Star Wars: Zero Company is already making a strong impression with its XCOM-inspired tactical battles and relationship systems. A full review is still to come, as the game code arrived only one day before launch, but reaching the later stages has revealed one persistent annoyance: Ovissians are everywhere.
Why do Ovissians stand out so much?
Ovissians first appeared on screen in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, although the species had previously been introduced in a book. The film’s first prominent Ovissian was Boolio, a Resistance informant who was later killed after betraying the First Order. Boolio was voiced by Mark Hamill.
The design is hard to take seriously. Huge mouths, oversized horns around the ears and additional horns beneath the face combine to give the characters an oddly theatrical appearance. When they speak, it can look as though a puppeteer is operating a costume from inside, which is not ideal during dramatic scenes.
Zero Company puts them in the spotlight
Ovissians have generally appeared sparingly in Star Wars stories released after The Rise of Skywalker. Star Wars: Zero Company is a notable exception. They are one of the game’s most common alien types, and players can even select an Ovissian as their main character.
Several company members can also be Ovissian. During one point in the campaign, three of them occupied the same room at the base, creating the impression of a Jim Henson production transplanted into the Star Wars universe. Passing them during base visits repeatedly breaks the mood.
That is particularly distracting in a campaign about criminals and mercenaries gathering limited resources to resist a major threat. The tactical missions can establish genuine momentum, only for a familiar oversized face to dominate the next conversation or cutscene.
This is not a complaint about every modern alien
The objection is not aimed at newer Star Wars species in general. The Disney-era films and stories have introduced plenty of entertainingly strange designs, including the unusual Tognath and the amphibious Abednedo. Most Abednedo characters are named after Beastie Boys songs, which is exactly the sort of detail that suits this wonderfully silly universe.
Star Wars works because it can be strange and playful. The problem is not that Ovissians are unconventional; it is that Zero Company uses them so frequently. Readers following the wider gaming scene can browse the RETROCADE arcade blog, watch the latest arcade videos, or explore arcade machines for another kind of gaming setup.
So the complaint is now officially on the record: the tactical systems and relationship mechanics may be winning me over, but the Ovissian population remains a constant visual distraction. I would happily replace a few of them with Gungans around the base.
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