Gears of War: E-Day review roundup: what critics say

Critics praise the series' best shooting and a standout Horde Siege mode, but the long campaign splits opinion. The consensus, the PC picture, the prices.

Review · By getcheapgames · · · 5 min read

Watch: Gears of War: E-Day review roundup: what critics say

Gears of War: E-Day launched worldwide on 6 October 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC and Steam, after five days of early access for Premium Edition owners. It is also included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one. We have not played it for this piece: this is a summary of what the major outlets reported, plus the prices we track.

The scores

  • OpenCritic: a Top Critic Average of 87, with 92% of critics recommending it, from 93 reviews when we checked on 11 October.
  • Metacritic: 87 for the Xbox Series X version (58 critic reviews) and 83 for PC (40 reviews).
  • Steam players: "Mostly Positive", with 72% of 5,232 English-language user reviews positive on 11 October.

Individual verdicts spread wider than the averages suggest. Pure Xbox gave it 10/10, IGN and Shacknews 9/10, Eurogamer, TechRadar and VGC 4/5, TheSixthAxis 8/10, PC Gamer 77/100 and GameSpot 7/10. Many launch reviews covered only the campaign, because multiplayer was not available during the review period. Eurogamer followed its campaign review with a full verdict on 9 October that also covers Horde Siege and Versus.

What critics liked

  • The shooting. This is the closest thing to a consensus. PC Gamer says Gears "has never felt better to play", crediting a new jump button, nimbler characters and smarter button mapping, and argues that Hardcore difficulty is where the combat really works.
  • Horde Siege. Eurogamer rates the new take on Horde, with 12 players split into squads of four on maps taken from the campaign, as the best version of the mode yet, despite clumsy onboarding. PC Gamer also rates the multiplayer above the campaign.
  • Presentation. TechRadar lists some of the highest visual fidelity in gaming among its positives, Polygon calls the cutscenes some of the most jaw-dropping it has seen, and Pure Xbox ranks it among the best-looking games on Xbox.
  • The prequel story, for some. Pure Xbox and IGN (as quoted by Windows Central) both praise how it handles Marcus and Dom's backstory and the new characters.

What critics didn't

  • Length and pacing. Estimates vary: about 16 hours for Pure Xbox, 20-plus for PC Gamer, and roughly 25 for TechRadar with collectibles and side missions. TechRadar says the middle drags; PC Gamer found the whole campaign one-note and exhausting.
  • The semi-open city areas. Polygon calls the first of four open sections the biggest pace-breaker, and GameSpot found the open areas fairly dull. Pure Xbox disagreed and enjoyed exploring the city of Kalona.
  • The story, for others. GameSpot calls it disappointing, and PC Gamer felt the prequel struggles to justify its existence.
  • Rough edges. Polygon reports bugs including hit-registration problems and odd enemy pathfinding, and says AI squadmates struggle on harder settings, so co-op is the better way to play. Eurogamer flags awkward checkpoints and a Versus mode that is hard going for casual players.

PC and console performance

  • Requirements: Steam lists a ray-tracing-capable graphics card as mandatory (minimum RTX 2060, RTX 5050 or RX 6600; recommended RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 5060 or RX 6700 XT) plus 115 GB of SSD space.
  • Desktop: Tom's Guide, on an RTX 5070 with a Ryzen 7 9700X, saw about 50fps at 4K High before upscaling and around 115fps with DLSS 4.5 upscaling and frame generation, with occasional dips of 15-20fps in open areas. Polygon, on a PC that met the recommended spec, found balancing frame rate and image quality a constant battle.
  • Steam Deck: avoid for now. PC Guide reports that Steam Deck HQ scored its performance 2 out of 5, and that TechPowerUp found it unplayable even on Low settings.
  • Xbox Series X: Pure Xbox describes a 30fps Quality mode and a 60fps Performance mode that can look a little soft; two-player split-screen runs at 30fps.

Should you buy it?

Judging by the reviews, fans of classic cover shooters, co-op players and anyone keen on Horde should find plenty here. If you already pay for Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, it is included, so you can try the campaign before buying anything. Consider waiting if you want a short, tight campaign, if your PC sits near the minimum spec or you play on Steam Deck, or if you want to see how Versus balance and post-launch support settle.

In Ireland, on 12 October 2026, the lowest price we track for the standard edition is €52.18 for a Microsoft Store (PC) key at Kinguin (Europe region). That is not a Steam key, so check the platform before you buy, and note that Kinguin's price excludes the service fee the marketplace adds at checkout. On Steam the game is €69.99, and the Premium Edition is €99.99. Premium's five-day head start has now passed; what remains is cosmetic packs, a campaign weapon pack and 1,000 Iron of in-game currency. Prices change daily: see Gears of War: E-Day for live offers, and how we rank offers.

Sources

More from News

All news