It’s been nearly seven years since the last mainline Gears of War game, and you’d be forgiven for thinking the franchise is little more than a past-expiration relic from the Xbox 360 era. Gears of War: E-Day may take the series back to its early days, but it is far from The Coalition compromising on innovation. Instead, the studio delivers its finest work since taking over the franchise, giving fans ample reason to be excited for the chainsaw-riddled cover shooter once again.
Reprising their roles as the leads, Marcus and Dom visit the city of Kalona to be honored as heroes of the recently concluded Pendulum Wars. Unfortunately, the peace is short-lived, as an unknown threat known as the Locusts emerge from beneath the surface, wreaking havoc and introducing a new threat to humanity. Emergence Day is perhaps the most pivotal moment in Gears of War lore, and watching it play out is nothing short of horrifying and awe-inspiring.
Right off the bat, Gears of War: E-Day feels like a horror game; monsters of all shapes and sizes rise from the ground, tearing fleeing civilians apart and decimating humanity’s militaristic response. Over the course of three days, you watch the human race scramble to respond to the surprise attack, completely overwhelmed by the ferocity and abundance of the Locust forces. Watching the city of Kalona fall in real time, as each of humanity’s Hail Mary attempts is thwarted by the invading force, establishes the Locusts as a true threat. Nothing can be done to save the city; no matter how many enemies I mow down, Kalona’s fate is sealed. That feeling of helplessness flies in the face of the fact that you’re controlling characters who are essentially armed-to-the-teeth walking tanks, but it works extraordinarily well.
Marcus and Dom are joined by newcomers Mags and Lucas, who remain your squadmates throughout the entire game, whether you play solo or co-op. Despite their utility in combat, they’re even more important to the story. Marcus and Dom are dealing with the loss of Dom’s brother Carlos, while Mags is a strong-willed former soldier who reluctantly gets sucked back into service the moment the Locusts emerge. Lucas stakes his personality on being the by-the-book new guy who knows a lot of useless facts. For too much of the story, Lucas is underdeveloped, but a late-game story involving the newbie elevated him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Marcus, Dom, and Mags; I just wish it happened sooner.
Gears of War: E-Day delivers an astonishing collection of shootouts, supported by improved traversal and tactical abilities, masterfully arranged battlefields, stunning visuals, and a strong, diverse arsenal of weapons and equipment. E-Day smartly evolves how Gears of War missions play out; rather than the straightforward shooting galleries of the early games or the wide-open areas of Gears 5, Kalona presents city streets full of collectibles, upgrades, and side missions. I delighted in scouring each abandoned side street, debris-filled alleyway, or burnt-out corner shop for collectibles, and I actively went out of my way to take on side missions to help wayward survivors and find hard cases full of weapon mods.
Those mods let you customize each gun (as well as your armor and tactical ability) to fully suit your playstyle. I loved popping heads with a Longshot sniper rifle with a mod that instantly reloads on headshots, and I relished melting those who dared to rush me with the Incinerator shotgun, modded to narrow its spread in favor of distance and damage. Then, stacking an armor mod that rewards perfect reloads with added damage and close-range kills with healing, plus tactical abilities that heal your teammates or mark enemies, made me feel unstoppable, even against insurmountable odds.
After wrapping E-Day’s incredible campaign, I couldn’t help but want more. Thankfully, the multiplayer suite will undoubtedly provide plenty of enjoyment going forward. Versus remains fairly loyal to the franchise’s pedigree; whether playing team deathmatch, zone control, or the new power core-delivery Crucible mode, it aptly brings the same level of chaos fans have come to expect. I enjoy jumping into the currently available social playlists to test my skills against players worldwide, but the matchmaking too often disregards player and class levels; I lost count of how many times I was outmatched by players way above my level. Hopefully, as player counts fill out and ranked play begins, the matchmaking improves.
Horde Siege is where I plan to spend most of my time going forward. In this fresh evolution of the classic wave-based defense mode, Gears of War: E-Day borrows liberally from the extraction shooter genre. You use the open streets of Kalona to complete PvE objectives as a squad. You can beeline toward your main objective and call for extraction, but I more often enjoyed completing side objectives with my squad to earn upgrade points for my character class. With friendly squads in the same session, Horde Siege takes the formula to new heights, opening the door for emergent storytelling as you push back against the Locust threat through distinct missions that sometimes intersect. At times, I miss the more intricate, strategic wave-based Horde iterations of past Gears games, but a standard 10-wave Horde mode is enough to whet my appetite.
Gears of War: E-Day is as close to a complete package as it gets, effectively rivaling the series’ heyday. Minor quibbles with the story or matchmaking pale in comparison to the frightening tale of humanity’s darkest hours and the intense fallout of the all-out invasion. Seeing Marcus and Dom back in action and in their prime is an exciting prospect for a longtime fan like me, but it would be meaningless if it were just a nostalgia play; instead, Gears of War: E-Day innovates in all the right ways while keeping the core and heart of the franchise intact, stamping the series’ return with one of, if not its best, entries to date.