Star Wars Zero Company aims to satisfy the demand for more XCOM-style turn-based tactics, featuring familiar mechanics like perishable soldiers and the critical use of overwatch. Developed by Bit Reactor, a studio founded by former Firaxis art director Greg Foertsch and populated by Firaxis veterans, the game often feels like a high-production value Star Wars-themed mod for XCOM 2. This lineage is evident, but the game also risks the pitfalls of direct comparison that affected XCOM: Chimera Squad.
When the core gameplay loop succeeds, it delivers the exhilarating tension characteristic of the genre. One mission saw a squad surrounded and facing high-percentage missed shots, leading to significant damage. However, the subsequent turn offered a comeback through abilities that granted extra action points and free attacks. Strategic repositioning and powerful abilities, like a cover-destroying grenade, turned the tide. The ability to grant extra action points to a chosen squad member, even enabling a melee takedown, showcased the game's potential. Furthermore, a defensive tactic involving a squad member taunting enemies, triggering immediate retaliatory fire with each enemy shot, effectively thinned enemy ranks before reinforcements arrived, culminating in a satisfying overwatch trap.
Zero Company introduces unique elements that set it apart from its inspirations. The astromech droid class, for instance, focuses on support roles, providing extra action points and squad buffs. These droids, while vulnerable, offer self-healing capabilities, reducing the need for constant protection. The game emphasizes the importance of each squad member due to the small unit sizes, making the astromech a potentially crucial asset despite its support focus. The question of fielding a full squad versus taking a support unit highlights a key strategic consideration.
However, the game falters in areas that undermine its tension. The predictable nature of enemy reinforcements spawning in clearly defined areas diminishes the impact of the fog of war and surprise attacks typically found in tactics games. The combat arenas are frequently small, open spaces with limited environmental variety, causing locations to blend together despite cosmetic differences. The enemy roster also feels conservative, primarily consisting of "people with guns" and "droids with guns," with fewer exotic foes than expected for a Star Wars setting. Precision and clarity issues also plague the game, leading to positioning mistakes, and the interface is reportedly cumbersome with mouse and keyboard, feeling more suited for a gamepad.
Where Zero Company truly shines is in its incorporation of elements reminiscent of Marvel's Midnight Suns. The focus on camaraderie, pre-battle conversations within an explorable base, and brief pre-mission exploration segments evoke Firaxis's heroic tactics game. These elements, along with mid-fight team-ups, add a layer of character and panache. While these mechanics offer mechanical benefits, such as bonuses for squad synergy, even the less mechanically driven aspects, like character interactions, enrich the experience and elevate the tactical gameplay. The game differentiates itself significantly through its embrace of permadeath for all squad members, a stark contrast to Midnight Suns' unkillable heroes. This feature heightens the stakes and makes the potential loss of a team member far more impactful, though players can opt to disable permadeath.
Despite some reservations, the 18-cycle preview build suggests there is significant depth to explore. Squad management and progression appear robust, allowing for diverse builds combining different classes and weapons. Players can create potent damage dealers, such as a crit-focused pistol wielder, or indomitable tanks capable of absorbing and dishing out significant damage. While the experience has been enjoyable, it falls short of expectations for a groundbreaking title. XCOM 2 remains a benchmark in the genre, and Zero Company's reluctance to push boundaries may leave it feeling like an incremental step rather than a bold evolution. Future campaign content may reveal more ambitious gameplay, but for now, it risks leaving players yearning for the innovations of its predecessors and contemporaries.