Gears of War: E-Day’s Setting Leaves Little Room for Heroics

Given its subtitle alone, Gears of War: E-Day is already set up to be one of the most fear-fueled, horrific, and hopeless Gears of War games ever made, as it explores the beginning of the Locust Horde invasion on the planet Sera. That alone is enough to justify comments that The Coalition has made about Gears of War: E-Day's renewed emphasis on horror that the original trilogy was known for. However, Gears of War: E-Day's smaller setting, Kalona, tells an even darker story that even the series' most die-hard fans might not be ready to witness firsthand.

While all of Sera was greatly impacted by the Locust Horde invasion on Emergence Day, Kalona's place in Gears of War lore causes it to stand out among the cities that were attacked during the catastrophic event. Already, Gears of War: E-Day is expected to be non-stop chaos as COG soldiers attempt to fend off the Locust invasion and humanity recklessly scatters in hopes of surviving the onslaught. But the fact that Gears of War: E-Day takes place in the city of Kalona means there will be little room for heroics, despite series legends like Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as its main protagonists.

Gears of War: E-Day May Be a Way to Delay The Inevitable

It is clear to see why so much excitement surrounds Gears of War: E-Day, though whatever game comes after it will have a difficult question to answer.

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By Jake S

Gears of War: E-Day's Kalona Can't Be Saved

Kalona Was One of the First Cities to Fall on Emergence Day

What makes Kalona so special in Gears of War history is that it was one of the first cities to fall on Emergence Day. In the lore, Kalona isn't famous for military action or Pendulum War significance. Instead, it was mostly a typical civilian hub that is more famous for being hit hard on Emergence Day and being almost immediately overwhelmed by the Locust Horde.

What's more is that Kalona has never been mentioned or depicted in a Gears of War game and is merely found deep within supplementary material, with its first mention in the Gears of War comics and Gears of War: Aspho Fields novel by Karen Traviss. Its description as a city in the Tyrus province of Sera — the same region that includes locations like Ephyra and Jacinto — is about all it has for it apart from its fate during Emergence Day, making its role in Gears of War: E-Day all the more clear. Kalona has likely been chosen as Gears of War: E-Day's setting, simply on account of its historical catastrophic destruction.

Kalona Has No Plot Armor to Keep It Above Ground in Gears of War: E-Day

In other words, Kalona has absolutely no shred of plot armor to keep it above ground in Gears of War: E-Day's story. While it was already expected that Gears of War: E-Day wouldn't end with Sam and Dom rising as heroes, Kalona's backstory in Gears of War lore ensures that even more. This ultimately opens the door for some intense emotional weight, and it will likely even explain why Marcus is so closed off in the original Gears of War trilogy.

Kalona has likely been chosen as Gears of War: E-Day's setting, simply on account of its historical catastrophic destruction.

Visually and tonally, Kalona is the perfect setting for Gears of War: E-Day's horror angle. It isn't a battlefield but a neighborhood, a shopping district, and a place with homes, schools, and families. Watching that kind of place get torn apart by the Locust Horde as they erupt from the ground is bound to be one of the most traumatic gaming experiences in Gears of War history. In the end, Kalona lets the series return to what made the original Gears of War trilogy so unforgettable — that feeling of being completely overpowered, trapped, and barely surviving.

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