Summary
TheGears of Warfranchise has long been a cornerstone of Xbox gaming, known for its emotional storytelling, action-packed gameplay, and memorable characters. However, after almost two decades of installments,theGears of Warserieshas shown its age, primarily in its ability to introduce new players to the series today. This is whereGears of War: E-Daycomes in, with a chance to welcome newcomers in with open arms, thanks to its prequel status.
At its core,Gears of War: E-Daybridges the gap between the past and present of theGearsuniverse. With its story centering around Emergence Day — the day the Locust Horde emerged from the surface of Sera, and the most important event inGearshistory — it could potentially act as a new entry point to the series for new players, while simultaneously enriching the series' lore with fresh insights into the Locust War’s origins forGearsveterans.
Gears of War: E-Day Offers a Chance to Start Over
Gears of War Has Been Through Quite a Few Rough Patches Lately
Apart from a major dip whenGears of War: Judgmentwas released in 2013, the reception of the mainlineGears of Warseries has become increasingly negative with each release. The original trilogy has been widely praised for its gameplay and emotional narrative, but even it saw a slight decline in its reception with the release of each game.Gears of War: Judgment, a prequel to the original game, lacked the depth of its predecessors and therefore fell flat, garnering the worst reception ofall titles in theGears of Warseries. Since then, the franchise has been doing its very best to regain the magic that it lost, but neitherGears of War 4norGears 5that followed have managed to accomplish that.
Gears of War: E-Day Starts at the Beginning of It All for the Series
Now,Gears of War: E-Dayhas a chance to reignite a fire in the series that it arguably hasn’t had sinceGears of War 3in 2011. SinceGears of War: E-Dayis an origin storyof sorts for the series as a whole, it could serve as a new entry point for the franchise — a chance to start over that no other sequel in the series has ever offered. EvenGears of War: Judgment, which takes place 14 years before Emergence Day, making it a prequel, is not enough of an origin story for the series to make it an entry point. However, sinceGears of War: E-Dayrevolves around the most important event inGears of Warhistory, it could spark change for the series from here on out and welcome in newcomers with ease.
WithGears of War: E-Daypotentially acting as a new entry point for the series, newcomers could see a level ofcharacter growth for Marcus and Domthat even veteran players have never witnessed. InGears of War: E-Day, Marcus and Dom will be thrown into the thick of it with no experience in dealing with the Locust Horde, which will ultimately create new challenges for them to face that will encourage growth in both of them. In light of this premise, newcomers could potentially grow alongside Marcus and Dom, especially if the series plans to continue afterGears of War: E-Daywith more titles like it.
Gears of War: E-Dayhas a chance to reignite a fire in the series that it arguably hasn’t had sinceGears of War 3in 2011.
Finally, sinceGears of War: E-Dayis a self-contained narrative as a standalone title, it should be more accessible for newcomers who are unfamiliar with the series.Players can dive into the chaos of the Locust invasionwithout needing extensive backstory, and since everything will also be new to the playable characters, new players likely won’t feel left behind. Of course, just becauseGears of War: E-Dayis an origin story doesn’t mean veteran players will be left behind either. By focusing on a foundational event in the timeline,E-Dayserves as a rich storytelling opportunity for longtime fans while introducing the series' core themes of survival, camaraderie, and war to new players. In the end,Gears of War: E-Daymight be what the series needs to come alive again.
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.
