Gears of War 4 "Going Back to Something Personal, Dark, and Mysterious"

At E3 2015, Gears of War 4 was revealed with a dark, spooky gameplay demo. Recently, developer The Coalition stated that this demo is supposed to evoke the studio's goal for the game's story. According to studio head Rod Fergusson, Gears of War 4 will have a more intimate, personal, and morally ambiguous narrative than the past few games in the series.

Speaking to IGN, Fergusson said that Gears 4 is meant to convey the same feelings and themes as the original Gears of War. He explained that while Gears 1 was suspenseful game about the dangerous creatures in the universe, Gears of War 3 was too focused on the war between humans and Locusts and lost that tension. The Coalition is thus attempting to bring Gears 4 back to its roots by evoking, in his words, "that sense of mystery, things going bump in the night."

He continued: "We're going back to something personal, intimate, dark, and mysterious, being afraid of the boogeyman."

Fergusson also hinted that the game's story will deal with morality with more subtlety and ambiguity than in past games. He stated that players' expectations for narratives have changed greatly. "Back in the day, people expected stories to be black and white, there's good and bad," he said. "Today, people want a lot of grey, a lot of moral ambiguity, things that are open to interpretation about what's right and wrong."

Gears of War 4 is planned for a holiday 2016 release on Xbox One. Players who preorder the upcoming Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will get access to a Gears 4 beta, which will go live next spring. You can also read our recent interview with Fergusson about Ultimate Edition, Gears 4, and the future of the Gears of War series. Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about Gears of War 4 in the coming months.