Summary
TheGears of Warseries has seen an increasingly steep decline sinceGears of War 3closed out the original trilogy with a bang. WhileGears of War 4was fairly well-received considering it followed the performance of the critically acclaimed trilogy,Gears 5turned out to be the worst-reviewed mainline installment in the series. That’s what makes the announcement ofGears of War: E-Daysuch a pleasant surprise, as it promises to takeGears of Warback to its grittier rootswith a darker story and horror elements reminiscent of the original trilogy.
Set 14 years before the events of the first game,Gears of War: E-Daysees a younger Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago fighting for survival during the series' historic Emergence Day, when the Locust Horde first emerged from the ground and began threatening the world of Sera and its inhabitants. As one would expect with a premise such as this,Gears of War: E-Dayrightly should have plenty of dark moments. Unfortunately, the game’s prequel status may inadvertently steal away the peril and impact of those dark moments, so the game will need to do its best to prevent that from happening.
Gears of War: E-Day’s Needs to Really Sell Its Darker Moments
Gears of War: E-Day Going Back to the Series' Grittier Roots Is a Step in the Right Direction
What makesGears of War: E-Day’s announcementso timely is that the stories of the last two mainlineGears of Wargames,Gears of War 4andGears 5, are quite a bit more lighthearted than the original trilogy. Things are not only brightened up visually but also in each game’s dialogue, trading the battle-hardened, and darkly humorous tone of the original trilogy’s dialogue for something more akin to a Marvel film script. The banter between each of these games' younger protagonists is understandably far more playful than that of the series' original protagonists, but it’s still arguably too much of a step in the wrong direction, asGears of Warmay have gained more heart but gave up its soul in the process.
Gears of War 4andGears 5are far from being bad games, but they lack what madethe originalGears of Wartrilogyso unique.Gears of War: E-Day’s darker tones thus have an opportunity to reignite the franchise by bringing it back to its glory days, especially with Marcus and Dom at the helm once again. The biggest problem it may face, however, is an ability to take full advantage of its darker moments, as its prequel status may interfere with that.
Gears of War: E-Day Can’t Let Its Prequel Status Ruin Its Darker Moments
SinceGears of War: E-Dayis a prequel, it inadvertently eliminates anything potentially life-threatening for Marcus and Dom from the picture, as the two protagonists are alive inGears of War. Instead of relying on putting Marcus and Dom in physical danger,Gears of War: E-Dayneeds to ensure it hones in on the emotional breakdowns of each character that serve as precursors to the men they would become.
Lore-wise,Gears of War: E-Dayhas some very weighty moments that would allow its darker moments to be worth it. Most notably, Dom loses both of his children to an Emergence Hole, and his wife, Maria, is later captured by the Locust Horde and then tortured and abused at a labor camp. Dom then has little choice but to end her suffering once he finds her, as she is but a shadow of her former self. As unfortunate as these events may be,Gears of War: E-Day’s storyneeds to dig deep into the pain of Marcus and Dom’s past to provide context for their characters in the original trilogy.
Gears of War: E-Day
WHERE TO PLAY
The Story of E-DayFourteen years before Gears of War, war heroes Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago return home to face a new nightmare: the Locust Horde. These subterranean monsters, grotesque and relentless, erupt from below, laying siege on humanity itself. New FoundationsBuilt from the ground up with Unreal Engine 5, Gears of War: E-Day delivers unprecedented graphical fidelity.
