As we get closer to the October 6th release of Gears of War: E-Day on PC and Xbox Series X/S, creative director Matt Searcy has spoken about how the studio–The Coalition–wants to be “known for what Gears already is.” In an interview with GamesRadar, Searcy said that the team working on the game wanted to ensure that it builds on top of the foundation laid down by the original games in the franchise rather than looking at other titles.
“Ultimately, we base it around the […] the pillars that made the original games great. What if we just built a modern game, a new engine from scratch around those pillars? And so, the short answer to your question, what do we want to creatively be known for? It’s all the things that made Gears resonate in the first place.”
This desire to focus on the Gears of War franchise itself rather than looking at gaming as a whole comes down to the series always having been “one of the probably best-in-class at cover shooting”, which was made more popular among players thanks to its “unabashed sort of tearing monsters apart.”
Brand director Nicole Fawcette noted that the franchise has also been known in the industry for its emphasis on visual fidelity and tendency to push the hardware the games run on to their limits. Achieving this with Gears of War: E-Day wasn’t too difficult thanks to many of the developers at The Coalition having previously worked at the original studio behind the franchise – Epic Games.
“Gears is one of those franchises that’s always pushed the boundaries of visual [and] hardware, and I think [The Coalition] team shares a lot of that pedigree with Epic from the past,” said Fawcette before noting that the team has “truly hit their stride in this game and in their career, and it shows up on screen.”
“Like, it’s just a team that like strives to do their best with a franchise they love. Everybody [is] giving their absolute f*****g balls, every effort that they can to bring it to life, and I think it shows.”
Gears of War: E-Day was one of the biggest titles shown off by Xbox during Gamescom last week, with the title even getting a story trailer that focused just how menacing the Locust invasion will be. While we didn’t get to see iconic villains like General RAAM, the trailer did show off how Bravo Squad deals with Emergence Day in their own way, with Marcus recklessly charging ahead. In the meantime, however, the situation in Kalona keeps getting worse.
During its own Gamescom livestreams, Xbox also showcased some gameplay from Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign. Among the gameplay sections was the players having to defend a location against enemies charging across a bridge. Another section also had players helping out fellow COG soldiers by flanking enemy snipers and flushing them out of their hiding spots. A Boomer also showed up in the showcase, presenting a massive new threat for the heroes to fight off.
For more on Gears of War: E-Day, check out our thoughts on how its campaign goes back to the roots of what made the original Gears of War great.
