Full disclosure: I am a casual Star Wars fan. I like the original trilogy, not a huge fan of the Clone Wars saga, and episodes VII, VIII, and IX are—fine. As such, several of the references and nods probably went completely over my head in Star Wars Zero Company, but I have enough background to enjoy and appreciate this side story in the Star Wars universe. Also, I really, really like this style of strategy RPG, so that helped.
Star Wars Zero Company takes place somewhere in Episode Three during the Clone Wars whilst the Jedi and Republic fight the Separatists. Our protagonist, Hawks, is a former Republic captain who failed a significant mission, getting his comrades killed in action. Or so the story goes. He now leads a ragtag team of mercenaries trying to make ends meet, or at least pay off a debt to a Hutt.
As fortune would have it, a Republic intelligence officer and an ore baroness have decided to take a chance on Hawks and his crew because of his unique background in order to strike at a cult called the Coil. A windfall for Zero Company, Hawks finds himself taking contract after contract with the Republic because the pay is just that good, touchy history be damned. Fortunately, his crew is just as hungry for cash, so they don’t mind cozying up with the Republic for the time being. Kind of.
While the plot is enjoyable, yet predictable, enough, the camaraderie amongst the team members is what makes Star Wars Zero Company shine from a story perspective. Boasting about thirty-to-forty hours’ worth of gameplay, Zero Company involves a cycle of: mission, talk to the crew and buff the team, mission, talk to the crew, etc. This is a formula we’ve seen in other strategy RPGs in a similar vein, like the newer Shadowrun and XCOM games.
Similar to those games, Zero Company’s combat involves positioning units across a map with various cover, shooting enemies with a percent chance of missing, and using the occasional grenade or special power to topple foes. Each character has three action points, so use them well or enjoy getting surrounded and pelted by enemy bullets. Although the combat is nothing new, the balance and customization make Star Wars Zero Company a joy to engage with from start to finish.
Talking to the crew—at least initially—is an absolute pleasure, but deciding how best to optimize the team also amplifies the experience. Team members bond as they interact, giving an option to improve damage or other stats incrementally. A black market allows players to outfit the team with unique weapon mods and utility items, and they can use their hard-earned credits to enhance the ship, crew, and weapons.
Economy’s a big deal in any game, and most modern games throw seemingly limitless cash at the player, making purchases a trivial affair. Star Wars Zero Company has the opposite problem. If I chose to upgrade my ship consistently, I would have no way to make purchases at the black market, and vice versa. I enjoyed the idea that hard decisions have to be made, but I felt pinched to the point where I couldn’t benefit from either system adequately. In this sense, the customization aspect of Zero Company feels half-baked and linear.
Fortunately, the combat matters far more than the customization, which mostly allowed my team to keep pace with increasingly challenging enemies. The developers expertly balanced gameplay from beginning to end, though the enemies and combat objectives begin to feel samey after about fifteen hours. The Coil enemies are infected with a plague, which gives them special powers as Zero Company blasts them, and players have the option to choose which benefit to inhibit over the course of the game; in truth, the decisions don’t feel momentous, and gameplay after the fact is not meaningfully impacted.
Those familiar with efficiency and exploitation will enjoy breaking Star Wars Zero Company in a way they see fit, whether that’s bunging enemies, abusing area-of-effect items and abilities, or however else players want to cheese foes. In this way, Zero Company can make players feel smart, but falling into a habit over time is all too tempting because the game does little to counter these tactics. Despite these minor quibbles, the tight tactical gameplay remained addictive—although decreasingly so—up until the end of the game.
Back to the crew, this remains the heart of Star Wars Zero Company. For the first ten or so hours, the dialogue, charisma, and unique interactions kept me chuckling and eager to find everyone scattered across the ship after a mission. Unfortunately, the clever writing and unique dialogue slow to a crawl, becoming less frequent as the game goes on. This is a common criticism I find myself making of AAA titles, as the need to push the game out stymies developer creativity and a quality product that remains uniform throughout.
The controls are adequate, but get in the way at times. I never found myself quick saving to save scum, but instead to load in case of a misclick as the camera slowly (or quickly) panned while I was clicking on a place to stand, forcing my character into a disadvantageous position. I also encountered enemies falling through floors or clipping walls on rare occasions, though this never impacted my time with the game. Musically, Zero Company is distinctly Star Wars with the dramatic horns and strings we’ve all grown accustomed to in John Williams’ music, adding to the identity and charm. Graphically, Star Wars Zero Company looks fine, especially for a strategy RPG of this caliber, but nothing wow’d me. If anything, I’d take issue with the lack of optimization, as the slowdown and freezing throughout the entire game added dozens of minutes to my game time and didn’t feel justified given the graphical quality.
Star Wars Zero Company is an enjoyable, almost cookie-cutter strategy RPG. It takes few risks, but what’s here is competent and worth playing, especially for Star Wars fans. I wish what initially impressed me narratively and in terms of gameplay remained fresh throughout, but this is why I appreciate indies so much. If Star Wars isn’t your thing or you’re not that into strategy RPGs like this, then your mileage may certainly vary, but I am glad I got to know Hawks and his crew.
