Gears 5 has been out for a while now, but that doesn’t mean players have learned everything there is to learn. In fact, the game has received some serious updates for the Xbox Series X release. Fans of the franchise will remember that Imulsion is a vital component of the Gears of War franchise and its lore. It shares its goopy golden power with the entirety of Sera and beyond.
Between the high-tech weaponry and the gunfire, Imulsion’s influence is everywhere. Examining the detailed allegory, inner-workings, and general functionality of Imulsion in Gears 5 and other Gears of War games really helps flesh out this action-packed and volatile world.
So, while you’re looking for enemy players to vanquish, use some of this information to really look around the game’s environment and see just how prevalent Imulsion really is.
10 Imulsion Is Parasitic In Nature
Not much is known as to the components or the true origin of Imulsion, but what is known is disturbing. Imulsion is, at least partially, a parasitic fungus disguised and operating as a naturally occurring liquid.
Its parasitic qualities can be seen in the Lambent, infected, and overtaken lifeforms completely subject to Imulsion. This evolution spurred the development of the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon and multiple unethical experiments into finding a cure for such a powerful and invasive organism.
9 A Powerful, Dangerous Force
Aside from the parasitic nature, Imulsion has a ton of other weaponry under its gelatinous belt. It can reproduce itself forever, endlessly multiplying unless something interferes. It is also mutagenic in nature and can adapt and mutate to overtake any environment it finds itself inhabiting.
These factors mixed with Imulsion’s airborne infectability make the substance able to travel immensely far and ultimately infect anything it comes across. Naturally, humanity decided to use it for warfare.
8 It Came At Just The Right Time For Humanity
No one knew what they’d stumbled upon when they first encountered Imulsion. Sera was in the Age of Silence with energy sources being few and far between for the growing population.
It wasn’t until the discovery of Imulsion and the creation of the Lightmass Process that Sera transitioned out of the energy crisis plaguing it into the aptly named Golden Age. Golden prospects, golden liquid, golden future, right?
7 Imulsion Is Everywhere
Just like the oil in our world, Imulsion is a versatile fuel source for the Gears Of War franchise. It is mined from deposits in the Hollow, Sera’s planetary crust layer, and siphoned into everything from gasoline to chemical weaponry like The Hammer of Dawn using the Lightmass Process.
Odds are, if it’s powered by something that’s not strictly electric, there’s a little bit of parasitic golden goo floating around inside. Now, after the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon did its business by destroying Imulsion at its genetic level, the substance can only be found in crystal form.
6 Imulsion Is War Worthy
The Pendulum Wars are one such conflict; those in possession of Imulsion (Coalition of Ordered Governments) wanted to keep it for themselves. Those in desperate need of Imulsion (Union of Independent Republics) were willing to fight to obtain it. This spawned a global war that cost millions of lives over the span of seventy-nine years. And this was just the first of many.
With a name like Gears of War, it’s safe to say that war is probably going to be a big part of worldbuilding. As such, it’s hard to find a war that wasn’t directly or indirectly linked to Imulsion. This fact plays into the next entry on this list.
5 An Allegory For Oil
It’s not too far of a stretch to say that Gears of War is drawing on real-world experience to influence and inspire the fictional landscape of the series. One of the most cleverly done, if a bit heavy-handed, allusions to the world is Imulsion’s comparison to oil.
The mining industry and extraction methods echo the true nature of popular oil manufacturers and refineries worldwide. It seems that a heavily desired energy source causes world-changing wars both in-game and out of it. We see you, Gears of War.
4 It Mirrors The Health Effects Of Coal Mining
Like most things used to power technologies, overexposure to Imulsion lead to serious health problems. Most specifically, those who get too close to Imulsion for too long can experience a deadly disease nicknamed Rustlung. This eerily echoes the condition, Black Lung, experienced by coal miners from as early as the 16th century.
Black Lung occurs when miners inhale coal particles repeatedly and the dust coats their lungs. The longer miners were exposed, the worse the disease was found to be. Black Lung didn’t turn people into Lambent though, so maybe Imulsion has enough of its own thing going on to justify a little fictional flourish.
3 There’s An Energy Drink Outside Of The Game
You can get Imulsion here on Earth! Boston America, a company known for making novelty drinks and candies, teamed up with Gears of War to make an energy drink for all of your gaming needs.
You can purchase a 250 milliliter (8.4 Fluid Ounce) can for about $2.50 USD or get a whole 24 pack online. Maybe it wasn’t the best marketing ploy to make a drink from a fungal parasite that infects all lifeforms. But honestly, if the shoe fits, right?
2 There’s A Nod To The Drink In-Game In Settlement Two
In Gears 5, the Imulsion energy drink has a cousin called Imulsion Mix. It’s a soft drink visually similar to orange juice that can be found on advertising posters and in vending machines in Settlement 2. The name is misleading because there’s no actual Imulsion in it!
It’s just an allusion to the popular energy source and, while the intense health issues that come with Imulsion aren’t here, there’s still a warning not to give the drink to anyone under the age of sixteen. Caffeine is the real danger here!
1 No Blood For Imulsion
The real-world comparisons just keep coming in this franchise. Tyrus, the nation housing the headquarters of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, had an anti-war movement that called directly back to some eerily familiar chants and slogans. The line “No Blood For Imulsion” is a paraphrasing of the popular protest cry “No Blood For Oil” attributed to the opposers of foreign wars.
It was used to discourage the United States from sending military aid into countries with oil deposits, basically saying that oil wasn’t worth dying for. According to the movement in Tyrus, neither is Imulsion.
NEXT: Gears 5: The 10 Best Characters In The Game, Ranked
