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Eight years since Gears 5, Xbox's own masters of Unreal Engine, The Coalition, are finally bringing us the next instalment in the iconic Gears of War series. The wait has been long, but The Coalition has clearly put it to good use. The studio has spent years refining its technology to achieve industry-leading visual fidelity and console performance for its next game.
That long, presumably hard journey has culminated in Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel telling the story of the iconic Emergence Day, when the subterranean Locust first launched their brutal attack on the human planet of Sera. Right from the start, The Coalition has been adamant this is a return to the series' roots: bleak, grey visual tones and grounded, brutal, bloody action, the stuff that made Gears so popular in the first place.
Where I'm coming from
I'll admit upfront that I've skipped a lot of Gears games. I played Gears 5 and the remastered Gears of War, but never managed to actually finish any of them, not through any lack of quality, just a lack of time. Working as a reviewer, editor and news writer, there's always something else demanding attention.
So when The Coalition invited me to play the E-Day multiplayer, I was excited, but also fairly sure I'd end up as little more than light breakfast for the series' veterans. Turns out, I wasn't wrong. E-Day's multiplayer is still unlike anything else out there, and the skill ceiling is high enough that I struggled against anyone who wasn't a bot.
But to say I didn't see the appeal would be dishonest. This isn't really my kind of multiplayer; I lean towards co-op PvE over competitive PvP, but for hardcore Gears fans who want that grounded, heavy feel, where the Gnasher shotgun takes centre stage, and wall-hugging is a survival skill, this is Christmas morning.
Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer screenshots
How it feels to play
E-Day feels noticeably heavier than Gears 5. The characters have lost that slightly floating quality; you feel glued to the ground in the good sense, every movement carrying real weight without ever tipping into sluggish. That's a genuinely difficult balance to strike, making soldiers who sprint, vault obstacles and mantle up to high ledges still feel like they're hauling actual mass, but The Coalition has nailed it. I'm not a hardcore fan of this franchise, and never have been, but from a straightforward gamer's perspective, E-Day's multiplayer simply feels great to control.
I got hands-on time with two modes: the series' signature 4v4 Versus, and the large-scale PvE Horde mode, where twelve players split across three squads defend the city of Kalona, each pursuing their own objectives while crossing a sizeable city map under Locust assault.
Unsurprisingly, Horde is where I had the most fun. It feels like a proper evolution of Gears multiplayer: large, relentless, with things happening across the whole map, and it's hard not to come away thinking this is the direction the series should be heading. That's not to say Versus needs ditching; plenty of players will still want their competitive fix, but once you've had a taste of Horde, it's difficult to see Versus as your main draw.
How much brutality you want? - Yes.
The core combat is as visceral as this franchise deserves, particularly the melee finishers with the chainsaw on your Mark 2 assault rifle. Watching teammates saw through Locust flesh, blood spraying across the screen, and pulling off that same finisher myself never got old. It's as satisfying the tenth time as it is the first.
Guns carry real weight too, and landing shots takes proper skill whether you're up close or firing at range. Recoil is unforgiving, though that might just be my ageing reflexes and total unfamiliarity with Gears' recoil patterns talking. Either way, this is not a casual shooter, and that's another good sign for fans hoping The Coalition sticks to its guns on difficulty.
One thing I suspect will stay meta, unless The Coalition rebalances things before launch, is close-range Gnasher play. It's clearly the most viable approach right now, especially paired with the sliding mechanic, which is enormously satisfying to pull off. Sprinting into a slide that puts your Gnasher practically in your opponent's face, then pulling the trigger before they can react, is a genuinely great feeling.
A rough but forgivable preview build
The preview build had its share of issues, as preview builds, alphas and betas tend to. Inconsistent frame rates, the game locking my FPS to 60 every time I closed it, and the occasional crash to desktop mid-match all cropped up. I don't think it's fair to hold any of that against The Coalition at this stage. This is a work-in-progress build, and given the studio's track record for shipping games that run beautifully across PC and console, I don't have a single doubt they'll have this sorted by launch.
Keep this in mind
Everything above comes from someone who is neither a series veteran nor a hardcore fan. I love shooters, but ones closer to Ghost Recon, The Division, occasionally Battlefield, and I generally lean singleplayer. I'm genuinely interested in E-Day, particularly its campaign, so weigh my impressions with that in mind.
The multiplayer has real potential, though I suspect it won't be especially welcoming to newcomers, not with Gears veterans this deadly on the battlefield. Whether that ends up being its weakness or its strength remains to be seen, but one thing's certain: it feels fantastic to play, it's genuinely different from anything else on the market, and that difference could well be what sets it apart.
