With Star Wars’s cinematic universe marrying so well with turn-based tactics, it’s surprising that the galaxy far, far away hasn’t ventured this meaningfully into the genre before. But, it’s here now: Star Wars Zero Company puts you in command of a ragtag team of operatives, with studio Bit Reactor – a team composed of former XCOM developers – bringing tactical, cover-based combat, character-driven storytelling, and the franchise’s signature blockbuster presentation to the tactics experience. It’s definitely more than XCOM meets the Clone Wars, though, so here are fifteen things you need to know before you buy Star Wars Zero Company.
XCOM Meets Mass Effect in the Star Wars Universe
At its core, Star Wars Zero Company is a turn-based tactics game shaped around the familiar XCOM mould. You’ll carefully position your squad, form team-wide synergies, and make difficult decisions against insurmountable odds. However, this is Star Wars; developer Bit Reactor, as such, is putting greater emphasis on character relationships and cinematic storytelling, with a cast who fight together through an original Clone Wars-era story. Because of the high-drama, hands-on previews suggest Star Wars Zero Company shares DNA with Mass Effect, too.
Hawks Is Your Customisable Commander
Throughout the adventure, you’re in command of Hawks, a war-weary leader whose species you can customise alongside their first name, appearance, clothing, combat specialisations, and more. Hawks is one of seven so-called Operators – that is, pre-defined characters built specifically to drive the story – who each bring distinction through looks and unique talents alike. Hawks, however, is the only Operator required to complete every story mission.
The Infinite Coil Is Your Main Enemy
The main threat you’ll face in Zero Company is The Infinite Coil, a separatist paramilitary faction led by the mysterious Kundri Fathom. Under Fathom’s leadership, The Coil are a fanatical group pursuing the spread of the Shadow Plague, a disease said to grant unnatural and deadly abilities of which every member – Kundri included – is infected. And, just another note on The Coil’s leader: speculation suggests she wields the Force, but Bit Reactor is keeping tight-lipped. The true extent of Fathom’s power could be under wraps until the game’s August 27th launch.
The Shadow Plague Makes Skirmishes More Dangerous
The Coil’s unflinching loyalty to their commander is powerful enough, but among their greatest weapons is the Shadow Plague itself. See, they aren’t simply suffering from it. No, they’re deliberately spreading it through their ranks and the galaxy at large. This potentially gives Zero Company an unusual headache to overcome, whether infected opponents could prove significantly more dangerous than their non-infected counterparts. When facing an army made up of various abilities, you’ll need to think carefully about which targets to eliminate first.
The Infinite Coil Isn’t The Only Enemy
The Infinite Coil may be the narrative’s primary antagonist, but Zero Company will contend with the Separatist Alliance’s droid army and the Outlaws’ overwhelming numbers too, forcing you to mix up your outfit’s tactical approaches and equipment. There are a couple of notable enemy leaders announced alongside Fathom too: the formidable Vissier often leads the Coil into battle, and Super Tactical Droid Typhon can command entire armies and fleets for precision strikes against vulnerable targets.
‘The Den’ Is Your Base Between Battles
Between missions, you’ll return to The Den which functions as Zero Company’s base of operations. Here you’ll gather intel, upgrade equipment, recruit Operators, and interact with your crew. At the beginning, you’ll have space for seven Operators in your micro-army, but through the Den’s upgrades you can eventually reach twenty. Elsewhere, four non-combat personnel operate at The Den, functioning, it seems, as merchants: Republic Intelligence officer Bennic Halloren, operations specialist Runa Blask, armoury and black market operator Neesh Renark, and medbay droid M-3VO.
Two Different Mission Types
There are two different mission types in Star Wars Zero Company: Operations and Tactical Missions. Both assignment types can expire, although story-centric missions become mandatory after a set period of time. Operations take place in the galaxy map, yielding rewards, narrative additions, and yet more operations. Some will even present meaningful decisions which can affect the bonds between your outfit – more on this bonding system later. Tactical Missions, meanwhile, involve your squad completing set objectives, encompassing sabotage, combat, rescue, retrieval, and story-focused sequences centred around a specific member of your team.
You Command a Four-Person Squad During Battles
Whatever mission type you undertake, combat takes place with a standard squad of four Operators, although certain missions will allow you control of additional characters. Each Operator has three action points to spend during their turn, giving you significant freedom in how you approach an engagement, whether that’s taking cover, repositioning, flanking, or firing at will, each ability plays an important role in making it through each encounter.
Operators Can Die Permanently
Away from authored Operators, you can also create your own with customisable appearances, names, equipment, and specialisations. And, in true XCOM fashion, your Operators can die permanently. Permadeath is enabled by default, meaning you’ll need to look after your most trusted squadmates or else experience losing them forever. It can, however, be turned off in the game’s settings if you prefer. Given that the story’s conclusion is largely the same for every player, your choices and the Operators you lose will affect character bonds and story elements along the way. Hawks, also, is unique – if they die it’ll cause an automatic mission failure.
Eight Specialisations Define Your Operators
Most Operators can choose from eight standard specialisations, with each providing three abilities: an Ultimate, a Standard, and a Passive ability. Assault is built around close-range fighting, while Gunslingers specialise in fast, multi-target blaster strikes. The Heavy specialisation are heavily-armoured frontline combatants, Scouts are trained in recon, and Sharpshooters excel at ranged precision. Medics provide healing, Scoundrels are opportunistic and improvisational, and Soldiers – a mainstay of your offensive unit – bring a versatile arsenal to close and medium range combat.
Your Squad Needs To Get Along
One of Zero Company’s most defining features is its Bonds system, where Operators can grow closer through shared combat experiences and their relationships eventually yielding tangible benefits. Strong Bonds can unlock new support abilities and cross-training benefits, for instance, with bonded units sharing skills and stats to improve their effectiveness as a team. So, the overall strength of your outfit doesn’t just rest on four individual characters, but how well everyone works together.
There Are Four Exotic Classes
Beyond the eight specialisations, Star Wars Zero Company also includes four exotic classes designed around specific story characters. As such, only one can enter the battlefield at a time, although the Astromech is an exception. See, the droid archetype – created through the in-game droid builder – can make up your entire team if you wish. Elsewhere, a Jedi Padawan and a Madalorian Warrior – locked to Operators Tel-Rea Vokoss and Cly Kullervo respectively – bring more ways to strengthen your squad. There is an as-yet unannounced fourth exotic class too, with Bit Reactor potentially leaving the final reveal until after the game releases.
There Are Four Weapon Classes
Your Operators aren’t restricted to their Specialisations when it comes to equipment. In fact, Bit Reactor confirms that you’ll have access to a “deep well of equippable weapons and utilities” that you’ll be able to customise and experiment with. All in all, the studio confirms there are four weapon classes, plus four-to-six cosmetic models per class. The level of tactical freedom promised suggests you can build loadouts granularly around specific problems or objectives.
Advantage is a Shared Resource
And, another one of Star Wars Zero Company’s twists on the tactics genre is its Advantage Points system. Through its shared resource pool, each Operator can access the most powerful abilities, with you choosing when to use them and in what order. The idea here is to provide more tactical flexibility and strategic decision-making. You can choose to unleash the Squad’s shared abilities immediately, for example, or save them for when your back is against the wall.
PC Requirements
Star Wars Zero Company is a demanding game to run on PC, even at the game’s advertised minimum requirements, which are: an Intel Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 2600X CPU, GeForce GTX 1080 or Radeon RX 5600 XT GPU, and 16GB RAM. Recommended spec, as per the game’s Steam page, details an Intel Core i7-10700K or Ryzen 7 3700X CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 7800 XT GPU, and 32GB RAM.
