Games Happy

First introduced again on the Star Wars Celebration in Japan in April of 2025, Bit Reactor’s debut title, Star Wars Zero Firm, is about set to drop out of hyperspace and into the laps of keen followers later this month. I lately had the chance to play via an prolonged chunk of the sport, roughly concerning the first third of the marketing campaign, and due to the likes of my huge blue bestie, Kabb, this might find yourself being considered one of my favourite video games of the yr. 

The comparability to Firaxis’ XCOM collection is felt virtually immediately, as quickly as you get into the primary combat in Zero Firm, and for good cause. Most of the similar heavy hitters that labored on these video games fashioned Bit Reactor. Dramatic digicam angles exhibit devastating hits, whereas class specializations, S-tier grid-based tactical encounters, and even the memeable (however nonetheless infuriating) high-percentage misses when an enemy is standing proper in entrance of you’re all right here and accounted for. This outing to a galaxy far, distant shall be acquainted to anybody who has frolicked with its Earth-based counterpart. That stated, Zero Firm has its share of surprises too, making it really feel extra like a cousin than a clone in Jedi robes. 

That stated, Zero Firm has a secret weapon that has brought about this new journey in a galaxy far, distant to rapidly sink its lightsabers deeper into me than its Earth-based cousin – its characters. Bit Reactor’s debut is a way more narrative and character-driven affair, and even with solely this transient look, I’ve discovered myself much more invested in my crew than I ever have with my squads in XCOM. Every of the principle members of the crew, together with Hawks (the chief of Zero Firm), Trick (a clone trooper who served with Hawks), Kabb (the massive blue muscle of the crew), and Tel-Rea (a Jedi padawan who joins you) have such personalities to them that strolling across the Den – Zero Firm’s base of operations – I used to be getting flashbacks to creating my rounds on the Normandy within the authentic Mass Impact video games.

The extra I discovered about every one, resembling Kabb’s stunning love for house opera or different members’ ideas on Rely Dooku’s relatively irresponsible spending (which gave me a very good chuckle), the extra impressed and invested within the adventures of Zero Firm I turned. I used to be stunned to listen to the ideas of a custom-created character – voiced by Elias Toufexis (aka. Adam Jensen from Deus Ex fame) – as I walked round. Whereas the principle story of Zero Firm — making an attempt to trace down the shady Coil group — hasn’t fairly bought me but, even when it by no means does, I really feel fairly assured that simply serving to out and happening missions for my squad will nonetheless lead to a very good time.

Your crew isn’t simply there for a very good discuss between missions, although. Whereas you’ll be able to create and recruit {custom} characters (together with making your personal astromech droid), understanding how finest to make use of every of those principal crew’s strengths and synergizing their talents with each other is half the enjoyable of fight encounters. Every of the principle solid comes full with distinctive talents that solely they’ll pull off, which made for a number of the finest moments of my demo. Moments like having Tel hurl a battle droid into an explosive barrel together with her Pressure push or bull speeding Kabb over to uppercut an unsuspecting enemy into the overwatching Hawks’ line of fireplace, or simply having Trick bust out an enormous ol’ rocket launcher to mild up a gaggle of Coil brokers who have been clustered collectively. 

The sense of camaraderie inside Zero Firm and the way it extends each via its story and its gameplay is one other promising side that I’m desirous to dive deeper into. As characters help one another out in missions, resembling therapeutic each other or utilizing their talents on each other, their bonds will develop, incomes the pair numerous buffs or bonuses. Based on the devs, the story in Zero Firm is pretty linear, so the most important draw for replaying via the sport seems to be making an attempt out totally different get together combos and incomes the most effective rewards and bonuses from artistic get together pairings.  

There’s nonetheless a lot left to see and mysteries to uncover in Star Wars: Zero Firm, however having performed as a lot as I did on this practically completed construct, Zero Firm’s gameplay and characters have bought me on it being considered one of my favourite Star Wars video games in a very long time. Whether or not or not its story manages to land in addition to these different components, I’ll simply have to attend and discover out. I’m somebody who has at all times considered Star Wars from the angle that it’s the personalities who inhabit this galaxy that make it so particular, with issues just like the lightsabers and Demise Stars serving as sprinkles on high. 

Fortunately, I, together with everybody else, don’t have lengthy to attend till we are able to journey to a galaxy distant once more with the likes of Hawks and the remainder of Zero Firm. Star Wars Zero Firm releases in only a few brief weeks on August 27 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Sequence S/X.