Gears of War: E-Day reviews are in, and the shooting is the star
Gears of War: E-Day has its first reviews, and most critics like it. It sits at 88 on Metacritic for Xbox and 84 for PC, according to Metacritic, and around 88 on OpenCritic, where 90% of critics recommend it. That beats Gears 4 and Gears 5, which both landed at 84. The game launches October 6 and is included with Game Pass.
The shooting
Reviewers keep returning to the combat. The Coalition has not rebuilt the series' cover-based formula, but it has tightened it. VGC gave it 8/10 and said little this year matches it for pure gunplay. Pure Xbox went to 10/10.
Young Marcus Fenix can now jump and slide mid-fight. That makes firefights faster and less static than in earlier games.
The story
E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the first Gears. It follows Marcus and Dom Santiago on Emergence Day, when the Locust horde erupts from underground across the planet Sera. IGN gave it 9/10 and liked the emotional take on familiar characters.
Others were less convinced. Some reviewers describe repetitive level design, a thin plot and few new ideas. A few say the game suits newcomers better than longtime fans. Several wanted more screen time for the Marcus and Dom friendship.
The missing half
Scores run from 10 down to 6, and the split is mostly about story, not action. There is also a gap in the reviews. Multiplayer servers were offline during the review period, so critics played the campaign only. Some outlets held back a score for that reason. Online modes have always been a big part of Gears, so the full verdict will have to wait for launch week.
Playing it
E-Day arrives October 6 on Xbox Series X and S and on PC. It is part of Game Pass from day one, which means subscribers pay nothing extra. Everyone else can buy it outright or pay more for a Premium Edition with early access.
The PC score trails the Xbox one by a few points. That may point to optimization differences, so PC players may want to check the final system requirements and wait for launch-day performance reports before buying.
