A confident action game

Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel that knows exactly what it wants to be: a brutal, tense, self-aware cover shooter. Twenty years after the original, it still hits hard.

Set before emergence day

The game is set fourteen years before the original Gears of War, telling the story of emergence day, when the Locust Horde revealed itself with a surprise attack on humanity.

You play as Marcus Fenix

You play as a younger Marcus Fenix, a soldier in an elite group called gears. He and his squad fight back against subterranean extraterrestrials attacking the human planet Sera.

Visceral cover shooter action

The cover shooter action is visceral and tense. Everything has weight, from Marcus' slow movements to reloading a shotgun. The game nails the feeling of being pinned down in war.

Pacing never lets up

E-Day mixes huge set-pieces where the world crumbles with quiet moments in dark tunnels. The largely linear world pushes you through sequences with pacing that never really lets up.

Intentionally stupid writing

The story is straightforward, and much of the writing feels intentionally stupid. Pivotal moments are punctuated by ridiculous one-liners like "A giant floating ballsack with glowing eyes is trying to kill us!"

“A giant floating ballsack with glowing eyes is trying to kill us!”

Joyous barks during combat

Marcus and his comrades shout lines like "Too ugly to live," "Rest in pieces," and "Lights out, fuckface" as they mow down enemies. There's a strangely joyous nature to the dialogue.

“Lights out, fuckface.”

A 2006 game with 2026 tech

E-Day is a two thousand six version of Gears rendered with the technology of twenty twenty-six. It's a pure action game that isn't saddled by modern trends.

Xbox in the midst of reset

Xbox is undergoing a reset under new CEO Asha Sharma, who is gutting the division, slashing around three thousand two hundred jobs, and reshaping how studios operate.

Focus on biggest franchises

Sharma's ultimate goal is focusing entirely on Xbox's biggest franchises to reach a billion players. E-Day appears to represent a shift back to Xbox console exclusives.

The Coalition faced layoffs

E-Day developer The Coalition was hit with at least one layoff before launch, and staff fear more are coming. Xbox's strategic plans shift constantly.

Uncertain future for Xbox

E-Day offers an enticing vision of Xbox's future, but it might not be enough for whatever comes next. Xbox's new leadership says it wants to focus on higher priority projects.