Gears of War: E-Day Campaign Hands On – Brutal, Brilliant, and Quintessentially Gears - XBOX Wire
While these two characters converse, Marcus and the rest of Bravo Squad stand in disciplined silence. In single-player, you’ll take control of Marcus, but all four characters in Bravo Squad are playable in a four-way, multiplayer lobby. Bravo Squad, particularly Marcus and Dom, are not the rogue, order-defying heroes that initiate the famous prison break in the original Gears of War here.
There’s something to be said for a video game so emotionally striking in what it offers that I spend a few seconds just sitting in the lobby, looking at the characters in awe. That’s how I started my first hands-on preview of the Gears of War: E-Day campaign last week, an experience that caught me entirely off guard with nostalgia when seeing a modern recreation of series protagonists Marcus and Dom.
But what’s entirely extraordinary about E-Day, from its character designs, to the world you’ll explore, right down to the satisfying slam of Marcus sliding into cover – is that it transported me right back to how Gears of War felt 20 years ago, and it is every bit as impressive as that original game was, if not more.
If you need a reminder, E-Day takes place at a flashpoint in the Gears of War saga that sees the Locust erupt from beneath Sera in an unexpected, ruthless ambush on the city of Kalona, a new destination built specifically for this game. Over three intense nights, Marcus, Dom and their two new squad members engage in a desperate fight for survival as they try to understand and defeat this horrifying new enemy.
The story is every bit as compelling to this long-term Gears fan as the gameplay. The E‑Day campaign demo kicks off at the opening of Act 2, in the early hours after the Locust burst onto the surface for the first time. Kalona’s City Hall has been hastily converted into a COG base of operations, part medical triage and part command centre for any Gears they can find. Inside, Bravo Squad officially assembles: Marcus and Dom, alongside franchise newcomers Lucas Reyes and Mags Carter. They’re immediately pulled into a strategy briefing with Kalona’s exhausted mayor and Colonel Trench, the hard‑ass COG officer now running the show.
The Coalition’s storytelling snaps into place from the very first cutscene. There’s a sharp, simmering tension between the Mayor and Trench – a clash of priorities as one fights to protect Kalona’s civilians, while the other is locked in on the fight ahead. While these two characters converse, Marcus and the rest of Bravo Squad stand in disciplined silence. There are no smartass quips or strategic suggestions; they’re all just calmly waiting for the next order, a silence that speaks volumes about who they are at this stage. While Marcus is revered as a war hero, his respect for the chain of command prevails during this unprecedented moment where no one really knows what to do.
Bravo Squad reports for duty and is asked to give their details and next of kin to Captain Akila Grey, who is now overseeing their deployment. It’s a small scene, but their responses give a real insight into who they are. Dom lists his wife, Maria, and is quick to ask about Ephyra, where his family is. Neither Carter nor Reyes share a next of kin, which immediately establishes a bond between the two. Marcus’ logs his father, Adam Fenix, a noted war veteran and creator of the Hammer of Dawn, setting immediate expectations for Marcus’ own performance.
Trench also refers to “bringing the Hammer online” – a possible reference to the Hammer of Dawn, the orbital satellite called in to eviscerate large enemies in the Gears of War series.
With the stage set, it’s time to become Marcus, our main protagonist, as he was throughout the original Gears trilogy. This Marcus is younger, less battle-worn, and less erratic – it feels as though The Coalition has taken extreme care in building a version of him that feels authentic, but less shaped by the events of later games. He and his team head out on next mission to secure access to a bridge. From this scene, I’m thrown straight into the gameplay with an intense firefight, and I’m thrilled to say that it immediately feels quintessentially Gears, augmented with a responsive, modern edge. Muscle memory of old kicks in, dashing between abandoned, smoking cars for cover before launching a full round of Lancer bullets into a Drone’s face. Weapons pack a satisfying punch, and Perfect Reload returns, where a well-timed bumper hit can speed your next round along in tense moments (while a bad one can jam up your gun, of course).
The Locust Drones in E-Day are, for lack of a better word, absolute bastards. They’re fierce, smart and remarkably sneaky – the intelligence behind them is apparent from the very beginning. They’ll typically stand in one place to fire at you, but if you return that fire, they’ll dive behind cover, tactically retreat, or try to flank you. I had one instance of a Drone throwing a smoke bomb to blind me before running into said smoke to punch me, which was simultaneously smart and absolutely uncalled for (and met with a shotgun blast to the face).
Drones wielding powerful sniper rifles forced the squad to a halt, holding position and tactfully picking them off. Some enemies were so crafty I had to rely on audio cues to know if something was creeping up behind me – which it very often was. The sheer ability of the monsters that often felt mindless is now terrifying, and it kept me constantly switched on during combat and relishing the brief, sweet release of downtime.
The reactive dialogue in these moments is masterful too; in between the usual combat quips and calls for reloading, characters are absorbing information about these creatures in real time, working out what they are, what they can do, and most importantly, how to beat them back. Bravo Squad encounters Wretches rushing across the underside of a bridge, swiftly dubbed ‘Crawlers’ by an adjacent squad, easily identifiable by how they move. I also encountered Locust Boomers during the demo – stupid, hulking tanks wielding heavy artillery that can devastate you in a single shot. It’s a true synergy of story and gameplay – we learn just as much on the move as we do in cutscenes.
In single-player, you’ll take control of Marcus, but all four characters in Bravo Squad are playable in a four-way, multiplayer lobby. In this instance, my squad is controlled by the AI, but fortunately, they’re amazingly smart and strategic. In the few times I was downed by enemies, my squad members prioritized rushing to my side, to get me up, or, in Dom’s case, to wrestle a foe off of me by jumping on its back and violently stabbing it to death, as brothers do.
When Drones decided to flank, my team were on it, often dealing with unseen threats before I’d even realized they were there. The reactiveness of the team makes them feel like a true unit to be relied upon, even in single-player mode with AI teammates. With a full group of players in these roles, I’ve no doubt it’ll feel even better.
Around you, the city feels dynamic and electric; the fight isn’t just where you are, it continues to echo down distant streets, across buildings and through the sky as COGs everywhere take on their own assignments. In previous Gears games, it often felt like your squad was an outlier in surroundings that the Locust have already overrun. In Kalona, you can see the remnants of interrupted civilian life – including a solemn scene where Bravo Squad pushes through a Locust-infested train full of civilian casualties.
Chapter 2 of the second act takes us to the Oria Stadium, a Kalona landmark that transformed into a FOB for military operations. Here, I witness another brilliant cutscene as Bravo Squad links up with Tai Kaliso and Theta Squad, and gets acquainted with the series’ famous Chainsaw Lancer. This is an incredibly fun story moment – the prototype is crudely but thoughtfully bolted together with a standard issue Lancer and an old chainsaw, and offered to Bravo Squad to use while the team is taking a break, swapping jokes and sharing war stories.
It’s a moment we rarely see in Gears – an early snapshot of the war where our ensemble feels hopeful that the tide could turn. Elsewhere, Dom is once again asking about Ephyra – where his wife and family live, and holding onto the notion that no news is good news.
After grabbing a tourist map of Kalona as a makeshift guide (which is a very cool way to emphasise that the Gears are simply winging it with basic resources) – the team heads out again to secure a nearby rail station. This skirmish doubles as an introduction to more features offered in the full game: Supply caches are dotted around the city, which can be used to refill ammo and change your loadout if needed, and to equip weapon mods – adding fun tweaks like damage buffs and chainsaw-kill reloads.
This is where Kalona starts to open up, and the tourist pamphlet I grabbed actually becomes my in-game map. Elsewhere, other squads just like yours are handling their business, which makes Bravo feel like, for lack of a better word, a cog in a very large machine rather than a band of heroes. This is emphasised by an optional side mission in chapter 2 where the squad can stop to help another team in need with a problem before pushing on to their main objective, which is a nice touch to an otherwise linear story.
As the demo concludes, I get a peek at Tactical Gear – rechargeable items that can be deployed in battle, like health injectors and throwables to stun enemies. Once the rail station is secured (after a brutal, multi-level fight), my demo experience comes to a close, and just like Bravo Squad, I’m brimming with optimism for what the full experience will deliver.
Every encounter shown in this small snapshot of E-Day‘s campaign feels remarkably intentional – every objective, every fraught exchange between soldiers and civilians, every bullet that you fire carries a purpose (I say, after repeatedly running out of ammo). Bravo Squad, particularly Marcus and Dom, are not the rogue, order-defying heroes that initiate the famous prison break in the original Gears of War here. They’re conscientious with their superiors, silly when they get some downtime, and cautiously optimistic about the fight ahead, and it’s that humanity that makes E-Day shine.
The events of this moment are retroactively setting the foundation for the rest of the series, and if this preview is anything to go by, The Coalition appears to be delivering on that goal with extreme clarity and confidence. E-Day‘s campaign is a story that reminds you exactly why this franchise is so revered: a brutal, heartfelt adventure through the night that started it all.