Fans of Gears Of War have mourned Dom’s passing as the most heartbreaking event ever to occur in gaming history.
For most viewers who view Gears of War trailers for the first time, emotional storytelling might not immediately come to mind.
Gears of War was initially released for Xbox 360 in 2006 and quickly established itself as one of Microsoft’s flagship properties, alongside Halo. Gears was an inspiration to numerous third-person cover shooters but no other developers could capture its magic quite like original developers Epic Games did.
Gears of War is set on Earth-like planet known as Sera and was administered by The Coalition of Ordered Governments or COG for short. Unfortunately, war was inevitable between human races; when an alien race known as Locust emerged to wipe us all out on “Emergence Day”, Sera would never be the same again.
Gears of War is now an award-winning franchise, boasting multiple sequels and spin-offs since its initial release. At its heart lies Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago’s bromance that would ultimately reach tragic conclusion with Gears of War 3’s release in 2011.
Gears of War 3 has been out for 12 years at this point and as its title gives away, I understand this story contains spoilers. But to remain fair I will attempt to avoid offering too many details beyond what may already be known: Dom dies in what can only be described as one of the most emotional deaths ever witnessed on video game platforms; his death being one that many will find heartbreaking; I cried myself and am sure others did as well.
An instrumental version of Gary Jules’ song “Mad World”, used originally in Gears of War trailer, added another level of emotion that few could anticipate at that time; for some even today. It remains powerfully moving.
“To me, Dom’s death will always remain one of the saddest in gaming history,” began GearsOfJacoby when opening up discussion in Reddit thread.
“Every time I hear the piano of Mad World I get sad; that coupled with Marcus making desperate attempts to stop him makes for an especially devastating combination,” explained Spartan17492. “It hits me hard.”
“I think the cinematic experience in video games reached its zenith with Dom’s death,” stated wheel_of_cheese92. “Everything since has just been a sad attempt at stirring emotions while also trying to be too epic and movie-esque.
As I replay Gears of War 2, this story reminds me that I still don’t feel prepared for what’s to come.
As for Gears 6, when will it arrive? Microsoft and The Coalition, hurry up! All five titles of Gears of War franchise have already released on PC and Xbox, with older games compatible backwards compatibility.
