We’ve had plenty of Star Wars games that have brought players to the epic battlefront between the Galactic Empire and New Republic and utilize the force for epic adventures. However, there hasn’t been one in quite some time has explored space combat as a pilot. There’re have been some sections of games like Battlefront 2 that have allowed players to take control of iconic franchise ships but never a game that’s solely focused on it. However, Electronic Arts (EA), still on the path of redemption for how they’ve handled their Star Wars games of the past, has now created a game that allows players to embark in high tension space fights as both the New Republic and Galactic Empire with Star Wars: Squadrons.
In Star Wars: Squadrons, players have the ability to take control of the franchises most iconic ships from the Star Wars’ universe and take part in space combat like never before. It’s pretty amazing how EA and Motive have recreated the Star Wars atmosphere in both sight and sound. Hearing Tie Fighters zoom by and shots fired from an X-Wing sounds just like it does in the movies. The second you hop into the first ship, there’s this overwhelming sense of nostalgia that just pours over you. Add in the fact that players can interact in the war-torn battle for survival they’ve roared and cheered for on-screen before and Squadrons quickly becomes a truly immersive experience.
The environments and story visuals are dazzling and create incredible gameplay moments. Players engage in battles in the outer atmospheres of planets, through asteroid fields, Star Destroyer wreckages, outside of ship dockyards, and even in the wide open, cloud-covered Yavin Prime. Fighting in these areas and just looking around never gets old — this might be the best-looking Star Wars game of all-time. While I never played it in VR, I can only imagine how much better this game would be with a VR headset and flight stick controller as it would make players feel even more immersed into the world. Star Wars: Squadrons certainly brings the looks of what a great Star Wars flight game should be –then you start playing it.
Now, that last comment is not meant to signify that the gameplay doesn’t hold up to the great atmosphere that Motive creates, it does. However, there’s such a strong learning curve to everything that Squadrons offers that it initially drags down the experience. It’s hard to say if it’s the controls themselves or if it’s just that flight simulator games just aren’t as common anymore; but controls like this just aren’t a part of my muscle memory anymore. These controls feel so foreign when you first get a hold of them. The maneuvering is surprisingly smooth and the game gives a lot of leeway when comes to your field of vision so that you’re not knocking into things all the time because of blind spots, but speed control definitely takes some getting used to.
When I first started playing, staying behind ships you’re chasing and not just blowing by them was a really tough challenge. The game does include an extremely easy to use targeting system so that players won’t be constantly losing targets and get back on their tail easily, but it still takes a lot of getting used to. The game also throws a lot of other variables at you while you’re just trying to figure out the basics, so understanding the gameplay can be a little overwhelming at first.
Drifting is a little confusing, the ability to shift power between ship speed, weapon power, and shields (for some ships) is awesome but hard to feel the effects of it at times, and the radar system is especially tough to get a grip of at first as it’s a little tough to figure out how high or low enemies are without targeting them. It’s definitely the biggest learning curve I’ve had with a game in quite some time, more than likely due to flight games just not being around much anymore, but once you start to get a grip on things, the real fun of Squadrons begins.
Even for all of the time I’ve spent playing through Squadrons’ different modes, I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered flying, but there’s a noticeable improvement that comes with more time spent with the game that allows players to better utilize the incredible customization options. With both sides each containing four different ships with their own tactical purpose and options, there’s no end to how players can make their own versions of iconic Star Wars ships both cosmetically and for battle. From changing out your hulls and engines to create a leaner, meaner flying machine to switching out primary weapon attacks to play a more assault heavy role by putting in more deadly firepower or fit into a support role by delivering tactical shields to teammates, Squadrons has no shortage of ways players can go into battle how they want to. There’re also plenty of cosmetic customization options that allow players to change the outside and inside of their ship.
The interior customizations are really awesome as players can put mounting trophies on the side view, change what hologram they’re seeing in the hull, and even add little tokens inside to give the inside some flair. For my Galactic Empire Interceptor, C3PO’s head is mounted into the corner of my ship and you can even put a Luke Skywalker or Ewok figurine on the dashboard of your X-Wing. The outer customizations are a little pointless, in my opinion, since the game is in first person so you never really get to see the color changes or graffiti tags you can add to the outside of your ships. The same can be said about the customizations you can make to your pilot.
Look, it’s cool that you can change the suits they wear, give your pilot a gold helmet, and even change their personality by giving them their own voice. It’s especially nice to see a very visually diverse character roster to choose from and even having the choice of your New Republic pilot being an alien rather than a human character is really awesome. However, if you’re never going to see your character and cosmetic changes outside of a handful of cutscenes and post-game screens, does it really matter how you change them? Truthfully, it kind of does, but it’s hard not to wish that Squadrons had more options for your character and ship choices to be a bigger part of the experience.
Speaking of experience, players can experience both a thriving multiplayer mode where they can pit their skills against players from around the globe as well as embark in a single player story that throws them into a battle for power between the Galactic Empire and New Republic. The story of Squadrons takes place just after the destruction of Alderaan, the home planet of Princess Leia, as both sides are gearing up for a tactical and deadly battle for survival in space combat.
Players take control of a new recruit for the rising New Republic Vanguard squadron and the Galactic Empire’s deadly Titan squadron in a small-scale war filled with betrayal and heavy consequences that could change the tide of war. The major thing that sets Squadrons’ story apart is that it takes place within the continuity that fans know but doesn’t overly rely on it. Aside from a few familiar faces, it’s an original story with its own characters and consequences and it’s hard not to appreciate EA bringing another Star Wars story that takes things in its own direction – even if it’s not the best story.
As a whole, Squadrons’ dual-sided story is fine for what it is and does feature some cool character and story moments. The mission are fun as they each contain different kinds of objectives to keep things fresh and I really enjoyed how the story is just one continuous story rather than just showing the different perspectives of one conflict as it adds a better flow to the story. Playing through the story was also great as it offers some great tips about things like drifting and ion shots that shorten the learning curve.
The overall story of betrayal is fine, although it does miss the opportunity to give a character a more heroic sacrificial ending rather than the unsurprising fake out that happens, but the characters are definitely lacking. The other pilots and character are cool when you first meet them, but their appearances lose their luster overtime because of how the interactions work. It’s easy to see that Squadrons was built for VR use with how movement is through point and click camera turning and it’s not a big problem or anything, but because of this, characters lack movement so their personalities end up being bland and the briefing sections are really boring.
The multiplayer mode is really where players are going to be spending most of their time as its two modes are an absolute blast. Dogfight mode is exactly what you’d expect as two teams of players duke it out to decimate the opposition. However, Fleet Battle is where things get really interesting as players go onto the battlefield to take on massive warships to change the tide of war. It’s definitely the more intriguing and complex multiplayer mode of the two as it requires a great deal of strategy and is a mode where using bombing crafts, like the Y-Wing or the Tie Bomber, are more impactful in battle as they can drop heavy damage bombs on larger ships much easier.
There’s a bit of an issue with the flow of battle as it seemed like which ever team destroyed the first big ship first had a massive advantage and would generally go onto win because making comebacks in this mode takes an immense amount of effort. However, it’s still a lot of fun and a great way to earn experience, level up, and gain currency to unlock all of the great customization options mentioned before. Oh, and because it’s an EA game it’s worth mentioning that the Squadrons comes with no micro-transactions and it’s actually a great step forward for EA putting player experience first.
Honestly, Squadrons represents a strong follow-up to Jedi: Fallen Order as it symbolizes EA giving fans, especially Star Wars fans, more ambitious Star Wars experiences that tread new ground. It’s a unique flight game that immerses fans into a one-of-a-kind experience that’s absolutely thrilling and addicting to play. Personally, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there could be more games like Squadrons in the future and more Star Wars games from EA that continue to explore new areas of Star Wars lore and take on new challenges in the way that this game does.
