Not too long ago, Star Wars Zero Company launched to some rather stellar reviews, and it got me feeling curious. For the past week, it's all I've been playing on my Xbox Series X, and after 40-50 hours of playtime, I'm thinking it may genuinely be one of the best tactics games of the past decade.
I wasn't able to whip up a proper review for launch - at the time, I was busy sharing my thoughts on Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. But instead of completely ignoring Zero Company on Pure Xbox, I wanted to share some of my impressions after getting properly stuck in.
The credits are still yet to roll on my first full playthrough of the game, but I've already fallen deep into the sarlacc pit, and I ain't coming out anytime soon. I thought I'd spend my weekend breaking down why I think Star Wars Zero Company is one of the best tactics games in years. So, if this cuppa blue milk sounds good to you, then let's get cracking!
I've noticed that whenever we talk about new turn-based tactics titles, we usually compare them to Firaxis Games' genre-defining XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's the easiest and quickest way to set expectations. We do it with lots of genres; 'Metroidvania' and 'Soulslike' are good examples of this. Star Wars Zero Company is an XCOM-style game to that effect, but it definitely isn't just a clone.
Of course, there's a lot of crossover. Things like base management, R&D, global strategy, and turn-based scraps. And yes, your units can be stood inches from their target - blaster grazing their chin hairs - and still only have a 65% hit chance. It's all very familiar, which I appreciate, but I love what Bit Reactor has done to the formula.
I really enjoyed XCOM 2 (especially after modding everything Halo into it), and whilst this may be an unpopular opinion, I never loved how the game handled resources and mission selection. It often felt clunky and overbearing. It's likely more of an 'issme' than an issue, but I've found Zero Company streamlines everything in such a manner that newcomers, and dummies like myself, can make sense of it from the offset.
With the exception of Fire Emblem, and only because it's locked to Nintendo hardware, I've always preferred to play these sorts of games with a mouse and keyboard. The level of speed, accuracy, and control is just that bit more precise when navigating the menus.
However, 90% of my time with Star Wars Zero Company has been spent with an Xbox Elite 2.0 controller nestled into my palms. It's funny, the other 10% was just to see if it supports M&K on console (which it does), and once I'd figured that out, I quickly returned to the sticks.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.purexbox.com/features/five-reasons-why-star-wars-zero-company-is-an-all-timer-on-xbox-series-x
