Who would have guessed that we’d have to wait over seven years for a new Gears of War entry? Since Gears 5 in 2019, the series has effectively been on ice, but as it turns out, The Coalition was actually going back to basics. Enter Gears of War: E-Day, launching on October 6th for PC and Xbox Series X/S as a console exclusive, which takes us back to where it all truly began: Emergence Day.
But don’t let this fool you into thinking that the gameplay hasn’t evolved. If anything, E-Day is the most ambitious title in the series yet, with its sweeping changes. Join us as we delve into the 15 biggest differences between it and Gears 5, starting with…
Prequel vs Sequel
Gears 5 took the story forward in some interesting ways, but Gears of War: E-Day serves as a prequel, unfolding on and immediately after Emergence Day. Of course, these represent more than narrative approaches, since the latter is a return to the series’ more horror-oriented roots as opposed to the action-adventure approach of the former (which is what led to shortening the name to just “Gears” in the first place).
World Design
E-Day has some side content to pursue, and according to previews, there will be a sandbox-like approach in places where you’re free to explore, tackling side objectives for different rewards. Comparatively, Gears 5 is a semi-open-world title, where Kat explores large spaces using a Skiff and can complete side quests. While there are plenty of linear sequences, and you can focus entirely on the story, Skiff travel is pretty much mandatory in several places. Meanwhile in E-Day, Marcus and Bravo Squad travel primarily on foot (vehicles in cutscenes notwithstanding).
Kalona vs. Multiple Regions
From Azura to the snow-covered Kadar and the desert of Vasgar, Gears 5 had such sights to show fans, which only added to its semi-open-world approach. And while Kalona has its share of tourist spots in E-Day, it’s the only place that you’ll be fighting in throughout the story, mirroring the first Gears of War and its focus on urban warfare.
Play as Any Bravo Squad Member
Aside from a brief stint as JD Fenix, you controlled Kait throughout Gears 5’s story. While Marcus and Dom are clearly the headliners of E-Day, especially since the narrative explores their developing brotherhood after the Pendulum Wars, you can play as any member of Bravo Squad throughout the campaign. That includes the veteran Mags Carter and rookie Lucas Reyes.
JACK’s Presence (or Lack Thereof)
JACK, the robot companion who mostly stuck with Delta Squad through the original trilogy, played a pretty significant role in Gears 5. He offered a wide variety of abilities for Kait to unleash, and by venturing off the beaten path, you could upgrade him in different ways. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to play a similar role in E-Day, and at this point, it’s unknown whether he even appears in the story.
Split-Screen
Also somewhat unfortunate is the change to split-screen player support. While Gears 5 supported three players in co-op on a single screen, Gears of War: E-Day limits this to two players for the campaign. You can still play with up to three others through online co-op, not to mention the number of players in Horde Siege.
Movement
Sliding is officially in the franchise with E-Day, opening up more options for closing the distance on enemies in PvE and PvP. The Coalition also added jumping, though it’s more situational and applies to areas where you can flank for an advantage. Gears 5 had neither of these, sticking to the more traditional movement system – including the Roadie Run, which is also revamped in E-Day.
No More Wall-Bouncing
Of course, with these movement changes comes the removal of a major facet of the franchise until now: Wall-bouncing. Unlike in Gears 5, you can no longer chain wall-bounces to rapidly move from cover to cover, quickly closing the distance on an opponent with a Gnasher. Wall-cancelling is still possible, but The Coalition states that it won’t be like past games.
Low Cover
For a series that’s always been about strategic usage of cover, it’s amazing that it’s taken this long for Gears to evolve the formula. While Gears 5 stuck to tradition, E-Day introduces low cover, opening up the tactical options in a firefight. The disadvantages have yet to be clearly detailed, but it certainly adds to the realism.
Weapons
While they share some weapons, like the Gnasher, Retro Lancer and Longshot, E-Day mixes things up with the new Prototype Lancer. And unlike Gears 5, the chainsaw bayonet won’t be available from the outset – you’ll effectively play through humanity developing it, leading up to that satisfying first kill. Of course, there are also new weapons which haven’t been seen in previous titles, including the Ripper LMG, the Incinerator shotgun, the Gut Puncher grenade launcher, and more.
Active Reload Changes
Another mechanic Gears pioneered is Active Reload, where a properly timed button press was the difference between damage bonuses for your magazine and a longer reload time. Gears 5 didn’t change the core mechanic, but with E-Day, The Coalition made some concessions, like being able to reload individual shells in the Gnasher. This means you can now cancel the process early and start blasting (though the shotgun now holds fewer shells for balancing purposes).
Weapon Mods
Then there’s the weapon modding system, introduced in Gears of War: E-Day, that allows you to modify your arsenal. There are four slots in total, and they’ll change up a weapon in different ways, like Auto Pouch for reloading the Gnasher when it’s stowed. Mods are only available in the campaign and Horde Siege, not 4v4 Versus (for obvious reasons).
Horde Siege vs Horde
A long-running staple since Gears of War 2, Horde has seen some significant changes from Gears 5 to E-Day. For starters, instead of multiple classes under four main categories, there are now only four. And while you can play Classic Horde, holding out against waves in a singular spot, E-Day’s Horde Siege revamps the mode to support up to 12 players across three squads. Each is completing different objectives on a much larger map but can intersect at different points, like supply drops. In terms of scale, it’s definitely the most ambitious version of the mode yet.
Hardware-Based vs. Software-Driven Ray Tracing
When it first released, Gears 5 didn’t feature any ray tracing – it was only with the Xbox Series X’s launch that The Coalition added software-driven ray-traced shadows and lighting. Don’t get us wrong – the results were spectacular and all – but Gears of War: E-Day is a different beast entirely, built from the ground up with hardware-based ray tracing in mind (even incorporating RTX Mega Geometry). A GPU capable of ray tracing is pretty much mandatory to play on PC, but based on the beta, it’s more or less worth it.
Cosmetics and No More Tour of Duty
Gears 5 was one of many titles to adopt the Battle Pass trend back in the day, though Tour of Duty differed because it was free. The problem is that it was still a grind, and cosmetics cost a bomb. It wasn’t until the introduction of Gears Coins that players had some agency to unlock items without spending real money. E-Day simplifies this further – no Tour of Duty or Battle Passes. Nearly everything can be earned by playing the game, whether it’s completing challenges or spending Coins earned from completing online matches in Versus and Horde Siege. The only items that cost premium currency, i.e. Iron, are the Seasonal Customisation Packs, collaboration items and charity bundles. As far as streamlining and removing any sense of FOMO, especially since seasonal and event items will be added to the Barracks for purchasing later with Coins or Iron, it’s a massive improvement.
