Gears of War: E-Day turns Horde into an entire game of its own

Gears of War: E-Day is massively expanding its iconic Horde mode with Horde Siege, a new 12-player PvE experience that, after spending two hours going hands-on with it, feels more like a standalone co-op game than an extension of classic Horde.

Instead of digging in and surviving wave after wave of Locust, new modes Siege and Blitz split up to 12 players into three squads, each tackling their own objectives across sprawling city maps before crossing paths as the battle escalates.

Horde Siege feels far bigger than classic Horde

The good news for longtime fans is that classic Horde isn’t going anywhere. Blitz and Siege sit alongside the traditional endless survival mode, expanding the formula with varied objectives and larger-scale encounters that make each match feel far less predictable.

While specialist classes, each with their own roles and abilities, return from previous games, customization has been significantly expanded through class and weapon mods. The latter are earned by successfully extracting from matches and can be permanently added to your arsenal, improving everything from Perfect Reloads to weapon handling.

That added depth extends to the objectives themselves. One objective tasked my squad with defending a R.I.G. while holding off waves of enemies before culminating in a fight against two massive minibosses.

Only one map was available during the preview, but even within the ruined streets left in the wake of Emergence Day, each session offered more variety than a static Horde match.

Between the multiple playlists, class progression, weapon mods and objective-based gameplay, Horde Siege feels like The Coalition has built an entirely new cooperative experience using the series’ most popular mode as its foundation.

Gears of War: E-Day releases October 6 on Xbox and PC.