ridiculous gore or testosterone-soaked one-liners that are core to the Gears identity. Instead, The Coalition modernizes them, wraps them around a surprisingly emotional origin story and delivers one of the most technically impressive games I’ve played in years. The Coalition runs it back to the beginning not because the series has run out of road, but because something powerful was waiting at the starting line.
"The Coalition runs it back to the beginning not because the series has run out of road, but because something powerful was waiting at the starting line."
The campaign isn’t flawless. Squad AI can be frustrating, and some longer exploratory stretches interrupt the story's pace. But for me, those imperfections never outweighed the incredible combat, spectacular presentation and emotional pull of watching Marcus and Dom face the Locust for the first time.
Two decades after I first became a Gearhead, E-Day reminded me exactly why I fell in love with this franchise.
Gears of War: E-Day Pros
+Outstanding visuals and environmental destruction
+Excellent weapon handling, movement and customization
+Emotional campaign with terrific Marcus and Dom character work
Gears of War: E-Day Cons
-Friendly AI can be unreliable when you desperately need a revive
-Some larger exploration sections may slow the campaign’s momentum
-No Photo Mode in a game practically begging for one
Gears of War: E-Day Scoring
Category | Score |
Gameplay | 9/10 |
Graphics | 10/10 |
Sound | 9/10 |
Lasting Appeal / Replayability | 8/10 |
Gears of War: E-Day Overall Rating | 9/10 — 90% |
Xbox provided a copy of Gears of War: E-Day to conduct this review.
About the Author - Matthew "Dapper Tux" Rondina
Matthew has been involved in all things gaming since the 8-bit era. He is a video game and tech industry veteran who has been passionate about technology and gaming for over 20 years. In addition to being the Managing Editor of dappertux.com, he has bylines with Best Buy, Cineplex Entertainment, Mobile Syrup and Walmart. Follow Matthew’s gaming + tech adventures on multiple social platforms with the handle @dapper_tux via X, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and join in on the fun!
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