Ever since the original trilogy concluded way back in 2011, Gears of War has failed to remain the cultural juggernaut it once was. Epic Games and Cliff Blezinski departed for new projects and Microsoft knew it needed to keep the Locust train running, even if it meant developing its new trilogy in the most contrived manner possible. Marcus has a son now and there are a couple of new faces, but, by and large, it was a trilogy held back by the games that followed in its footsteps. When Gears 5 ended, we were preparing for a predictable conclusion.

This explains why it has taken The Coalition several years to break cover regarding a new entry, and also why it seemingly has nothing to do with the sequel trilogy’s saturated odyssey of matriarchal alien genocide. Kait, JD, and Del are nowhere to be seen, and despite the fact Xbox is saying otherwise, I doubt we’ll see the rest of their story anytime soon.

Behind Its Bro Shooter Origins, Gears of War Hides A Compelling World To Explore

Gears of War: E-Day was revealed at this weekend’s Xbox Game Showcase, a prequel to the original game that will follow the events of the Locust rising up from the surface and destroying most of humanity. It’s a battle we know our heroes will lose, which is what makes it such a fascinating event for the series to delve into. It has been touched on countless times in the past through in-game dialogue, spin-off novels, and other media that talk about how the planet of Sera fell victim to this subterranean menace.

It is constantly depicted as a harrowing defeat, one where the Locust caught the majority of the world by surprise as it tore countless cities into nothing in a matter of hours, and we had little to no means or knowledge of fighting back. E-Day plans to explore that desperate aura with familiar characters like Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, and I assume we will also play through the events that see our protagonist land in prison at the start of the first game, where he will spend the better part of 14 years before being sprung out to save the day.

The trailer made such an impact because it wasn’t framed as a bombastic shooter, although I imagine the game we eventually play will still be fiddled with flying limbs, curb stomps, and screams of Marcus letting us know that he's scrapped yet another grub. Instead, we witness our protagonist being ambushed in what feels like a mundane apartment as a distress signal bellows out from a nearby television. Moments later, he comes crashing through a wall, trying desperately to fight off an alien creature bigger and stronger than himself.

It’s only through taking advantage of the drone’s ruthless aggression that Marcus is capable of surviving at all, scrambling for any weapon in sight that can be used to keep this snarling beast at bay. In future games, we will destroy hundreds of these things in seconds, but in this trailer alone, it’s abundantly clear that mankind is playing second fiddle.

The Locust had come out of nowhere in the aftermath of an already brutal war and systematically tore down our way of life, and while we’d eventually win, that hopelessness was key to what made Gears so appealing in the first place. Now we are returning to the source with a game that I hope will redefine everything we know about this series. Marcus doesn’t look tough here, but desperate, scared, and going face-to-face with death.

It’s A Mad World

One thing that I’m sure everybody noticed with the E-Day reveal is how it deliberately mirrors the Mad World trailer for the original game, which has gone down in history as an iconic look at a shooter that would go on to dominate an entire console generation. But, aside from small parts of its tone, I’d struggle to admit it faithfully represents the game we would end up with.

The Mad World trailer was directed by Joseph Kosinski, who would go on to helm the likes of Tron Legacy, Oblivion, and Top Gun: Maverick.

It’s a trailer that still gives me chills to this day as we follow Marcus Fenix running through a ruined city as he slowly comes to terms with the fact that wherever he goes, nowhere can protect him from the Locust horde.

He is forever overwhelmed and outsmarted, a feeling we see swiftly cast aside in the full game, as we have so much ammo and firepower at our disposal that only a few moments ever feel truly hopeless. E-Day stands a solid chance at bringing this atmosphere back, and maybe even implementing it into gameplay. Maybe we will fight Locusts in smaller numbers, bursting into local communities and trying to succeed in military operations that will ultimately fail. Despite being a testosterone-fueled bro shooter at its core, Gears of War is capable of being so much more.

The Coalition isn’t just going back to where it all began, it’s reversing right past it and trying to explore a series of events that helped define everything Gears of War will become. Make it scary, make it serious, make it hopeless, and make it a very, very mad world.

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Gears of War: E-Day

Third-Person Shooter Systems Released 2025 ESRB m Developer(s) The Coalition Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios Engine Unreal Engine 5 Franchise Gears of War
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