Gears of War: E-Day

Gears of War: E-Day is the sixth main installment of the Gears of War series, and also its prequel. The game was developed by The Coalition studio, previously known as Black Tusk Studios, which took over the series from Epic Games in 2014.

Plot

The action of Gears of War: E-Day begins 14 years before the events depicted in the first installment of the series. The game's subtitle refers to the so-called Emergence Day, i.e. the moment when hordes of creatures known as Locust, previously living underground, crawled onto the surface of the planet Sera, bringing humanity inhabiting it to the brink of extinction.

The main characters of this game are Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, well known to fans of the series. Although the protagonists are already experienced soldiers, having participated in the so-called Pendulum Wars, they are facing such a terrifying enemy for the first time.

It is worth noting that the game also allows us to see the birth of a fraternal bond between these two characters, which is one of the pillars of the plot in other installments of the series.

Gameplay

In Gears of War: E-Day we watch the action from a third-person perspective (TPP). During subsequent levels, we complete the tasks assigned to us and take part in fierce battles with hordes of enemies. Apart from regular adversaries (the creators made sure they are not just "cannon fodder", but a terrifying and deadly threat), from time to time we have to face much more powerful bosses.

The game makes use of the series' flagship system of hiding behind cover, and also allows us to use various weapons, including the iconic MK 1 Lancer rifle. At the beginning of the game the Lancer rifle does not have the iconic modification yet featuring a chainsaw. It is replaced by a removable bayonet, allowing for the elimination of adversaries from a close distance.

Game modes

In Gears of War: E-Day we can play alone or in online co-op mode.

Engine and graphics

Gears of War: E-Day runs on Unreal Engine 5. The developers argue that the use of this technology allowed them to achieve a hundred times greater detail in environmental elements and character models than in Gears 5. Additionally, the engine change was reflected in improved lighting and reflections, which utilize ray tracing, object destruction, particle effects, as well as significantly improved animations.

Additional info

The creators emphasize that Gears of War: E-Day is not a spin-off, but a full-fledged installment of the series. The authors do not distance themselves from the story started in Gears of War 4 and continued in Gears 5, however, after the premiere of the latter, they concluded that it's high time to show players how the fight for the future of the planet Sera began.