After a solid showing with its multiplayer preview earlier this month, I was eager to check out a vertical slice of Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign, a staple of the series I’ve always been a fan of, just as much as its engaging multiplayer offerings.
I was given access to the first two chapters of Act 2 of Gears of War: E-Day, titled Bravo Squad and Hold the Line. Being placed a little further into the campaign offered a good look at what fans can expect when the game launches in October. Marcus and company, unlike in the earlier look shown during the game’s unveiling, are no longer wearing civilian clothes and instead don the iconic COG armour. Much of the opening of Act 2 takes place on a crumbling freeway before leading players into a derelict subway system crawling with Locust that have systematically overwhelmed the city.
Graphically, Gears of War: E-Day is easily the best the series has looked to date, even in its early access state. In particular, the in-game rendered cutscenes are standouts and feel movie-quality, making the experience feel that much more engaging. Performance, too, seems good for an early-access build, with the game taking advantage of FSR 4 to deliver a consistent 60fps at 4k on high settings on my 7900XTX.
“Gears of War: E-Day is easily the best the series has looked to date, even in its early access state.”
Unlike the preview of Gears of War: E-Day’s multiplayer network test, which had issues detecting my controller, I found this early build of the campaign to fully take advantage of not only my XInput-compliant controllers but my DualSense as well, no doubt thanks to the now-scrapped PlayStation 5 build of the game (RIP). The subway section and crumbling bridge areas provided a sandbox that showed off Gears of War: E-Day’s new emphasis on verticality, allowing Marcus to run and hide behind abandoned vehicles and crumbling geometry in a way that made pushing forward feel intuitive and natural.
The multi-level suspension bridge also gave me a chance to explore the game’s jumping mechanics, which felt like a natural fit both from a gameplay perspective and because I was playing as a younger, more agile Gear. Later, there was a sequence featuring several subway cars in the foreground, with Locust snipers using the end of the platform as a makeshift nest.
All the subway cars were fully interactive, letting me move between them to avoid incoming fire. The level design created fun, engaging encounters, giving me solid cover from the snipers and useful vantage points to smash out windows and take aim at the group of Locust blocking my path to the station.
Like its Horde Siege mode, Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign places the occasional weapons cache and upgrade station throughout its levels, acting as natural rest areas that give players the time to cool down between the otherwise chaotic onslaught of enemies that litter the screen. Additional items include your standard fare of collectables, complete with flavour text, in addition to rare crates that have weapon mods which can be installed via the upgrade stations, making exploring the level a worthwhile venture.
“The subway section and crumbling bridge areas provided a sandbox that showed off Gears of War: E-Day’s new emphasis on verticality.”
Speaking of levels, Gears of War: E-Day features fairly large areas to explore that gradually open up, such as the city section in the second half of the demo. On top of your main campaign objective that pushes the story forward, E-Day also gives players side missions that can be found by exploring the map, usually relatively close to your primary objective. These optional missions feel like a good fit and, at least in this early look, boil down to helping civilians or other Gears take out waves of enemies.
A good example was an instance in which I had to rescue a family trapped inside a convenience store. After taking out some Locust and opening the side garage door, I was greeted not only by thankful faces but also extra loot, including a collectible. It makes exploring these optional areas worthwhile for thorough players and achievement hunters.
Takedowns or finishers also seem expanded upon, with several unique animations possible, including other NPC characters having their own takedown animations; it was fun to discover the grisly but engaging mop-up routine of the game. Beyond that, one cool element that I noticed during my time with Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign was that, when on low health, Locust can now leave their own cover and bum-rush players for a quick kill, which prompts a QTE to avoid being downed. The first time I saw this, I was genuinely surprised, and I hope to see more unique sequences like this once the full game is released.
Finally, without giving away too much, there is a sequence in Act 2 that pays homage to the legendary Lancer, offering a glimpse at the origin of its iconic chainsaw attachment. Other nods to the series, including references to the Cole Train, were also welcome, giving longtime fans something to look forward to when the game arrives in October.
Ultimately, despite playing only about an hour of content, I came away thoroughly impressed and equally excited for Gears of War: E-Day when it launches later this fall. It has quickly become one of my most anticipated games to close out the year.
