In 2026, every new piece of Star Wars media comes with bated breath. While the shows, films, and novels have been varying levels of effective for fans, video games are a bright spot in this branch of Disney’s media empire. EA in particular has nailed the Star Wars Jedi series, and its newest published project, Star Wars Zero Company, comes from experts in the tactical genre. Having now spent over 30 hours with the game, I can confidently say both strategy game fans and Star Wars lovers will be pleased with this experience. We will not be exploring story spoilers in this review.
Star Wars Zero Company tells a Fantastic Story Among the Best in the Clone Wars Era
Bit Reactor, a studio founded in 2022, is composed of a significant cohort of Firaxis Games, the team behind the tactical XCOM series. Headed by Greg Foertsch, founder of the company and creative director of Star Wars Zero Company, I never doubted the tactical part of this game would work. What comes into question with IP-tied games is whether they feel true to the franchise they’re telling their story through. Luckily for us, this is Star Wars at its finest. From the memorable characters to the weapons, I feel like no Star Wars fan picks this game up and says it doesn’t feel true to the world.
As the player-created character Hawks, you lead an independent group of mercenaries during the Clone Wars called Zero Company. Hawks is kicked out of the Republic military after botching a mission and losing a major battle to the Separatists, saved only by a Clone trooper named Trick who is now part of your clan of misfits. On your own and deeply in debt to the Hutts, you start taking missions around the Galaxy to pay your debt. To your surprise, you get in contact with Bennic Halloren, a Republic officer, and Jae Mordant, a noble whose planet was destroyed by a mysterious cult that the two are now hunting. Help them, and they’ll give you the money to pay off the Hutts. Naturally, you accept.
Infinite Coil, a Separatist-aligned cult led by the mysterious Kundri Fathom, becomes your main target in a massive campaign across different missions. With Trick and a crew of other Zero Company members, you set out to solve the Coil’s mysterious weapon, the Shadow Plague. This mysterious disease kills some victims while leaving other survivors physically enhanced and susceptible to Fathom’s influence. The narrative that plays out is among the best of the Clone Wars era, and you truly come to love your band of mercenaries. Much of the story’s success is due in part to the best elements of tactical gameplay.
Star Wars Zero Company is a Great XCOM Experience with Wonderful Use of the Star Wars Universe
Part of what makes Star Wars Zero Company’s story work so well is the tactical gameplay that molds its storylines together. In true XCOM fashion, your major combat missions will consist of a map full of cover, destroyable items, and enemies. Set up on one side of the map, your goal will be to achieve any of a number of different victory conditions. Some involve clearing out all enemies; others have you extracting sympathizers to your cause. There are even heist-style missions where you need to retrieve something that takes time to break into, leading your team to play defense as one member of your squad gets the job done.
Before each combat mission, you’ll move around a holomap. From here, you choose incidents or scenarios to investigate for intel, cash, or rewards. These cost points, of which you have a limited amount each combat cycle, and have deadlines. Some are crisis incidents that need to be handled right away. When you do, you may miss things you planned to get to because you prioritize one over the other. The fact that you can’t quite see everything the game offers in one playthrough does encourage replayability. It’s not something I always do, but I will play through this game again. Once you collect your intel, it’s time for actual combat.
Your squad, called Operators during missions, consists of four members in these combat encounters. You can choose from the number of authored characters entwined in the broader story. You can also recruit less-developed Operators with minimal background stories. Choosing which Operator to bring comes down to two considerations: bonding your Operators to one another, and their Class. Class is straightforward; you likely want Operators that can deal damage from afar and up close. There are also medics, and yes, a Jedi Padawan, that can help you mix up your approach to combat.
As you send Operators on missions with one another, they’ll grow closer to each other. Your decisions between combat missions, such as what intel you choose to seek out, or dilemmas that pop up where you have to choose one outcome or another, also come into play. You can also train them together between missions to build stats. The more time they spend fighting alongside Hawks, the more they open up things like crew-specific missions and dialogue options. Don’t stress over making everyone your best friend. Pick a few, develop them deeply through your playthrough, and consider others in your next run.
Performance and Camera Control are Disappointing
While I didn’t have the game crash, there are plenty of performance issues in its current state. It’s typical for bugs and janky slowdowns to occur at launch. These moments are not detrimental, but some do take you out of the game. Most occur in combat, where turns will pause for no reason or completely stall to a halt. These will likely get better with updates. Unfortunately, Game File reported that Bit Reactor furloughed 80% of its staff before launch due to cash shortages. This could likely delay major improvements depending on who is left over.
Camera control is my biggest disappointment in Star Wars Zero Company. Not being able to change the angles you see during enemy turns is unacceptable to me. Likewise, the way in which the cursor will catch on environmental items and ruin an action you’re pursuing is frustrating. I could take my time, sure. In the heat of battle, however, you’re feeling eager to see your strategy play out. It’s annoying enough to make me dread moments where I can tell the map I’m on is going to cause headaches.
If we can get additional camera controls and fix some of these bugs, this will elevate the experience to Game of the Year levels.
Review Score
Star Wars Zero Company hits nearly every mark I wanted. From the Star Wars coat of paint to the XCOM-style combat, everything here works incredibly well. I hope early success with critics and fans means we see a sequel. While some bugs and camera issues keep this from being an all-timer, there’s so much to love. If you play tactical games or love Star Wars, you’ll be happy spending time with this crew. Genuinely, the story is great, and no spoilers, it heads in some really wonderful directions for Clone Wars-era fans.
4.5/5
Star Wars Zero Company is available now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
A digital review copy of Star Wars Zero Company was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.
