The reviews for Gears of War: E-Day are out ahead of Monday's launch, and the short version is this: the campaign lands. It is sitting at 86 on Metacritic across 29 reviews, and an 88 on OpenCritic, which puts the prequel in the series' upper tier rather than the middle of it.
One caveat up top. Most of these are review-in-progress, because the multiplayer wasn't live before the embargo lifted. So the scores you are reading are campaign verdicts, with the competitive side still to come.
What critics liked
The praise is pointed mostly at the story and the tone. Game Informer's Brian Shea called the campaign "one of my favorites of 2026", crediting the way the prequel leans into dread as the Locust threat builds. The moment-to-moment combat gets the usual Gears nod too: chainsaws, cover, and enough weapon mods to build around whatever playstyle you prefer.
Where it wobbles
It isn't a clean sweep. PC Gamer's review-in-progress found the campaign a slog in places even while the shooting felt great, and a few outlets flagged frame drops. Character work is uneven as well, with at least one new lead taking most of the game to get interesting.
If you're on the fence, the useful context is this: E-Day is on Game Pass and Steam day one, so giving it a go costs nothing extra if you already subscribe. It launches October 6 on Xbox Series X/S and PC. We covered the release date and day-one details here.
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