Although Cliff Bleszinski has had no involvement with the Gears of War series since creating its first three installments, he remains a popular figure within the community. This is perhaps unsurprising, given he is the series’ creator and has never shied away from expressing his opinions.
He is speaking out again, this time about Gears of War: E-Day. In an interview with The Expansion Pass, he shared his thoughts on this prequel, which is set before his own games and features younger versions of the characters he created. Bleszinski is decidedly positive.
“I think they’re doing the whole going back to give people what they want. You know, we talked a lot about E-Day. Stories have been written about it, but to live it… I think the possibilities for cinematic moments are huge with what they’re doing.”
“I got goosebumps when I saw Marcus fall into that hand, go down, end up being Dom, and all the commentary… people online loved it, because they had the ultimate gaming bromance. To go back to that, rather than having Zombie Dom as a multiplayer option. Like, come on, man.”
He believes this will result in a better, more vibrant game and takes the opportunity to criticize the enemies, particularly in Gears of War 4.
“I think they’re really getting on board. You’re not going to be fighting these stupid robots or this nutjob of a Lamant, it’s just making the Locust scary again. Seeing Marcus fight with a single Locust in that trailer, I think that was brilliant. And showing the desperation of life on Sera – the welcome banner on the wall saying ‘hey, congratulations, the Pendulum Wars are over.’ But psych, now you have a bigger, scarier threat to deal with. That’s what happens when humans fight too much: a third party comes in and messes things up.”
So, it appears we know what Cliffy B will be doing when the game eventually releases. However, he states he hasn’t pre-judged his opinion and will speak his mind if the game doesn’t live up to expectations.
“I have high hopes for it, and I can’t wait to see what they’re going to put out. If I like it, I’ll be honest about it. And if I don’t like it, I’ve got nothing to lose, to be honest.”
On June 7th, Microsoft will host its annual Xbox Games Showcase, followed by a dedicated Gears of War: E-Day stream. The game is expected to launch later in the year, though an exact date remains unknown, and it has not yet been announced for PlayStation 5. Hopefully, we’ll learn more about all of this in just under two months.