Gears of War: E-Day – Before You Buy Guide

Before you buy Gears of War: E-Day, there are 13 important points that you need to know. The Gears of War franchise started in 2006 and was one of those games that made couch gaming feel special. Sitting next to a friend, passing the controller around, screaming when a Berserker appeared, and arguing over who got the last Lancer ammo are memories many Gears players still have. Since then, the franchise has evolved quite a bit, but that old-school Gears identity has always been difficult to replace. Now, The Coalition is taking us back to where it all began with Gears of War: E-Day.

I've spent about 10 hours playing E-Day, and honestly, it feels like the series is remembering what made those original games so special. The combat is brutal, the Locust feel threatening again, and the whole game has that gritty Gears atmosphere I remember. But before you buy Gears of War: E-Day for $69.99, do newbies need to play the previous Gears games first?

1. You Don't Need to Play the Previous Gears Games

If this is your first Gears game, don't worry about doing homework first. You can jump straight into E-Day. The game takes place on Emergence Day, when the Locust first burst out of the ground. You play as a younger Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago, alongside Bravo Squad members Mac Carter and Lucas Reyes.

Since this is a prequel, it actually works really well as an entry point. You won't have to remember years of Gears lore just to understand what's happening. Obviously, returning players will catch more references and recognize certain characters. But if you've never touched a Gears game before, E-Day won't leave you completely lost.

2. This Feels Like the Classic Gears I Remember

This was probably the biggest thing I noticed while playing Gears of War: E-Day. After years of Gears games changing and expanding the formula, this one feels much closer to the original trilogy. The gritty environments, heavy gunplay, brutal executions, chainsaws, bayonets, and constant feeling of being outnumbered are all back.

The horror side is stronger too. The Locust don't just feel like enemies placed around an arena anymore. They can rush you, knock you down, flank you, and turn a comfortable firefight into complete chaos. And then there's the visual side. E-Day has been rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, and that work is obvious in the characters, weapons, environments, destruction, animations, and lighting.

3. Just 14 Hours Feels Short in 2026

The campaign runs for 14 hours, making it the longest Gears campaign yet. On paper, that's not bad at all.

But we're in 2026 now, and $70 games are increasingly expected to give you a pretty substantial amount of content and playtime. Marvel's Wolverine was criticized by many for its relatively short campaign despite its $69.99 price, and E-Day sits in a similar conversation.

Compare that with something like Cyberpunk 2077, which at around the same price can easily give you 100+ hours if you explore the world and side content.

That doesn't mean E-Day's campaign is bad or that 14 hours isn't enough. Gears has always been more focused than massive open-world RPGs.

But if you're judging purely by hours of content per dollar before you buy E-Day, it isn't exactly winning that battle.

4. Combat Feels Faster Without Losing the Gears Formula

The first few fights immediately reminded me why Gears combat works so well. You're still hugging cover, popping out to fire, repositioning, and occasionally getting close enough to turn a Locust into spare parts with your Lancer.

But Gears of War: E-Day gives you more freedom to move around the battlefield. Jumping, climbing, and sliding add more verticality and give you additional options when the usual cover-to-cover movement isn't enough. The enemies also feel much more aggressive. Drones can rush you, knock you down, and even enter an enraged state.

The important part is that these changes don't make E-Day feel like a different game.

It still plays like Gears, just with more movement and aggression.

5. The Locust Are More Terrifying This Time

The Locust are probably the biggest reason E-Day feels so different. Drones can become incredibly aggressive, while Boomers are bigger and more dangerous than I remember them being. Then you have new enemies like the Bile Frog, which can bombard you with acid from a distance.

Even Reavers have changed. They can crawl along walls and drop additional Locust into the fight, which is a fantastic way to ruin an otherwise manageable encounter. Then there's Vrak, leader of the Scorched Legion, whose troops bring another layer of danger to the campaign.

The result is simple: I stopped treating every Locust encounter like target practice.

6. Does Campaign Support Four-Player Co-op

If you're playing with friends, the entire campaign supports up to four-player online co-op. Each player takes control of one member of Bravo Squad, which makes the four-player setup feel natural rather than like multiplayer characters were simply thrown into the story.

Playing solo also works fine too, with AI squadmates capable of reacting to enemies and helping during fights. But if you grew up playing Gears with friends, there's another feature you're probably going to care about.

7. E-Day Still Has Its OG Formula

Two-player split-screen is supported on Xbox Series X|S.

That means you can grab another controller, sit on the couch with a friend, and play through the campaign together like the old days.

Four-player co-op is online, and PC players also need to play co-op online since split-screen is console-only. It's a small feature, but I'm genuinely glad it's still here. Some modern games have completely forgotten that people occasionally want to play together on the same sofa.

8. Horde Siege Could Be the Multiplayer Highlight

After spending time with the multiplayer PvP, Horde Siege is probably the mode I'm most interested in playing more.

It supports 12 players, split into three squads of four. Each class has its own role, weapons, perks, and tactical equipment.

You complete objectives, collect resources and weapon parts, and eventually try to extract while increasingly dangerous enemies come after you.

There are three maps at launch, and more classes are planned for future seasons.

The other big multiplayer mode is Versus, which launches with six maps and four modes, including Demolition and Crucible. Demolition is basically Gears' take on Search & Destroy, while Crucible has teams fighting over a Power Core in a moving scoring zone.

Versus is the one part I'd be more cautious about. The faster movement can make matches feel more aggressive and reduce the importance of traditional cover positioning. If competitive multiplayer is your main reason for buying E-Day, I'd give it some time after launch.

9. E-Day Looks Seriously Good

Gears of War: E-Day is easily one of the best-looking Gears games yet.

The Unreal Engine 5 upgrade shows up everywhere, from the environments and character faces to destruction, lighting, and weapon detail. The game also uses hardware-based ray tracing, which helps make the world feel considerably more detailed.

On consoles, you can enable ray tracing, but you'll have to make a trade-off. Turning it on drops the target from 60 FPS to 30 FPS, so you'll have to choose between smoother gameplay and better lighting and reflections.

PC players get more room to push the visuals, but the hardware requirements are considerably higher. Hardware ray tracing is required, so this isn't exactly a game designed for ancient gaming laptops.

The important part for me is that the visual upgrade doesn't come at the cost of the Gears atmosphere. It still looks gritty, dirty, and appropriately miserable.

10. There's No Battle Pass

This is one of my favorite things about E-Day's multiplayer.

There's no traditional battle pass and no Tour of Duty system.

Instead, you can earn cosmetics simply by playing. There's an optional premium currency called Iron if you want to get specific cosmetics faster, but you aren't forced to spend it.

The game also has five themed post-launch seasons planned.

For a $70 game with ongoing multiplayer content, I appreciate not having another giant progress bar screaming at me every time I open the game.

11. Game Pass Makes the Buying Decision Interesting

Here's where things get a little complicated. E-Day launches day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 6.

So if you're already subscribed, you don't need to spend $69.99 to play the game.

If you're mainly interested in the campaign and co-op, I'd seriously consider just playing it through Game Pass first. You can experience the campaign, try Horde Siege, and decide later whether you actually want to own it.

For Game Pass subscribers, the question isn't really “Should I buy E-Day?”

It's “Do I actually need to?”

12. Premium Is Mostly About Playing Early

The Premium Edition costs $99.99, while Standard costs $69.99.

The biggest reason to pay the extra $30 is simple: five days of early access, starting October 1 at 8 AM PT.

You also get the Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack, seasonal customization packs, 1,000 Iron, and other cosmetics.

Personally, I think the early access is the real product here. If you don't care about playing five days early, the Standard Edition gives you the actual game without the extra $30.

You can also upgrade from Standard or Game Pass for $30.

13. Check Your PC Before You Buy E-Day

E-Day is a demanding Unreal Engine 5 game, so check your hardware before hitting that purchase button.

You'll need an SSD and around 115 GB of free space on PC. Consoles require roughly 100 GB.

The big catch is that hardware ray tracing is required on PC, even at the minimum specification.

Gears of War: E-Day - Before You Buy

After playing Gears of War: E-Day, the biggest thing I took away is that this doesn't feel like The Coalition simply making another Gears game. It feels like the studio went back to the original formula and asked, “What if we built this again with today's technology?”

The result is a campaign that brings back the brutality, horror, characters, and heavy combat that made the original games so memorable, while giving the formula more movement and a much bigger visual upgrade.

If you've never played Gears before, you can jump straight into E-Day without worrying about playing five older games first. And if you've been with Marcus and Dom since 2006, this is probably the closest the series has felt to its roots in a long time.