The Role of The Swarm in Gears 6
With the latest in Xbox hardware lately released to the general public through the Xbox collection X and the Xbox Series S, players who have managed to get their hands on these sought after consoles are likely looking for the first major exclusive title to play it. While games such as Tetris Effect: Connected and Yakuza: Just like a Dragon appear to fill that part in at least a temporary feeling as they’re timed exclusives, Xbox appears to be lacking the power of launching a major first-party title alongside its new consoles.
But, there is 1 franchise that seems destined to create an appearance shortly: Gears of War. The Gears of War series has been one of Microsoft’s marquee franchises since the original launched on the Xbox 360 and has maintained a fairly loyal audience on the Xbox One with Gears 4 and Gears 5. And while fans and critics alike have sung the praises of Gears Tactics, now it is on the brand new Xbox consoles, and it appears clear that gamers are more than ready for Gears 6.
RELATED: What To Expect From Gears 6
While the seeming conclusion to the latest Gears of War trilogy will concentrate primarily on Kait in addition to the other members of her squad, Gears 6 is in a unique position where it can continue to expand upon the lore of the Locust and their current iteration known as The Swarm. Gears 5 gave fans of this franchise a significant lore dump on the origins of the Locust species and how they connect to Kait and her household as a whole.
The Revelations Of The Swarm In Gears 5
In Gears 5, players come to find out that the Locust would be the result of an experiment gone wrong as the COG was trying to find a remedy for Emulsion poisoning at a secret laboratory beneath Mount Kadar. This entailed Niles Samson, the lab’s chief scientist, attempting to hybridize the DNA of children born with Emulsion poisoning with these creatures native to the Hollow. One of these children was Myrrah, Kait’s grandmother, who had been resistant to the poisoning and had a link to the hivemind of the resulting Locust because her DNA was being used to replicate the cure.
This information is based on Kait and Del as they explore the lab by Niles, who currently exists purely as the lab’s AI custodian. Niles agrees to help Kait by severing her from the Swarm hivemind and hooks her up to some machine. Regrettably for Kait, Niles has ulterior reasons as the consequent link severance induces the stirring of a strong Berserker known as The Matriarch. Additionally, but Niles uses Kait’s consciousness to resurrect Reyna, Kait’s Mother, to provide The Swarm with a new queen so they might restart the war that the Locust began.
Long Live The Queen
With Reyna once more living and carrying the part of Queen within The Swarm hivemind, it seems that players will have to inevitably confront the warped and perverted version of Kait’s mother in Gears 6. As soon as it’s currently unknown how this conflict will occur, it seems highly probable that the next Gears of War game will visit Kait and company destroy Reyna; however, there could be a possible twist coming.
The end of Gears 5 comprised a mechanic that had not been seen in a Gears of War title. Players were given a choice that could influence the game’s story in the future, as Kait has to choose whether or not to conserve JD or Del out of Reyna. It remains to be seen whether this choice will impact the story of Gears 6 purposefully. However, it does appear to demonstrate that The Coalition is considering giving players more of a voice in the show’s narrative. Bearing this in mind, it might be possible that after Reyna is ruined in Gears 6, Kait might be given the option to take her up as the new Swarm Queen.
While this is purely speculative, it looks like The Coalition wants all focus on Kait and the Diaz family line to conclude this trilogy. Gears Tactics’ most important protagonist is Kait’s dad, Gabriel Diaz, and afterward features Reyna as another key part of Alpha Squad. And with so much focus on the Diaz family as a whole, Gears 6 seems likely to become an epic yet debilitating family reunion.
