Constant audio bugs, accessibility options that keep reverting, unadjustable mega obnoxious bloom.

Leave it to cdpr to successfully unmake an 11 year old game.

Game Title: GEARS OF WAR: E-DAY

Platforms:

• XBOX Series X | S (October 6, 2026)
• PC (October 6, 2026)

Trailers:

• Gears of War: E-Day - Announcement Trailer
• Gears of War: E-Day | Official Story Trailer

Developer: The Coalition, People Can Fly

Reviews aggregates:

OpenCritic: 88 Average - 90% Critics Recommend

Metacritic: 89 / 100

Some Reviews:

The Outerhaven Productions - Jordan Andow - 5 / 5

Gears of War: E-Day is everything I wanted from a prequel and more. It finally delivers the Emergence Day story fans have waited two decades to experience, while deepening the relationship between Marcus and Dom and returning the series to the darker, horror-inspired tone of the original trilogy. With the best gameplay the franchise has ever had, incredible visuals, excellent pacing and memorable characters, E-Day isn’t just the best Gears game yet; it’s one of Xbox’s strongest exclusives in years.

GamesRadar - Andrew Brown - Review In Progress

Gears is finally back firing on cylinders – this is the series' Halo 3 ODST moment. The best cover shooter I've played since Xbox 360

Game Informer - Brian Shea - Review In Progress

Gears of War: E-Day's campaign is one of my favorites of 2026. The characters, action, and story coalesce into something I won't soon forget, thanks in large part to The Coalition's smart utilization of Kalona. Unfortunately, the multiplayer servers weren't turned on before the embargo lift, but if I get as much enjoyment from the PvP and PvE modes on offer, Gears of War: E-Day could easily jump up near the top of my list of favorite games in the series. 

Checkpoint Gaming - Luke Mitchell - Review In Progress

While I need to spend some more time in multiplayer before laying down my final scored verdict, my impressions of Gears of War: E-Day are incredibly positive. The campaign is a thrilling take on Emergence Day, and exploring the town of Kelona getting ravaged in real-time is entertaining, with side missions proving to be worthwhile distractions. Meanwhile, Horde Siege is a standout new cooperative mode that looks to eat up lots of my spare time, while Versus is there for the die-hard competitive types. It’s all presented with visually stunning art direction and smart gameplay tweaks that improve on what Gears has always been, while maintaining what we love about it in the first place. This is a blood-soaked, adrenaline-filled adventure you simply can’t miss.

DayOne - Jesse Norris - 10 / 10

The Coalition have elevated the franchise to new heights, crafting an engaging, brutal and surprisingly intimate campaign that’s full of smart gameplay mechanics and wonderful surprises. It’s the best Gears has ever felt to play, and the best it’s ever looked and sounded on the big screen. Gears of War: E-Day? It's a fucking masterpiece.

ACG - 'BUY'

If you're a Gears fan, I say it's definitely worth buying. If you're not, I don't really know if this will pull you in. I did have a blast. Despite the idiosyncrasies, there is a longer game here, and you can choose to play it fairly linear if you want, and you can choose to not do so. Nothing really got in the way of either way of play. And that's a testament where I never felt like it was a game that was going to say, "Level-gate me." There was nothing like that. You can continue to battle it through with the basic weapons. it'll just be a little bit harder to do. So, that was something that I appreciated.

Generación - Adrián Fuentes - 100 / 100

Gears of War: E-Day is, for me, the best game in the series and The Coalition's finest work to date. Its campaign brings Marcus and Dom back without relying solely on nostalgia, delivering a darker and more brutal take on the origins of the Locust threat.

Gaming Trend - David Burdette - 95 / 100 (Campaign)

The brutal and stunning recount of Kalona’s fall is immaculate storytelling, featuring revived gameplay via reworked movement systems and the visceral combat we know and love. Unfortunately, admission to the Versus and Horde Siege modes will have to wait until early access on October 1st before full launch on October 6th. The beta did have us excited for its potential, so if it sticks the landing, I'd imagine E-Day might be one of the easiest recommendations we'll make all year, for purchase and awards season.

IGN - Ryan McCaffrey - 9 / 10 (Campaign)

By going back to the beginning, Gears of War: E-Day returns to the heart of this series: Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and a Locust horde that’s as terrifying as it is dangerous. E-Day pulls off the tightrope act of giving us a heartfelt prequel with strong characters even when we know how it ends. On a more mechanical level, it also evolves the enemies, weapons, and combat you’d expect to deliver a Gears of War campaign that stands toe-to-toe with any of the others. It wraps up with 10 years still left to go before Marcus gets tossed in prison ahead of the events of the first Gears of War, so here’s hoping the next one stays in the past for a while longer – and that we don’t have to wait another seven years for it to arrive.

The Koalition - Richard Bailey Jr. - 4.5 / 5

Gears of War: E-Day is a standout entry in the series and The Coalition’s best work to date. If you’re even remotely interested in jumping into this series, then this is the best place to start. Hopefully we will see more stories in this universe, as surely the team has proven they can go above and beyond expectations.

VGC - Chris Scullion - 4 / 5

Gears of War E-Day's campaign offers balls-to-the-wall action and rarely lets up, but that means the story takes more of a back seat than I'd like. It's good that time is given to the backstories of new protagonists Mags and Lucas, but given that the game is literally the playable Marcus and Dom backstory fans have been waiting decades to see, more time could have been spent on their relationship. In terms of pure gunplay, however, very little beats it this year.

TechRaptor - Austin Suther - 9.5 / 10

Gears of War: E-Day is the best game in the series. The story gives us an up-close and personal look at the events of E-Day, providing a horror-filled and harrowing experience. Meanwhile, the enhancements to movement are very welcome, and gunplay feels more varied with a great roster of weapons and the inclusion of mods.

But Why Tho? - Travis Hymas - 9.5 / 10

Gears of War: E-Day shines by showing off humanity's perseverance. Every new character stands out, never overshadowed by the legacy of Marcus or Dom. Even with the game taking place in one city over several days, the evolution of that city and its inhabitants has created fleshed-out characters that you're rooting for the success of every step of the way.

Gamer Social Club - Adam S. D. Stewart - 9.5 / 10.0

E-Day succeeds in telling the story of Emergence Day in a gripping, desperate, and most importantly, fun way. The culmination of 20 years as a franchise, refining everything the series is into a must-play XBOX title that takes you on a gloriously brutal, emotionally-satisfying, and epic, cinematic adventure.

TodoJuegos - Jorge Guerrero - 9.5 / 10.0

Gears of War: E-Day brings back the series’ brutality from a more human perspective, placing Marcus and Dom at the heart of Emergence Day. The Coalition returns to the beginning while expanding the formula through exploration, upgrades and less restrictive areas, without losing the core identity that defines Gears of War.

The Nerd Stash - Julio La Pine - 9.5 / 10.0

This prequel once again raised the bar for the series and the genre, delivering one of the year's most brutal, jaw-dropping shooters.

Lords Of Gaming - Paul Martin - 9.3 / 10.0

Gears of War: E-Day does not disappoint; the story starts strong and only gets better. For players who have experienced the previous entries in the franchise, there are plenty of easter eggs scattered throughout. Any graphic and audio-related glitches I ran into were very minor and did not detract from the experience overall. For me, this game is in the running for my Game of the Year.

Tom's Guide - Tony Polanco - 4.5 / 5

As a longtime Gears of War fan who was less than enthused by the last two mainline installments, it’s great to see this iconic franchise reclaim its glory days. If you’re also a fan, you’ll likely feel the same way. And if you’re brand-new to Gears, you have an excellent entry point that shows why this is such an iconic series. In short, Gears of War: E-Day is phenomenal. Find out why in my full review!

SmashPad - Alex Quevedo - 4.5 / 5

Gears of War: E-Day injects new life into the franchise and sets a new tone moving forward. It captured the spirit of the original Gears of War with putting just enough of a new spin on things. It’s definitely a highlight of the series. A perfect reload, indeed.

Tom's Hardware - Andrea Riviera - 9 / 10.0

Pending a final analysis that must inevitably evaluate server stability and the longevity of the multiplayer offering, what The Coalition has delivered with this campaign is a truly remarkable achievement. The seventeen hours spent on the streets of Kalona offer no downtime and suffer from absolutely no filler; instead, they build into a relentless crescendo of drama, explosions, and emotion, culminating in an ending that lays the groundwork for something significant for the future of this prequel. 2026 has been a stellar year packed with stunning productions (just look at the technical magnificence achieved by highly anticipated titles like Requiem or Pragmata), but the emotional and gameplay impact of this comeback certainly commands attention. If the multiplayer suite and Horde mode can match the sheer excellence and passion poured into the writing of this story campaign, we are looking at one of the best games of the year and undoubtedly the best shooter of 2026.

CG Magazine - Zubi Khan - 9 / 10

Gears of War: E-Day is Gears at its finest, feeling like the best place to start for both new and returning players, offering one of the best exclusives Xbox has put out to date.

ScreenRant - Chris Carter - 9 / 10

Gears of War: E-Day delivers as an action-packed romp through a futuristic city in peril. Between the enemy and arena variety, plus the jam-packed map that never feels like it's biting off more than it can chew, the development team has curated a pointed Gears experience. If you're a newcomer, you'll acclimate fairly quickly to what Gears of War: E-Day is selling. If you're a hardcore fan, the gameplay innovations are fresh enough to warrant another go-around, and you might learn some extra lore in the process.

Voxel - Mateus Mognon - 9 / 10

Gears of War: E-Day hits the mark by getting the basics right: embracing its identity as a Gears of War game and elevating the strengths inherent to the series. The game doesn't revolutionize the genre, but it delivers a fun gameplay experience featuring a cinematic narrative and local multiplayer support.

Daily Star - Tom Hutchison - 90 / 100

Overall, this is an excellent return to the Gears of War franchise, with well designed, detailed levels an an emotion-packed action storyline as good as a movie.

Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - 9 / 10.0

Gears of War: E-Day feels like the first true Coalition Gears of War game. It's a shift away from Gears 4 and Gears 5, and it feels like the game the studio genuinely wanted to make, capturing what made the original trilogy special while finally pushing the series forward in its own way. They've taken the horror, brutality, brotherhood, and incredible gunplay that defined those games and used them as the foundation for something more modern. Expanded movement gives combat more freedom, while perks and modifications add another layer of experimentation, and the larger environments make Emergence Day feel like a genuine catastrophe happening around you. Gears of War: E-Day is incredible. Despite a handful of frustrations keeping it from perfection, it's one of the best games I've played this year.

Atomix - Matt H. - 90 / 100

Yes, Gears of War: E-Day is the best Gears of War game ever made so far. I fully understand that the nostalgia and affection people have for the first three entries is incredibly strong, but objectively speaking, The Coalition has far surpassed what Epic Games delivered back in the day. This applies to everything from the core gameplay and level design philosophy to the technical aspects and storytelling. Xbox desperately needed an achievement of this magnitude in the midst of the worst period the company has gone through in its entire history. The only major question I’m left with is where they will take the franchise in the future, because a big part of the success this new installment has achieved comes from its strong connection to its predecessors, while leaving behind the less successful sequels from a few years ago.

Final Weapon - Saras Rajpal - 9 / 10

Gears of War: E-Day is a fantastic experience from beginning to end, regardless of whether you are a fan of the series or not. The storytelling is deeply compelling thanks to the great cast of characters and aptly bleak tone. The gameplay is brought together by satisfying combat and gorgeous visuals. Despite the frame drops, if this is the quality that fans and newcomers can expect from Gears of War going forward, then the future of the franchise is bright.

TierraGamer - Alan Roses - 9 / 10

Gears of War: E-Day marks an excellent return for the beloved shooter franchise, introducing enough new ideas to keep the experience fresh without sacrificing its identity. Its story thrusts players into a desperate struggle against an invading force, while its varied and consistently satisfying firefights and stunning visuals make Marcus Fenix’s latest adventure a highly recommended experience for both longtime Gears of War fans and shooter enthusiasts.

Nexus Hub - Sam Aberdeen - 9 / 10.0

Gears of War: E-Day is firing on almost every cylinder - a fantastic back to basics prequel that makes the Locust Horde scary again while delivering weighty, brutal gameplay that keeps you hooked.

Seasoned Gaming - Ainsley Bowden - 9 / 10.0

With two decades of expectations on its shoulders, The Coalition succeeded in crafting another classic Gears game with E-Day. Its technical brilliance is matched by strong character development and modernized gameplay, resulting in one of my favorite experiences of the year.

PPE.pl - Wojciech Gruszczyk - 9 / 10.0

Gears of War: E-Day marks a brilliant return for one of Xbox’s most iconic franchises, allowing players to experience E-Day and witness the beginning of Marcus and Dom’s story from a completely new perspective. The Coalition isn’t revolutionising the familiar formula, but in a way it’s building on it – improving mobility, shooting and exploration, offering a varied campaign, and in the process showcasing the immense capabilities of Unreal Engine 5. It’s a modern Gears game that never forgets its roots.

INVEN - Hongman Yoon - 87 / 100

It has been a long time since we experienced the visceral thrill of classic Gears of War. But dwelling on the past is no longer necessary. Gears E-Day does more than relive former glory—it reaffirms what makes the franchise great. The war against the Locust is not over. Armed with this proven blueprint, we look forward to the next evolution of the Gears series.

Digitec Magazine - Kevin Hofer - 4 / 5

Kalona is the real star of «Gears of War: E-Day», transforming so dramatically throughout the campaign that it feels like the game's main character. The story and characters are less memorable, but the weighty, satisfying gunplay and improved movement make for a solid «Gears» experience. It gets repetitive, but fans of the series should feel right at home.

Slant Magazine - Ryan Aston - 8 / 10

While E-Day’s cover-based third-person shooter gameplay doesn’t break the mold, it’s a finely tuned experience that builds on the mechanics established across the long-running series.

Gaming Nexus - Nathan Carter - 7.5 / 10

Much like with Gears 5, I had a lot of fun with the campaign. I was also bored during the campaign. When Gears of War: E-Day is allowed to be Gears of War it's fantastic. When it goes the open-exploration route like Gears 5 does, it's boring and tedious. I really appreciated the absolute scale at which battles take place here, making it feel like an actual war. The problem is that by doing so it makes half the weapons almost useless and forces you to play a certain way, which just isn't fun.  

Wccftech - Alessio Palumbo - 7.4 / 10.0

Gears of War: E-Day has been promoted as the most ambitious game ever made by The Coalition, but to be honest, it feels like a step back from Gears 5 in several ways. The narrative is a lot less memorable, and the side content is forgettable. Its saving grace is that the third-person shooter gameplay is better than ever, thanks to improved movement and fluidity, making combat encounters generally a lot of fun. Still, it's not the kind of masterpiece that sells a console like the original did.

GameSpot - Richard Wakeling - 7 / 10

....Its linear missions are far superior, honing in on that classic Gears action while going big on spectacle with some cinematic flair.These moments are Gears of War: E-Day at its very best. There might be some new ideas here, but you also get the feeling that The Coalition isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. That’s fine, but this also made me realize that my appetite for this kind of game just isn’t as strong as it was, say, 10 years ago. There are only so many times you can man a gun turret before you never want to see another one again. For better or worse, E-Day is distinctly Gears, and I had a good time with it, even if the story is disappointing and the open areas are fairly dull. But that’s all it is: a good game, propped up by combat that hasn’t changed all that much over the past 20 years. That’s enough to skate by, but I wish Gears of War would dig deeper.

PC Gamer - Abbie Stone - Review In Progress

God this game is infuriating. Great shooting trapped in a horribly overstretched campaign, telling a story that clearly didn't long to be told. It feels more like Microsoft taking a page out of the Jack Donaghy playbook and tapping a sign saying 'make it 2007 again'. Here's hoping multiplayer's a triumph. Otherwise Marcus is gonna have to open Gears 6 with one Hell of a drag show to make up for this.

Eurogamer.pt - Adolfo Soares - 3 / 5

Following Marcus and Dom on Emergence Day is an action-packed rollercoaster ride. Gears of War: E-Day shines on the PC with stunning graphics and addictive combat, with the weapon customisation adding an extra touch. Unfortunately, the pace drops off in the final third of the campaign, let down by a dull ending and an uninspired boss.

The Guardian - Kirk McKeand - 3 / 5

There’s a reason Gears of War has survived as a series long enough to earn a prequel. Its specific flavour of bloody, tactical, cover-based combat isn’t done better anywhere else. Unfortunately, E-Day is let down by everything around that fighting, resulting in a safe and repetitive experience that shows you all its ideas in the opening hours and never dares to build on them in any meaningful way.

PSSR analyzes game images pixel by pixel and uses AI to upscale them with more detail and stability than conventional approaches; until now, its computational demands made bringing that experience to PS5 impossible.

Today, we’re excited to announce Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR): a new performance tier of AI upscaling. Born from Project Amethyst, our AI graphics collaboration with AMD, this quick new evolution of PSSR is built on two key innovations:

A streamlined neural network architecture

A hand-tuned implementation that maximizes performance on PS5

With these, we are bringing the benefits of AI-guided upscaling to PS5. While PSSR remains the gold standard on PS5 Pro, QSSR provides some notable improvements to both image detail and image stability on PS5.

The first titles to use this innovative new library are Marvel’s Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei. Both are being patched today to offer QSSR as an additional graphics option on PS5. 

There are some video comparison in the article but IMO it's being implemented in games that already look really good on base ps5 so the true test will be when various 3rd parties get it. I can see a world where it ends up being useful because base ps5 (and xbox) is stuck with FSR 1 and 2 which is really not good nowadays.

Accursed Farms has come out with a new video outlining the recently leaked and incredibly heavy handed EU Kids Act.

The Act directly makes private servers illegal, age and ID verification required for all video game purchases, alongside massive cost increase for all videogames. Additionally according to Accursed Farms these restrictions would go into effect retroactively as well.

Most consoles have one or two bangers at launch.

Dreamcast had two S-Tier titles: Sonic Adventure and Soul Calibur & 5 A-Tier titles: NFL 2K, Hydro Thunder, Ready 2 Rumble, Power Stone, House of The Dead 2.

Followed up with other solid titles: Tokyo Xtreme Racer, MK Gold (this game was so broken lol), Trickstyle, Blue Stinger, NFL Blitz 2000.

Other systems had better singular titles (Xbox: Halo: CE, NES: Super Mario Bros., Gameboy: Tetris, Nintendo 64: Super Mario 64) but as a collective, the Dreamcast launched with so many solid titles.

Upgrades include 4K 60 fps and upscaled 4K 120 fps. Updated textures, better lighting, better shadows, and particle effects

PlayStation: Dualsense Adaptive Trigger Support and PSSR support for PS5 Pro

Xbox: Impulse Trigger Support, TSR and anti-aliasing support for Series X, Spatial Audio Support, Xbox Play Anywhere Support

PC: DLSS support and Spatial Audio Support

But to be fair, this part im at has become the bane of my existence atm. For the LIFE of me I dont get what im doing wrong. The three jumps that come after these enemy bots appear, hasn't given me a single clue on how to land on the islands past the first. The first jump lands but no matter what i do with the controls, he just flies off screen. Ive googled and watched videos but everyone just says to jump and hold A. Ive done just that and he acts like im pressing the down button.

Im so close to the end of this notorious level!

Everybody always talking about games holding your hand too much but I want to hear about the opposite what video game doesn't give you no form of help

If EA called tomorrow and said you can bring Westwood back together and asked what do you all needed to make another Command And Conquer game, what would be your response?

I don't know that ever could really happen in the true sense of how it was because the industry itself is so different now.

I feel like there's a lot of pressure for certain numbers to get hit as far as financial goals. “Well, we're not gonna even bother with this game unless we think it's gonna hit X dollars.” And there's just less risk being taken by publishers and in funding in general for investing in games. People want to either focus on IPs that currently are already successful or something that they feel like they can realistically hit the numbers. And because of that, a lot of the middle ground, middle-class developers, I guess you wouldn't call it, a lot of them have gone away.

So you have the triple-A companies still putting out the big products that everybody is familiar with, and then you've got these indie companies that are just like a few guys working in a small office somewhere or at home and coming out with cool little fun casual creative games. And some of them become rather successful.

There might still be a handful of mid-level studios out there doing stuff, but not as many as there used to be. And a lot of it is because of that kind of financial scrutiny now that exists, that kind of expectation. That, unfortunately, I think, cuts out a lot of creativity, too. I wish there was more creative games being made, a lot more chances being taken the way that it used to be, because that's really what Westwood did. They took a lot of different creative challenges and made lots of different kinds of games besides RTS that were all cool in their own right.

I mean, games like Blade Runner, which was a point-click adventure; games like Monopoly, which we did—it was like the first internet version of Monopoly; games like The Lion King, it was a platformer on the Super Nintendo; and so on and so forth. Pirates, which was like an adventure, third-person adventure action game. Things like that were really cool. And I like having that variety to work on. I miss that in general. So I hope to do more of that in the future, too.

I think that's the long answer to your question, but I think that's why Westwood couldn't really come back the way that it was, because I don't think it would be allowed to do all of those kinds of things or take those kinds of chances now.

That’s really all I have to say on the subject. They spent years developing a new engine, then dipped and went to unreal engine, and I don’t think they ever really had a plan on where the campaign was supposed to go.

Do we blame Microsoft or the studio in charge? I definitely think Microsoft has to blame for keeping Halo with the studio for so long but man am I depressed that Activision got the rights.

Not talking about single-player-only games, more like ones that do have a co-op or multiplayer option, but the experience somehow feels more impactful or atmospheric when you go through it solo instead.

For me it's Subnautica. Played it with a friend once in a modded co-op session and it was fun, but the isolation and dread of being completely alone underwater is such a core part of what makes the game work that playing it solo felt like a completely different, better experience.

Curious which games did that for other people, the ones where the multiplayer option exists but somehow misses what made the game special in the first place.

Mom said she bought it back in 04.

My opinion would be Raiden X

Holy mother of God how have I not played this game before!?!

The art style? Sick. The concepts involved? Also sick - reminds me of ‘House of Leaves’ in some ways. Gameplay? Seamless.

And like, sorry to nerd out, but the fact that the “triangle hovering over control points” literally never changes “shape” no matter what angle you are looking at it from, in a place where everything shifts, is nuts. Hence “control point”

Like it ALWAYS takes up exactly the same exact “outline” even if the nuances of angle change. Which fits in with the whole “jungian archetype” thing.

Oh my god it’s sick.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk

Edit: the triangle I am referring to is the one in Central Executive. Which even the name kinda fits the theme lol. That’s what I’m talking about!

Edit2: and some of the “documents” (specifically ‘Machine God’) are like if someone went “let’s mix in a little bit of Cormac McCarthy writing into this” and he’s one of my favourite authors what the fuuuuuuuck

Edit3: i absolutely love how everyone is just saying "ashtray maze" without actually spoiling anything. y'all know how to hang - can't wait for the "oh THIS is what they were talking about" moment.