I've never been this mad before

Summary

The video is a strongly negative review of Gears of War: E-Day. The creator argues that the game was marketed as a return to the series’ roots and to the bond between Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago, but instead focuses largely on a new squad. In his view, that shift—along with the writing, design choices, and launch problems—makes the game feel like a bait-and-switch.

Story and characters

The game depicts the early Locust invasion and the collapse of the city of Kalona. The creator praises its atmosphere and environmental storytelling, including locations that are revisited later in a more ruined state.

However, he says the story gives more attention to new squadmates, including Mags and Reyes, than to Marcus and Dom, whom he believes were central to the marketing. He criticizes the new characters as being defined mainly by trauma and backstory, with too little distinct personality or chemistry. He contrasts them with the original Delta Squad, whose different roles and relationships gave the team a strong identity.

He also objects to the frequent side activities and collectibles, arguing that they clash with the urgency of an apocalypse.

Gameplay and presentation

The creator praises the visuals, atmosphere, art direction, controls, and moment-to-moment gunplay. He likes the new weapons, the reworked Breachshot, and the weapon mods. In particular, he says a mod that grants an instant active reload after a critical hit works especially well with the Torque Bow.

He criticizes the checklist-style exploration, such as detours to find weapon-mod cases and ordinary collectibles while civilians are in danger. He also reports frequent lobby disconnects when playing with a friend and says several familiar features are missing, including leaderboards, custom lobbies, ranked mode, meat shields, and grenade tagging.

The creator criticizes the $70 price and the $100 advanced-access offer, arguing that the game was not complete or reliable enough to justify the premium.

Sales and comparison with Space Marine 2

The creator cites Steam peaks of roughly 20,000 concurrent players during advanced access and just over 31,000 after the full release. He says Anoa Analytics estimated about 1.7 million players overall, with roughly 230,000 sales, and argues that Game Pass does not fully explain the weak Steam showing.

He contrasts E-Day with Space Marine 2, which he says succeeded by committing to its audience and delivering a focused fantasy of violence, stoicism, and brotherhood. He points to its reported peak of more than 225,000 Steam players and sales of over 7 million copies in under a year.

His broader argument is that established franchises should understand and serve the audiences that made them successful rather than dilute their identity in pursuit of mass appeal. He cites a Bain & Company report to support the idea that game audiences have fragmented and that designing for everyone may no longer be the safest strategy.

Gamers and sources mentioned

• Content creators and commentators: Nickmercs (rendered in the subtitles as “Nick Merks”), Burnt Peanut, and Asmongold.
• Data and industry sources: Anoa Analytics and Bain & Company.
• Personal gaming reference: The creator’s friend Matt, whom he says he played the original Gears of War campaigns and multiplayer with.
• Sponsor: War Thunder.