Gears of War: E-Day Reviews Are In: Great Shooting, Weaker Story

The short version

• Critics rate it highly: 88 on OpenCritic, with 92% recommending it.
• Almost everyone praises the combat.
• The most common complaint is the story, followed by the open areas.
• It launches Tuesday, October 6 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it's on Game Pass from day one.

What critics agree on

The shooting. Reviewers keep coming back to how good the core cover-and-shoot combat feels. GamingBolt calls it "some of the tightest combat" in the series and points to improved movement. IGN, which gave it a 9/10, says E-Day "evolves the enemies, weapons, and combat."

Pacing gets praise too. GamingBolt calls the campaign one of the series' best-paced.

Where they split

The story is the big one. E-Day is a prequel about Emergence Day, the day the Locust first attack, starring a young Marcus and Dom. Several critics expected more from that setup. GameSpot, which gave it a 7/10, calls the story "disappointing." VGC says it "takes more of a back seat than I'd like."

GameSpot also found the open-world sections "fairly dull." Some reviewers flagged boss fights that soak up too much damage.

Who it's for, on paper

If you're here for Gears combat, critics broadly agree it delivers. If you mainly play for the story, the reviews suggest tempering expectations. On Game Pass you can find out yourself without paying full price.

For release times, editions and early access, see our E-Day launch guide.

Worth watching: how the PC version holds up once everyone gets in on launch day.