A City in Its Death Throes
Gears of War: E-Day is set on Emergence Day, the moment when hordes of Locust soldiers rose from the ground and killed a quarter of the planet's inhabitants in little over 24 hours. The hands-on previews from GamesRadar+, Screen Rant, and TechRadar all take place in Act 2, in the industrial city of Kalona, where the military is disorganized and soldiers are putting up resistance but scrambling. Returning protagonists Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago are present, fighting alongside newcomers Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes.
GamesRadar+ emphasizes the bleakness of the setting, describing Kalona as "in its death throes" with a military that has "no clue how to organize against an enemy that can attack from below-ground." The article notes that the shadow of real-world horror sits over the city, with references to Gaza and Mariupol. The demo includes a bridge section with abandoned cars and train carriages packed with dead passengers, and a sports stadium converted into a military base—a gripe for one squaddie who had tickets to the next game.
TechRadar's preview also highlights the grim atmosphere but focuses on the gameplay. The goal is to head to a Thrashball stadium, crossing a giant mechanical bridge while Emergence Holes (E-holes) spew waves of foes. Locust enemies are aggressive, use cover, and can flank; shotgun-wielding enemies can shred health. Tossed grenades and Feral Wretches force frequent cover changes.
Classic Combat, New Twists
All three outlets agree that E-Day retains the classic Gears of War formula. Screen Rant notes the roadie run, cover shooting, and movement are all present, along with basic weapons (rifle, sniper, shotgun) and wackier weaponry like the Boom Shot. TechRadar adds that chipping away from distance is ineffective, but up-close action is slick, with the Gnasher Shotgun described as "a beast." Fenix gets a prototype chainsaw bayonet, used to saw enemies in half.
GamesRadar+ highlights a new adaptive cover mechanic: when latching onto a distant wall fails, Marcus dives prone behind knee-high rubble. The article compares the combat to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, noting that E-Day's combat is "to be endured, not torn through." Melee is a handy last resort, with combat dissolving into hand-to-hand fighting in a cramped control room.
TechRadar reports that the Locust include skittering crawlers and missile-firing brutes, but they are not always dynamic or tactical; there are moments where flanking falls flat due to unresponsive enemies. Screen Rant's preview build was from Act 2, Chapter 1-2, with a boot camp tutorial, and the game ran at a consistent 90 FPS on the author's PC.
New Features and Accessibility
Screen Rant details quality-of-life additions that allow more freedom with loadouts (primary, secondary, sidearms, equipment). Supply Caches dot the landscape, letting players change approach and refill ammo. Swapping loadouts in a full squad will be fun, with four-player online support and two-player split-screen. The locales are war-torn, not post-apocalyptic, with open city streets and side objectives.
The game offers four difficulty levels: Casual, Normal, Hardcore, and Insane. Individual gameplay components can be tweaked, such as player health, damage, active reload difficulty, recoil strength, and number of lives. Newcomers won't be lost, as E-Day frames the event as new.
TechRadar highlights the new weapon modding system. Completing the 'open district' side mission at a car dealership unlocked weapon mods, allowing stat improvements like magazine size or fire rate; pistols can fire two-bullet bursts. The article notes the formula feels retro, which is not bad.
A Bleaker, More Personal War Story
GamesRadar+ emphasizes the human cost of the war, with characters like a nervous rookie mocked for formality after confirming success, and Dom telling an embarrassing war story about Marcus involving a pig and diarrhea. The article expresses hope for exploring civilian violence cost in the broader campaign. E-Day's single-city setting shows The Coalition isn't tied to past iterations, and adaptive cover suggests ambition to be ahead of the curve.
TechRadar notes that E-Day looks amazing technically, with ray-traced lighting, complex models, and textures. The art direction blends 1980s retro charm with Gothic architecture and alien edge. The author notes it doesn't look much like the first Gears of War in terms of cars and buildings.
The promise is roughly a 14-hour campaign with multiplayer modes. Gears of War: E-Day releases on October 6, 2026, for PC and Xbox Series X/S.