<Act 1 spoilers ahead>
The Gears of War series has always had elements of horror (I still think of the original game as a lovechild between Doom and Resident Evil 4). But the horror has never been as present as it is in the opening chapter of E-Day. The game begins with cutscene of a worker discovering bodies torn to shreds in the tunnels underneath the city, and then what was responsible discovers him. It’s a harrowing scene, and the tension continues to ramp up with the following cutscenes counting down the hours until The Locust Horde emerge from beneath the surface.
The holes that The Locust crawl out of have never been more terrifying than in E-Day. The eerie red fire and mist make these pits feel like gateways to hell. Visibility is limited during the opening scenes and the world around you feels chaotic, both of which add to the tension and uncertainty. Put simply, there has never been this much emphasis on atmosphere and mood in a Gears game.
A large part of this atmosphere is the audio, a crucial component of horror. The music ranges from melancholy to discordant, and the sound effects are as squishy and sickening as ever.
While the series has always reveled in gore (I mean, there is a gun with a chainsaw bayonet), it’s never quite been used the way it is in E-Day. Dead bodies are nothing new in Gears, but the way they are placed and mutilated here tells a much more unsettling story.
Entering the police station for refuge and weapons only to find slaughtered cops strewn about evokes strong Resident Evil 2 vibes (undoubtedly an inspiration).
(There is a phenomenal scene in the police department taking place behind a one way mirror that I won’t spoil here, but it was like a moment straight out of a slasher film).
The carnage spills onto the streets as well, with more corpses savagely torn apart.
And don’t worry, there are still gratuitous chainsaw kills.
While it’s too early for me to give any sort of verdict on E-Day, I can definitely say it’s off to a promising, horrific start. As a fan of the series and horror in general, I’ve been in heaven, which here looks an awful lot like hell.
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