Star Wars Zero Company is unmistakably a tactical strategy game shaped by the modern XCOM formula. That influence is expected: Bit Reactor was founded by former XCOM art director Greg Foertsch. The more important question is whether this is merely a Star Wars reskin or a worthwhile tactical adventure in its own right.
After roughly 28 hours with the completed campaign, including all side-character missions and a fully upgraded base, the answer is encouraging. Bit Reactor has created a substantial Star Wars story with excellent squad combat, memorable characters and a strong sense of place. However, technical problems regularly interrupt the experience.
Camera glitches, uneven performance and lengthy pauses during combat are the main obstacles. When the systems work, though, Zero Company delivers some of the most satisfying turn-based battles and character-driven storytelling in recent Star Wars games.
A mercenary crew caught in the Clone Wars
The story takes place during the final months of the Clone Wars, drawing on the era established by the prequel films and The Clone Wars television series. Players control Hawks, a former Republic captain dismissed after a mission went wrong. Hawks now leads a small mercenary unit alongside Togruta second-in-command Runa, injured Clone soldier Trick, former alien boxer Kabbney Uppercut and Lesat smuggler Neesh.
Hawks can be customised as either a man or a woman, with a choice of Star Wars species. The struggling crew eventually agrees to secretly assist the Republic against a dangerous cult led by Fathom, a woman with an unsettling ability to control followers and other people.
The campaign runs for more than 20 hours and tells a confident Star Wars story, complete with twists, notable appearances such as Anakin Skywalker and plenty of references for fans. Its pacing and writing compare favourably with many recent live-action productions, while the conclusion feels satisfying enough to make finishing the game bittersweet.
The crew is the campaign’s biggest strength. Hawks can recruit former Separatists, Republic clones, criminals, Jedi and bounty hunters, and their conversations between missions make the base feel worthwhile. There is a large amount of dialogue, with distinct personalities and little repetition. Speaking with squad members also affects relationships, tracking how much they cooperate or dislike one another and potentially influencing difficult decisions.
Trick’s developing relationship with Luco, an Umbaran sniper who once fought against him in some of the Clone Wars’ bloodiest battles, is particularly effective. Because any character can die permanently, these connections carry genuine weight. Losing a soldier can also mean missing scenes and conversations that took considerable effort to create.
Excellent turn-based combat
Most missions place the crew directly into battles against droids, cultists and hired guns. A squad can contain up to four operators, each with a specialised role such as sniper, medic or gunslinger. Before deployment, players select their team, equipment, weapons and modifications.
Each operator receives three action points per turn. Movement, attacks, abilities and positioning all compete for those points, creating the familiar tactical rhythm of weighing immediate damage against future safety. The design provides several useful choices without becoming needlessly overwhelming.
The remaining missions begin with third-person exploration as Hawks moves through planets and cities. These sections show off detailed environments that look as though they belong in a Star Wars film or series, but they rarely offer meaningful interaction. Characters seldom talk, and there are usually no puzzles or threats. Only one mission makes especially good use of this format, so the campaign would lose little if most of these walks were removed.
Once combat begins, the variety is much stronger. Operations can involve surviving enemy waves, defusing bombs, rescuing injured civilians or escaping a bomber. Returning to some locations means familiar maps occasionally reappear, but changing objectives help keep the missions interesting.
One particularly useful system lets an operator call on a nearby squadmate for assistance during a turn. It adds another tactical option while strengthening relationships and unlocking new bonuses. Different unit types also change how battles are approached. A recruitable Jedi uses lightsabers and Force abilities rather than conventional equipment, droids provide mobile support, and a Mandalorian bounty hunter can use a jetpack and shock darts to reach distant positions and slow enemies.
As upgrades, weapons and abilities accumulate, the tactical toolbox expands. Overwatch is especially satisfying: place several operators to fire at enemies who cross their sightlines, then use a grenade to force droids from cover and into the waiting shots. These sequences can produce dramatic slow-motion finishers and reward careful preparation.
The mixture of Jedi, clones, criminals, droids and bounty hunters also fits the series’ enduring found-family theme. These mismatched characters gradually become an effective team, both in the story and on the battlefield.
Technical faults break the momentum
Unfortunately, Zero Company is frequently undermined by rough presentation. Cinematic cameras can point into walls, buildings or trees, hiding major attacks such as a Jedi throwing lightsabers or a sniper taking a long-distance shot. Reinforcement arrivals are sometimes announced without the camera showing them, while the view can jump away just as a squad member takes damage.
More seriously, battles occasionally pause for close to a minute after ending a turn or activating an ability. The problem was most noticeable in larger encounters with many droids or soldiers, and it could happen several times in one fight. Those interruptions drain tension from otherwise excellent battles.
Performance was also inconsistent on the PS5 Pro used for this review. The frame rate could collapse and fluctuate both during missions and outside them, although the game did not crash completely during the playthrough.
These problems are frustrating because the underlying combat remains so enjoyable. Even during imperfect encounters, there was still pleasure in destroying droids, watching a squad member land a difficult shot or hoping a wounded favourite would survive an enemy attack.
Verdict
Star Wars Zero Company is an unusually strong combination of character-focused storytelling and turn-based tactics. Recruiting a varied crew, building relationships, improving the base and assembling the right team for each mission all work together effectively.
The unnecessary exploration sections and recurring technical faults prevent it from reaching its full potential. Players who are already fans of Star Wars and tactical strategy will likely find more to appreciate than those who are less interested in either genre. Patches could make a substantial difference, but the available information does not make the game’s long-term post-launch support certain.
For Australian players comparing it with other arcade and gaming news, Zero Company is best understood as a compelling tactical game trapped inside an uneven technical package. It is far more than a simple reskin, but it needs refinement to match the quality of its story and combat.
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