The embargo lifted Oct. 1, and Gears of War: E-Day opened strong. Metacritic has it at 88 on Xbox. That's four points over Gears 4 and Gears 5, which both landed at 84.
## What the critics said Pure Xbox's roundup lists Pure Xbox, Day One and The Outhaven at 10 out of 10, IGN and the Daily Star at 9, VGC and GAMINGbible at 8. Day One called it the best Gears has ever felt to play. The common praise is the campaign and a combat system that keeps evolving.
## The dissent The Guardian gave it a 6 out of 10. Its argument is that the game shows most of its ideas in the opening hours and doesn't develop them. That's a real criticism for a campaign-driven shooter, and it's worth hearing before you pre-judge the 88.
## What the scores don't cover These are campaign reviews. Multiplayer wasn't available during the review period, so nobody has scored it yet. Premium and Collector's Edition owners got early access Oct. 1. Everyone else plays Oct. 6 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it's on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass that day. On console, it's an Xbox exclusive.
## Why it matters Gears has been coasting on goodwill since the original trilogy. Forbes points out the series' earlier scores ran 94, 93 and 91 before slipping to 84. An 88 doesn't bring back 2006, but it stops the slide. For a studio and a platform that needed a win, that counts.
## Sources - Pure Xbox: Roundup of what critics say about Gears of War: E-Day - Forbes: The Gears of War: E-Day Metacritic score is in
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