Gears of War: E-Day hands-on: bleaker and more brutal than expected

Full text

Gears of War: E-Day is set on the brink of humanity's destruction. The titular Emergence Day refers to the moment when hordes of Locust soldiers rose from the ground to wage war on humanity, killing a quarter of the planet's inhabitants in little over 24 hours. We know that this was just the beginning – with the broader Gears series set during the ensuing war – but when I'm thrown into the industrial city of Kalona, survival feels futile.

My hands-on takes place in the game's second act, as a night of horror bleeds into dawn. Kalona is in its death throes. The military is only just pulling itself together, but its higher-ups have no clue how to organize against an enemy that can attack from below-ground. Although boots-on-the-ground soldiers are putting up resistance, it's scrambling and disorganized, leaving returning protagonists Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago to fight fires on all fronts.

Band of brothers

(Image credit: Xbox Games Studio) Ready player one

(Image credit: Xbox Games Studio) The biggest Gears of War: E-Day gameplay changes should have a transformative impact on the series' tired multiplayer

Jumping in as Marcus and Dom link up with the military, there are constant reminders that this warzone was a bustling city just hours ago. Fighting to reclaim an overrun bridge, the road is flush with abandoned cars, their drivers left to rot where they died. Train carriages are packed with dead passengers, gore streaked over windows. Across the river, a sports stadium has been converted into a military base – a gripe for one squaddie, who had tickets to the next game.

The Locust are aggressive, pushing over the bridge and flanking wherever they can, making it tricky to hunker down in one spot without being overwhelmed. Running through gunfire to evade one such flank, I try to latch Marcus onto a distant corner wall – the ol' reliable in cover shooters – and he instead dives prone behind a closer pile of knee-high rubble. It's not as effective, but keeps me in one piece long enough to regenerate health and sprint for more effective cover. I'm impressed: where the Gears of War-inspired Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 shook up the cover shooter formula by leaning further into melee action, Gears of War: E-Day 's adaptive cover doubles down on shootouts – with more sporadic cover making for a much more dynamic and believable battlefield.

(Image credit: Xbox Games Studio) But if Space Marine 2's combat is to be torn through, E-Day's is to be endured. Marcus and co. are beefy, but so is the Locust. Taking one of their footsoldiers down requires standing exposed for long enough to fill it with lead, or trading gunfire in short bursts. Melee isn't as effective in the environments I played, with long sightlines and Locust snipers making it too risky to charge forwards, but it's a handy last resort. When we reach a cramped control room to raise the bridge, combat dissolves into hand-to-hand fighting.

There are times where I wish the Locust would be more dynamic, if only to match the thought that has gone into positioning and cover. More unique enemies (like skittering crawlers and chunky missile-firing brutes) don't really complement the broader Locust forces, throwing themselves at you but rarely presenting the same tactical threat as their more organized peers. Similarly, there are times when flanking falls flat due to unresponsive baddies who stand patiently while I unload a clip into their side, their peers also oblivious. I have a lot of fun across this demo, but in moments like these I worry whether the Locust will be a smart enough foe to keep E-Day fresh throughout its campaign.

Sad to the bone

(Image credit: Xbox Games Studio) Throughout Gears' ultraviolence and tongue-in-cheek machismo, it's always shown war through a very human lens.

Just two acts in, E-Day's cast all feel like mainstays – and while some characters' survival is guaranteed, as they appear in the main trilogy, there are others I would be gutted to lose.

There are traces of HBO's WW2 dramas Band of Brothers and The Pacific here – footsoldiers finding time to joke even as the world around them burns – and E-Day's cast has the charisma to pull it off. After a battle that leaves a control room awash with body parts, a nervous rookie calls command to confirm their success – only to hang up and be relentlessly mocked for his formality. Later, Dom relishes telling an embarrassing war story involving Marcus, less-than-choice cuts of pig, and cataclysmic diarrhea.

Without these lighter moments, E-Day's bleak setting could prove overwhelming. I'm drawn to cover shooters to switch my brain off and pump dopamine, but the shadow of real-world horror sits over Kalana. The well-documented devastation of Gaza and Mariupol are never far from thought when gaudy car dealerships and once-bustling train stations are transformed into scenes of desperation.

(Image credit: Xbox Games Studio) Given how effectively The Coalition has turned Kalana into a waking nightmare, I do hope to see the cost of civilian violence explored in the broader campaign. Throughout Gears' ultraviolence and tongue-in-cheek machismo, it's always shown war through a very human lens – and as much as I enjoy Dom sparing no detail in embarrassing Marcus, there's still room to lean into the heaviness of E-Day's setting.

I hope it does. Gears of War: E-Day is a chance to revitalize the series for modern generations. Its single-city setting shows The Coalition isn't tied to past iterations of Gears, while adaptive cover suggests an ambition to be ahead of the curve in modern-day shooters.

Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer takes a big swing with Horde Siege mode, which shines when squads collide in its dense city