Everything We’ve Learned About Gears of War: E-Day

There had been more than a few rumblings over recent weeks that Microsoft would be using the Xbox Games Showcase as the stage to announce the next Gears of War game, something that series fans were desperately hoping was true, what with Gears 5 now being a five year old game. And sure enough, Microsoft did announce the next Gears game at the recent event- though it wasn’t Gears 6 the way pretty much everyone had thought it would be. Instead, The Coalition and Microsoft have unveiled Gears of War: E-Day, which is being billed as the series’ next mainline entry in spite of technically being a prequel- and yes, it’s Gears of War again, not just Gears.

Though its announcement trailer was a brief one, it did reveal some key details about the game, which The Coalition revealed even more of in a companion piece that went up on Xbox Wire shortly after the game was officially announced. As such, here, we’re going to go over all of the key details that we have learned about Gears of War: E-Day.

SETTING

As mentioned, Gears of War: E-Day is going to serve as a prequel to the series’ mainline entries, and in particular the original trilogy. As its name suggests, it’s going to be set on Emergence Day, which, in Gears lore, was the day that Emergence Holes opened up all over the planet of Sera in Gears of War lore, only for the Locust Horde to come pouring out, overwhelming an ill-prepared planet. The game, set fourteen years before the events of Gears of War 1 (and somewhere between the events of Judgment and Tactics) will focus on that devastating incident, and how the people of Sera struggled to deal with the surprise threat of the horrifying Locust. And of course, driving that story will be a couple of very familiar heroes…

MARCUS AND DOM

Marcus Fenix has been the face of the Gears of War franchise for as long as it’s been around, though after appearing in Gears 4 and 5 as a non-playable character (albeit a crucial one), demand for him to return as a playable protagonist has only been growing. With Gears of War: E-Day, The Coalition is giving fans what they want on that front. A young Marcus Fenix will once again star as the central playable protagonist, and he will be joined by another pivotal, fan favourite character in the form of Dominic Santiago, who makes his first appearance since 2011’s Gears of War 3. Marcus and Dom formed an unshakable bond of brotherhood over the course of the original Gears trilogy, and with E-Day, we’re going to see that relationship in its formative years.

ORIGINS

Set fourteen years before the series’ first instalment, Gears of War: E-Day is, unsurprisingly, being billed as an origins story in several ways. For starters, we are, of course, going to see the origins of the war between humanity and the Locust, beginning with Emergence Day. Beyond that, we’ll also see the origins of Marcus and Dom’s friendship. Interestingly enough, the basis of their friendship heading into the game’s story will be Carlos, Dom’s brother and Marcus’ best friend who died on the field of battle before the game’s events.

“We’re telling the origin story of Marcus and Dom and their bond… this is the bond that defines the franchise,” says creative director Matt Searcy. “They’re not the characters we know from Gears 1 to 3. They don’t have 10 years of fighting the Locust between them. When the game opens, there’s supposed to be peace on Sera, and they’re trying to figure out life without this person they both loved. People are going to see the formation of this brotherhood that is so iconic to Gears.”

A MORE INTIMATE STORY

With both Marcus and Dom being much younger and greener in E-Day than we’ve ever seen them in any other Gears of War game in the past, they’re also going to be portrayed a little differently than what fans may be used to. In fact, according to brand director Nicole Fawcette, E-Day’s is going to tell a much more intimate story with more modern characterization for the protagonists. “They are a lot more vulnerable, and I think that’s a really modern take on those two characters,” Fawcette says. “There’s a weight they carry between them, and that creates a really interesting tension as they navigate their own relationship.

“You have this intimate story set amid this wider backdrop of what’s happening on this apocalyptic day. I think, for fans, it’ll be really compelling to dig deep and explore their bond and how it changes over time.”

HORROR VIBES

As the Gears of War franchise has moved from game to game, an increasing number of fans have bemoaned the fact that the series has lost the strong horror-esque vibes that its original instalments (especially the first game) were so rich in. With Gears of War: E-Day, however, it looks like The Coalition is relenting to fans’ demands and delivering a more horror-style experience. In fact, one of the things that the studio has focused on during the game’s development is ensuring that the game once again presents the Locust as formidable, mysterious, terrifying enemies, something that hasn’t really been the case in some time.

“The design brief was pretty simple,” says creative director Matt Searcy. “Locust are the ‘monsters under the bed.’ What would happen to the people of Sera in seeing this overwhelming army of monsters and trying to figure out… what are you going to do?”

An example of the Locust’s renewed threat is the redesign of the Locust drone, an enemy type that has turned into a non-threatening grunt over the years, but is going back to being a legitimate threat with E-Day. “When players experience E-Day, they see the monsters through the eyes of those encountering them for the first time,” says art director Aryan Hanbeck. “We transformed the drone into something fearsome, physically intimidating, and utterly brutal. Getting the drone right was crucial; everything else with the Locust we’re scaling up from there.”

CLASSIC ACTION, NEXT-GEN TECH

While Gears of War: E-Day might look on the surface like a “back to the basics” entry for the series, for The Coalition, it’s more about delivering more of the classic cover-based third-person combat that the series has become known for, while also offering completely new and, as per the studio, groundbreaking tech. “It’s going to feel like a new Gears game, because that’s what it is,” Searcy says. “It’s us revisiting the tone and the feeling of what makes Gears great, but we’re tapping into new techniques, new processes, and new technology that’s going to make the gameplay feel better than ever.”

Specifically where the trailer is concerned, it has been confirmed that though it was made in-engine by Blur Studios using in-game assets provided by The Coalition- so it’s only sort of representative of what the final game is going to look like.

FUTURE OF THE FRANCHISE

As exciting as a new Gears of War game is (especially one with E-Day’s lofty promises), one has to wonder- why isn’t The Coalition making Gears 6, especially considering the massive cliffhanger ending that Gears 5 signed off with? The studio says that though it will return to that story at some point, it felt telling the story of E-Day was an opportunity it couldn’t pass up. “We’re super proud about Gears 4 and Gears 5 and the stories that were told,” says brand director Nicole Fawcette. “We’re not retreating from that storyline in any way. But in [this] moment, we had an opportunity to write our next step, and this one just felt too good to miss.”

The Coalition is also making it a point to emphasize that Gears of War: E-Day is not a spinoff, and is instead being designed from the ground-up as the next big mainline Gears entry, even if it is not a numbered title and doesn’t continue the series’ ongoing story. According to the developer, the game will also “add detail and context to this period that will resonate through stories that will follow.”