Gears of War E-Day Gracefully Returns to Brutal Horror

The Coalition is going back to basics with Gears of War E-Day, a prequel game that focuses on the most horrific event in Gears history. Alongside the return of Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago, Gears of War E-Day brings back the series’ original focus on brutal horror.

Since Gears of War 3 ended the original trilogy in 2011, the series has moved in a new direction. Gears of War 4 brought in a new generation and a lighter color pallet, and Gears 5 added in open world sections. Both of these games are still fantastic, but longtime fans have been begging for a return to the series’ original grittiness.

In an interview with IGN, Creative Director Matt Searcy explained that E-Day will focus heavily on horror. As the first time humanity is encountering the brutality of the Locust, the game will be far more violent, more terrifying and more difficult.

“For us, it’s like a what-if story,” he explained. “What if the ground opened up and monsters came out? Yeah, it’s set on a fictional, other planet, but there are very human reactions and stories we get to tell. To do that, we need to be able to tell a story that feels like a horror story.”

Gears of War E-Day aims to recapture the frantic nature and horror elements of the original game with new technology. While the first Gears may not seem scary almost twenty years later, it was a horrific experience back in the early days of the Xbox 360.

“Part of the story is about reintroducing the locust to Gears as scary monsters from the ground come up,” Searcy explained. “And then you realize as it goes on, this is not just monsters, there's an army here and it's bigger than anybody thinks it is.”

Gears of War E-Day is “doubling down on how people remember” the original game. With the power of Unreal Engine 5, the horrific Locust can actually look horrific again. With a new level of visual fidelity, and a modern design lense, the next Gears game could become an all-time great for Xbox.

As we continue to cover the busy Summer Game Fest period, make sure to check out some of the other standout games from Xbox’s showcase. Have you seen the amazing looking Expedition 33? Or maybe it’s time to brush up on the latest Perfect Dark news.