Gears Of War E-Day Co-Op Review (In Progress)
It has been quite a while between drinks for Gears of War fans. Ever since they were left with a cliffhanger at the end of Gears 5, they have been clamouring for more. Well, Gears of War: E-Day isn’t going to resolve that ending, but it will give players a look at how it all began. We sent two long-time (Lancer) Rev Heads, Paul James and Matt Hewson, back into the trenches to see just how it all came about.
*Editor’s note* This is a review for the Campaign only. Multiplayer thoughts will come later, after launch.
Matt: So we are back, Lancer in hand and ready to take on the first wave of Locust invaders. I have to say it is nice to be able to say that. I already had a taste of E-Day in my preview, but playing through this one in a big chunk reminded me of just how much I enjoy the franchise. There really is nothing else like it out there. How about you, Paul, are you excited to rev up that chainsaw bayonet once more?
Paul: Mate, Gears is the franchise that finally got me to buy into the Xbox ecosystem back on the Xbox 360, and I’ve been in love with it ever since. Some decisions in recent entries, from the decline in release cadence, the increased focus on mechanical enemies, and of course, the very contentious ending to Gears 5, have dampened the hype in recent years, but I’ve been longing for something like E-Day, a return to a focus on the Locust hordes and the purity of the war between humans and the subterranean menace. Now that it’s here, and we’ve both had a chance to play the new campaign, how are you feeling about it?
Matt: I am, overall, really happy with it, but that is not to say I don’t have some issues. I suppose I should talk about them first and get the nasty stuff out of the way. Firstly, I think that perhaps the areas are maybe too open. So open, in fact, that you are at a massive disadvantage if you aren’t carrying a Longshot sniper gun (or a Torque Bow later in the campaign). There is so much distance in the encounters that I simply had to carry the sniper gun at all times, and while there are some up-close-and-personal sections, there could have been more.
The second and final gripe I have is my teammate AI. It feels, to me at least, like it has gone backwards since Gears 5. There seems to be no coordination or thought; they just attack the nearest enemy to the detriment of everything else. Of course, this is not a problem with human players, but if you are going through the game in single player, it gets pretty frustrating, especially in some of the bigger battles towards the end of the game. What about you mate? Find any irritations?
Paul: Yeah, the game features a few of these large open expanses, the first introduced in Act 2, and while I think that the idea is great in theory, in execution, there’s still some work to be done. The side activities that they get you to do are pretty generic, and there are those sniper-related concerns that you just flagged as well. The only other thing to do in these spaces is chase down the various collectibles in the area, which don’t really add anything of substance.
Beyond that though, I didn’t seem to have the same AI concerns that you did. I felt like my teammates were pretty reliable by and large, but it could be a difference in our playstyles. My allies were always pretty close, so I had that additional fire, and when I got downed, they were there quickly to pick me back up. Speaking of getting downed, there is a range of different changes to the playing experience, like the limited number of times you can be downed before you hit a fail-state. Do you think that this, and some of the other gameplay changes, like the remapping of a few inputs and the weapon mods, are for the betterment of the game?
Matt: I actually liked both of the changes. I often found the Gears games too easy, simply because you could rely on your teammates to lift your useless backside up and get back in the fight. By adding what is essentially a “lives” system for each encounter, it adds a touch of challenge without going too far for most players. As for the remapping of the controls, like a run button, well, I think that was important here. E-Day is easily the most mobile of the Gears games. Climbing, running, and even jumping are much more important and crucial to the gameplay loop than they have ever been, so to cater to that, I feel like the button changes were the right call. It did cause me some muscle memory problems when I first started the game, but once I re-learned the controls, I was good to go.
Another great addition for me was the weapon upgrade and customisation system. I loved tinkering around with the different mods on each of the weapons and bits of gear. It adds a nice bit of personalisation to the game, something the series has lacked up until this point. Also, the mods made a real difference and really let me tailor my weapons to how I wanted to play. Weapons can be altered in quite a few different ways, really changing the feel of how they are used. Were you on board with this feature?
Paul: It took me longer than I care to admit before I got my head around the sprint, as well as adjusting to the ability to jump over obstacles. I’m sure as more games release with this feature baked in, I’ll adjust, but for now it just feels a bit unusual (but ultimately for the betterment of the game). I’ll echo what you said regarding the mods as well. I liked being able to tweak my weapons to suit my needs, and a shoutout to my gnasher causing drones to explode in balls of fire; that in particular was really satisfying.
These various changes are important evolutionary moments for the franchise, though I do grapple with the fact that they’ve done this with a prequel. It’s always one of the great challenges of the video game space that, mechanically, developers are looking to evolve their work, regardless of the time a game is set in. As a player and a fan, it’s going to be awkward returning to the original game now and having these new systems stripped from the experience, despite it being next-up in the franchise canon. It just makes me wish that what we’ve seen implemented here was brought in with a Gears 6 instead of a prequel, but we’ll see if we ever revisit that storyline given the tricky corner they’ve painted themselves into there.
Setting aside the sequencing concerns, the mechanical changes, inclusive of the open-zone areas, are great. When it comes to the open-zones, some more refinement is needed, but the moment-to-moment of playing has inarguably never felt better.
So I keep referencing the narrative connection, but we’ve not yet waded into that area. How did the depiction of E-Day and everything that stemmed from it strike you?
Matt: I actually really like the story here. The way it is set up is wonderful, and it goes in some fun directions as the game progresses. There were a few twists and turns along the way, the usual “the High Command are as dumb as bricks” schtick (which is always fun), and it all culminated in quite the satisfying way. I particularly liked the new team member Mags and the story that surrounds her illness. Gears has always managed to put a fair bit of heart into the stories, and this is just another example of that. I am quietly confident that most fans will be pretty happy with how the story plays out, I know I certainly was.
Also, it has to be said, this is a stunning-looking game. I played a good chunk of it on an ultrawide monitor with a high-end PC behind it and… wow. The Coalition really knows how to make the Unreal Engine sing. Just stunning. I did have a few framerate issues when we played co-op that weren’t there when it was just me, but they feel like pre-launch teething and most likely to be eradicated with the day-one patch. How about you, Paul? I know you were on an Xbox. How were things looking in console land?
Paul: E-Day suffers from the challenge that all prequels do: we know where the story is heading. What E-Day does well, though, is introduce a series of new faces, with fascinating arcs of their own (like Mags, as you mentioned) that really hook you. I’m a fan of the way they introduce the Locust, highlight their intelligence, and their leaders in the war for Kalisto, and of course, as always, reference the many conflicts that even precede this game. Gears is chock full of lore, and I love seeing it surface.
I’m not rocking the ultrawide like you are, but the game absolutely sings on my 4K TV. You commented on the instability issues that you were having whilst we were playing co-op, and they weren’t a factor for me whatsoever on the console, so as you say, there might be some Day 1 patching, or some specific PC optimising still to be done there. The game looks gorgeous, but that’s through a combination of technical mastery and artistic brilliance. The way The Coalition have realised the glory of the pristine elements of Kalisto, to the destruction in other pockets of the city, is of the highest quality. The crunchy sounds of bullets piercing Locust flesh are deeply satisfying, and the sound team have nailed every aspect of voicework and the musical backing. This Gears feels both fresh and familiar in its presentation, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Before we pivot into the multiplayer suite (it unlocks at launch, so stay tuned for more from us then), did you have any final thoughts on the campaign, Matt?
Matt: Look, despite the few structural issues regarding the open areas, I really enjoyed it. The story was tight, the new mechanics felt great, and I really feel like there were some smart additions to what is a pretty old formula. Throw all that in with the absolutely eye-wateringly good graphics, and that is a recipe for a good time. Most importantly, for me at least, E-Day feels like the perfect balance between innovation, evolution, and keeping fans happy. That is a difficult balance for developers to maintain, but The Coalition seems to have achieved it here. A fitting new entry for the long-running series and one that paints a bright future for entries to come.
Gears Of War E-Day was reviewed on Xbox Series X and PC, with codes kindly provided by Xbox Australia.
