Despite the turn-based tactics genre being one of the most addictive and enjoyable to play, not many games stand out or break ground the way XCOM or Marvel’s Midnight Suns have. Fortunately, Bit Reactor has been hard at work with Star Wars: Zero Company, and after trying this build-your-mercenary-outfit adventure in a galaxy far, far away, I can confidently say that this is one of the greatest turn-based tactical titles out there, that surpasses the aforementioned two in several ways, while also becoming one of the best Star Wars video games in recent times.
As someone who has spent hundreds of hours in XCOM 2, modded and unmodded, as well as Marvel’s Midnight Suns, I couldn’t believe it when I got the chance to get an early look at Star Wars: Zero Company. For this build, I had the opportunity to try it in its early hours, culminating in one of the best tactical missions I’ve played in my life, with so much fan service that it will make Star Wars fans scream like an excited Wookie.
Instead of taking place after the fall of the Empire or after the events of The Revenge of the Sith, we finally dive into one of the most beloved events of the franchise: The Clone Wars. Here, you take the role of Hawks, a former Republic officer now leading Zero Company, a group of mercenaries from all walks of life and with a particular set of skills that lean more into the droid-blasting kind.
Before diving into the bread and butter of the game, I want to focus on the story, which is truly one of the best I’ve experienced in recent Star Wars games, at least for now. Hawks, your fully-voiced protagonist, who you can customize as you see fit, has the not-so-simple task of stopping the Infinite Coil, a cult working for the Separatists, trying to spread a mysterious plague across the galaxy.
The story hooked me instantly as I wrapped up the first mission, and that is thanks to how immersive Bit Reactor presents this original plot. Hawks does a lot of heavy lifting by being an excellent protagonist, but it is the ability the story has to reel you into this beloved galaxy.
For instance, main story missions are usually multi-stage and allow you to explore certain parts of the area before beginning an encounter. You can use these moments to gather Intel or even start with more Advantage points (more on that later).
The cherry on top is your company and how every single member feels relevant and not just an expendable soldier. Back at The Den, which is this game’s Avenger or Haven, you can talk with each member, including those you recruit and customize. Every single one has its own personality, and they even interact with each other.
Furthermore, there is also an in-depth relationship system, where the game will throw several curveballs at you with decisions that will impact your affinity with the crew. Often, you’ll have to decide if credits are worth losing the trust of your team.
Even if the preview was on the shorter side, I was surprised to see just how far this system went. Besides the affinity levels and interactions, you even have storylines for named characters, which just add depth to their personalities, as well as expand upon their background and the reason why they are in your mercenary outfit. Of course, like in other turn-based strategy games, you might not see everything in one playthrough, so you always need to weigh your choices, including which character to help.
So far, Star Wars: Zero Company has been a breath of fresh air, strictly in narrative terms. While other games in the genre have attempted to provide an outstanding story, many often fall short or focus solely on gameplay. Zero Company is the rare and extremely welcome case where it balances all aspects, and I can’t wait to see where the story will take us when it launches.
Zero Company Strikes Back
Initially, many fans may believe Star Wars: Zero Company is just XCOM with a Star Wars coat of paint, and I think they are quite wrong. Bit Reactor has used its year of expertise to grab the best things from the XCOM series, but also some new elements of Midnight Suns to truly elevate the genre in ways I didn’t think would be possible.
Combat still works in a turn-based way; you move your units, set up your overwatch shots, or move in to attack your foes. Then, enemies do the same. However, it is the extra features that make each encounter feel so much more engaging.
For starters, you have primary weapons, classes, and talents, each providing several customization options for your characters. In my case, I made my Twi’lek Hawks a Blaster Rifle user with the Scout class and their innate protagonist talent. However, once I unlocked the ability to recruit new members, I started doing all sorts of wild combinations. I was running with the good old Scoundrel with Blaster Pistol and Thievery talent, and a Longarm Blaster Assault mercenary with the Taunt talent, among others.
It was a welcome surprise to see the character progression system so deep without getting too convoluted, which makes playing as each mercenary on the field a blast.
In combat, you have your Action Points or APs, which you’ll use depending on the action you perform. Moving may cost anywhere from 1 to 3 APs depending on the distance, and shooting usually costs 1 the first shot, with the second one costing 2. So, it is up to you to decide what you’ll do with those APs as Separatists close in on your position.
Beyond that, you also have Advantage, a secondary resource that you increase after attacking enemies or activating certain skills. Advantage lets you use character-and-class-specific abilities, such as activating the classic Bounty Hunter Jetpack jump, Hawk’s ability to give another character an extra AP, and many more.
I really liked this system, as it always encouraged me to build up Advantage with my other characters so my last teammate could execute that powerful ability using all Advantage points.
As for enemies, you have a vast droid catalog from the Clone Wars era, including your B1-Battle Droids, the B2-Super Battle Droids, and the fan-favorite Droideka. But then, you also have Coil Members, which are among the most challenging yet engaging enemies to face.
Infinite Coil members have a Resonance mechanic, which triggers after defeating them or lowering their HP to a certain point. After doing the former, the Resonance will jump to another Coil enemy, strengthening them, meaning that leaving these enemies alive for long is a terrible idea.
Also, just like the Chosen of XCOM 2, you’ll have events on the holotable, which will buff enemies. Some of the ones I experienced, which I was not able to counter, made enemy snipers’ shots shred armor, increased damage for Super Droid’s rockets, and so on. Like every other choice in the game, you need to choose which one you’ll tackle, as these Coil upgrades will be with you throughout your journey and will certainly make your campaign more difficult.
Speaking of difficulty, there are several options in the game, ranging from the easiest one that caters to story-oriented players to others that eliminate all ways of saving manually and throw perma-death into the mix. I went with the latter options, as those are the ones I enjoy playing the most, and I believe this made the game shine even more. With limited time and resources, every decision matters, and it was great to feel that pressure during every cycle, which in turn felt extremely rewarding as I managed to survive a seemingly impossible mission. For classic X-Com lovers, rejoice; I once had a sniper miss a 90 percent chance to hit an elevated shot three times in a row, which promptly turned me to the Dark Side.
Last, but certainly not least, you have the Den gameplay aspect, which is where you’ll handle your off-field tasks. You have two types of missions: Operations, which are solved almost instantly by using Intel and reward you with influence on a system that lets you unlock rewards for your team, and Missions, which are the ones you’ll play by deploying your units.
I loved how Zero Company handled both, as the former often came with tough choices that affected bonds, could potentially injure members off-field, and even had multiple rewards to select, while the latter felt extremely varied, with objectives going from rescuing an NPC to sabotaging a Separatist facility.
A New Hope for Turn-Based Strategy Titles
As I wrapped my preview with one of the most jaw-dropping moments in the history of Star Wars games, I couldn’t help but feel excited and hopeful for Zero Company‘s full launch. With this build, it has already shown its high-quality storytelling with a fantastic, original plot, and showcased one of the most customizable and addictive turn-based strategy loops I’ve played in recent memory.
But now the hardest part begins: we all have to play the waiting game. Yet, after experiencing the opening hours of Star Wars: Zero Company and getting to see most of its systems, I am confident that Bit Reactor’s debut title could potentially go down in the history books as one of the best turn-based strategy games, but also one of the most refreshing and compelling Star Wars titles.
