In a galaxy full of possibilities, strategy games feel like the perfect genre to depict a war. Letting players dictate the actions of all on their side. Bit Reactor certainly felt so, as they’ve brought their XCOM experience to develop Star Wars Zero Company. A turn-based strategy game set during the Clone Wars, where the independent intelligence unit known as Zero Company works to take down a plot that threatens the course of the war for both sides.
Knowing how bad my strategic thinking is, I elected to put the difficulty onto story mode, turning permadeath off. Though the game makes it clear that permadeath is the default way to play. Then it’s time to customise Hawks, the leader of Zero Company. Body type, species, facial features, and the outfit they wear. Along with their specialisation and weapon. I elected to make my Hawks a scout with a pistol, since it just felt right.
Into the mission, I’m walked through the various aspects of the strategy gameplay. Actions cost points, with various weapons having a specific cost to use them. Each operator only has three action points to use for moving, using weapons, or going into overwatch. Some abilities won’t need AP to use, instead relying on the advantage points gained though battle. My specialisation choice for Hawks meant he could provide a nearby operator with an extra action point, which has helped a lot in battle.
The first few missions see fixed operators, with Hawks, clone trooper Trick, and Kabbney Uppercut being on the team. Rodian Aurellio being killed in action on the first mission at Serolonis. Once the true mission begins, that being hunting down Fathom and wiping out the Infinite Coil, recruitment of other operators will begin. As does the true strategy, with many things to consider.
The first being what operators I want to be taking into battle. With each of the main operators having a unique skill, am I wanting to fully take advantage of those, or only take two of them. While also using two recruited operators who can be just as effective in battle. Weapons and specialisations play a part in that, but so do the bonds that these operators forge in battle.
Bonds play a big part in helping these operators grow. When the bond between two operators increases, they can enter training together to improve stats such as ranged damage and chance to hit. Or further their bond together. Those improvements are permanent, so choosing one of the three options that can benefit both operators is important. Ability improvements can be made, along with modding weapons, making for a lot of ways to help operators grow.
The bonds of these operators also can be seen with the conversations they have during downtime. After each mission, the team return to the base of operations. Controlling Hawks, I can roam the base, talking to the operators and other people who are around. For the main characters, there’s plenty to be finding out about them. With some also having missions tied to their story. Roaming will also sometimes happen out on missions, providing a bit of world building to important locations of the story.
It’s not just the main missions playable, with many optional missions, too. Not all of them can be played, with each having a cycle count before they are removed from the board. Critical missions must be played before that happens, being locked to playing it when one cycle remains. The same goes for operations. These are text-based quick objectives that mostly come with a choice to be made for rewards. Some operations will unlock new missions, with most critical missions being unlocked this way.
Star Wars Zero Company does well in providing a turn-based tactical game. Everything is easily understood thanks to the information the game provides, keeping it quick to hand even in battle. There are some issues, mostly being visual. Such as textures taking a second to load correctly. But that speaks to the optimisation of the game and how it can affect gameplay.
Sometimes it feels as though it takes a second or two to process things, leading to teleporting enemies escaping from a 100% overwatch. Or enemy units appearing on top of cover (which I won’t complain about). I’m sure such issues can easily be fixed up, so it really depends on how much they would annoy you at present. Though, since I’m giving Star Wars Zero Company an easy recommendation, I would say if you can overlook them, you are in for a great time.
Images Taken From:
Star Wars Zero Company | Xbox Series S
