Gears Of War: E-Day Can Fix The Biggest Issue With Gears 5’s “Open-World” Levels

Summary Gears 5's largest new contribution to the series was large levels explorable via a vehicle.

The Skiff levels in Gears 5 largely lacked compelling gameplay, with no vehicular combat, making them little more than filler en route to more traditional levels.

The setting of Gears of War: E-Day is perfect for addressing these shortcomings and iterating on the open-ended levels.

Gears 5 is an ambitious entry to the storied Xbox series, but the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day can build on its predecessor's introduction of "open-world" levels in a meaningful way. E-Day's official announcement trailer premiered at the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase and came as something of a surprise, as many expected a Gears of War 6 reveal. E-Day is instead a prequel focused on Marcus and Dom during Emergence Day, depicting the catastrophic beginning of the Locust War, 14 years before the events of the series' original game.

Although E-Day rewinding the clock will let players experience one of the most consequential events of the Gears of War setting, it's an odd direction for the series after the ending of Gears 5 left an open door to round out another trilogy with Kait. Regardless of E-Day's prequel status, the game is likely to iterate on Gears 5 in the interest of the series' continued evolution. Gears 5's biggest addition was openly explorable zones – not technically open-world, but in the same spirit. Gears of War: E-Day is narratively primed to deliver a compelling iteration of this level design.

Gears 5's Open Levels Are Fun, But Don't Take Advantage Of Their Potential

The Skiff Just Connects More Traditional Levels

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Gears 5 features two "open-world" levels – a frozen tundra around Mount Kadar in Act 2, and the deep red Vasgar desert surrounding the remnants of the UIR space program in Act 3. Delta Squad traverses these areas with a vehicle called the Skiff, something of a bobsled attached to a sail, controlled by one person riding a single ski on the back. There's nothing complex about driving the Skiff, but picking up speed on slopes and catching some air whenever possible is adequately entertaining.

The Skiff sections break up the monotony of the third-person, cover-based shooter gameplay that has always defined Gears of War (except for the XCOM-like Gears Tactics), and provide relatively mindless gameplay segments where the player can easily focus on the conversations between characters. They also introduce passable side quests, which help unlock some really helpful abilities for Jack. Using the Skiff doesn't necessarily reach its full potential, though, and it's an obvious area that Gears of War: E-Day can improve.

Two extra weapons can be stored on the Skiff for later use, though reaching certain checkpoints may cause them to disappear.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment about the open-ended levels in Gears 5 is that there is no combat while on the Skiff. While playing in co-op, one person is forced to sit in the Skiff's navigation seat, which is ultimately quite useless. The larger issue, though, is that there is effectively nothing going on in the open levels themselves; they're simply nice environments to watch fly by on the way to the next on-foot level.

Gears Of War: E-Day Is Perfectly Set Up To Reinvent Gears 5's Open Levels

Emergence Day Will Have Plenty Of Chaotic Action

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Very little is currently known about Gears of War: E-Day, only what can be assumed from the trailer: it takes place on Emergence Day itself, and will center on the classic duo of Marcus and Dom. Gameplay will presumably involve classic Gears fare, but a wholesale reversion from the additions in Gears 5 would be a bit disappointing. The Skiff isn't exceptional, but the basic idea has some merit, injecting a bit of player agency into what is traditionally a very linear series.

E-Day's setting is ripe for an iteration of Gears 5's open levels. After all, their shortcomings are largely a symptom of circumstances – in Gears 5, the Locust War is long over, and the Swarm are an emerging but not widespread threat like their Locust predecessors. With so many humans perishing in the Locust War, it's ultimately unsurprising to find the vast expanses of Sera practically barren. This won't be a problem in Gears of War: E-Day.

E-Day was a large-scale assault on human civilization, with hardly any cities spared destruction. The trailer hints that there may be a strong focus on urban environments, but giving players a vehicle with an operable turret in fairly open environments can immediately solve one of the major issues with the Skiff. The utter chaos of Emergence Day provides the perfect scenario for openly explorable levels in E-Day to have more going on than in their Gears 5 counterparts.

It is estimated that one-fourth of the entire human population on Sera was killed in the first 26 hours following the Locust's emergence.

While the COG will certainly be operating with some urgency, open levels could provide the opportunity to join battles in progress, whether it's COG soldiers or civilians fighting the Locust. There's no need for the bloat of some open-world games, but this opens up more side quest opportunities and even combat with other vehicles. With mounted weaponry, and things to actually do while in a vehicle, Gears 5's Skiff levels could be transformed into robust additions to Gears of War: E-Day, rather than mindlessly entertaining set dressing.