The galaxy far, far way is a ripe battleground for strategy games, although Star Wars has only seen a handful of them over the years. Developer Bit Reactor, in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, are changing that with its band of misfits and mercenaries taking charge in an explosive turn-based tactics title on PS5 that changes how you engage with the legendary Clone Wars.
Set around 20 BBY – near the end of the destiny changing Clone Wars – you play as Hawks, a former Republic officer now leading a squad of mercenaries looking to get out of debt from the brutal Hutt family. But when the so-called Zero Company are recruited for a lucrative operation, they quickly find themselves in a plot involving the Infinite Coil, a deadly, Separatist-aligned cult, rumoured to possess abilities some consider to be… unnatural.
I got fired into the fray with the full game ahead of its August 27 launch, to see how Star Wars Zero Company fits into the expansive conflict.
Feels like Star Wars
With the title screen’s stirring strings and booming horns, Zero Company sounds just how you’d want a Star Wars game to sound. The emotional John Williams inspired score sets the tone, matching the rich yet dusky space-Western colours of its visuals.
If its unmistakable style somehow doesn’t convince you of the game’s Star Wars credentials, Zero Company’s optional character creation menu before you start the game fully seals the deal. A large selection of races, from human and Torgruta, to Weequay and Twi’lek, can be extensively modified across facial details, body types, and outfits. Even their voice and dialogue is affected by which type of personality you choose for them, such as rogue, mentor, or professional.
Going a bit deeper, you can select your character’s talent on the battlefield, including the ability to draw attacks, or sabotage and detonate objects, their combat style specialisation, and weapon class – snipers can strap up with a longarm blaster, or if you’re a Han Solo type then a pistol might be more your tempo.
Droids on deck
Astromechs can be added to your unit, too. Although not as robust or versatile as their more humanoid teammates, they’re valuable support units that can buff allies with AP (Action Points) to provide the opportunity to perform more activities on the field. Oh, and you can tweak their personality as well, if you prefer to be bombarded with sassy chirps and beeps. A great antidote to the hilariously whiney Battle Droids you sometimes fight against.
Expansive battle options
The bulk of Star Wars Zero Company is spent on detailed and highly destructible arenas where protagonist Hawks and their band of Operatives have to achieve a mission objective while staying alive against a rival squad. AP is used to move, attack, or perform talents specific to class or character, such as a 100% accurate shot for the sharpshooters, or a party-wide stats buff. There are also more generic options including the ability to use overwatch, where you can set an area of retaliation that will trigger an Operative attack if an enemy moves inside of it.
But while there are lots of different objectives, from rescuing an injured ally to blowing up a target object, there’s a lot more to Star Wars Zero Company than just its turn-based combat.
Exploration home and away
Some areas allow you to walk around various hives of scum and villainy, letting you pick up clues and information from its environment and citizens. Particular conversations and investigations have binary choices for you to make, earning you occasional rewards and stat boosts which will play into another important layer of the game – the Den.
Acting as a hub for your Operatives, the Den is your home for campaigns, letting you chat to your squad, recruit new members, customize load-outs and appearances, buy weapon mods, and heal any injured teammates. Parts of the Den can be upgraded over time to enhance your utilities or offer more space as your team grows. You can even have a little strum on Hawks’ guitar-like Marfaset.
But the real fun comes from the base’s Holotable, where you can select which missions to dive into, whether it’s campaign driven or side quests, including character specific tasks. The Holotable also gives you the option of non-combat Operations for gaining information or loot, which can lead to tricky narrative choices. Some are binary that can affect the outcome of the Operation, while others require a bit more nuance via multiple decisions, and some will affect your influence on the Galaxy Map, where gaining authority in certain zones unlocks rewards.
Star Wars Zero Company doesn’t let you wade into everything, though – the story moves forward each time you select a mission, meaning you have to prioritise your jobs. And if you don’t recruit or speak to some characters – or they’re killed in battle via the optional permadeath system – their specific missions won’t be available, either.
Bonds and consequences
There are also Dilemmas where you have to make a choice that all your Operatives have an opinion on. Your decision affects a wider system where bonds between each Operative change based on whether you side with them during a Dilemma, if you partner them up to perform assists on the field, if they complete missions together, or if you decide to take up character-driven quests.
Good bonds earn Focus points to enhance an Operative’s skills, as well as teaching each other passive abilities and unique tricks – although I enjoyed hearing them complement each other on their good shooting during a battle.
A galaxy of Star Wars surprises
Of course, there’s a lot more hiding beneath Star Wars Zero Company’s Beskar hardened surface, not least the amount of lore. Early missions feature a monocle wearing Gorga the Hutt and references to the Black Sun Syndicate, while later on… well, let’s just say if you’re familiar with the Clone Wars era you won’t be disappointed by some of the significant events and brutal characters you’ll come across. And that’s not even getting into when Jedi join your party…
Start crafting your favourite blaster load-outs when Star Wars Zero Company launches on PS5 tomorrow, August 27.
