E-Day is, first and foremost, a Gears game: over-the-shoulder, cover-based third-person shooting rebuilt around what The Coalition calls the goal of making it "feel like Gears but play like new." Everything, characters, enemies, weapons, animation, the city, was rebuilt from scratch in Unreal Engine 5.
The Core Loop
- Advance through Kalona's streets, from tight linear corridors into wider combat arenas
- Take cover and read the "combat puzzle": enemy mix, weapon choice, positioning
- Execute, active reloads, Gnasher finishes, Lancer chainsaws, brutal executions
- Push on as the city visibly deteriorates around the squad across three in-game days
Campaign Structure
- Three days of Emergence Day, told entirely from the perspective of Bravo Squad, the camera never leaves them. Creative director Matt Searcy likens the tone to Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan.
- ~14 hours long, the longest campaign The Coalition has ever designed, per its own estimate.
- Four playable characters from the start: Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes. Whoever you pick, the story follows the squad.
- Co-op: solo, two-player split-screen on console, or up to four players online. Four-player campaign co-op in a mainline Gears is the first since Gears of War 3 (and first in the series since Judgment).
- Campaign structure: act-based like its predecessors; linear but with open-world elements, a multi-path downtown area offers optional secondary objectives and hidden collectibles.
- Not open world: "a very linear game" with sections that "open up into a wide linear couple of blocks" (Searcy). Kalona itself is fully modeled, vistas you see early become ruins you fight through later.
- Day one plays like a monster movie; by day three the squad realizes the Locust are an army with structure. The emotional arc runs confusion → regrouping → despair.
What's New vs Classic Gears
- Movement overhaul: sprint-to-slide, jumping, mantling, low-ground cover, see the movement and cover page
- Enemy AI: Locust flank by climbing vehicles, walk through their own smoke, and punish static play, see the combat system page
- A rebuilt arsenal including the origin of the Chainsaw Lancer, see the weapons database
- Reimagined horror: the first Gears where the Locust are genuinely unknown, see the enemies bestiary
- On top of the campaign sits a full multiplayer suite: Horde Siege and 4v4 Versus, see the Horde Siege page
Questions
Is Gears of War: E-Day open world?
No. It is a linear, story-driven campaign with some wider combat districts, including a multi-path downtown area with optional objectives. Kalona is fully modeled in UE5 but the game pulls you through a structured adventure.
How long is the campaign?
Around 14 hours, the longest in the series, per The Coalition.
How many players can play the campaign?
One to four: solo, two-player split-screen on console, or four-player online co-op.
Can you play as Dom?
Yes, all four Bravo Squad members (Marcus, Dom, Mags Carter, Lucas Reyes) are playable from the start of the campaign.