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Are we on the cusp of a turn-based techniques renaissance? After taking part in Star Wars Zero Company on Xbox for a couple of dozen hours over the previous couple of weeks, I completely need to imagine it.
Star Wars Zero Company is from Bit Reactor, made up of XCOM and Firaxis alumni. The studio partnered with Respawn and EA, who’re stewarding the Star Wars license for Disney by means of the oft-treacherous universe of gaming. Respawn and EA, I’d argue, have greater than performed the license justice through the years. Jedi Fallen Order, Battlefront 2, and even Star Wars: The Old Republic have all carried out extremely effectively, at the same time as Disney itself struggles with the universe on the silver display screen.
Indeed, I admit I’ve had a few of my very own “Star Wars fatigue” given Disney’s dealing with of among the films and exhibits. Disney spent a ton on the property, however of their haste to capitalize on it, they’ve in all probability performed extra hurt than good.
It was my fandom of XCOM moderately than Star Wars that drove my intrigue in Zero Company. If Take-Two not desires to make XCOM video games, then Bit Reactor spun up a brand new studio to hold the torch. And Force be damned, carry it they did.
Star Wars Zero Company is really phenomenal. Bit Reactor threw a variety of the foundations out of the window constructing this recreation, delivering a cinematic “AAA” expertise that’s not often related to the isometric turn-based tactical style. You can anticipate an genuine Star Wars expertise right here, full with a crew of attention-grabbing characters from all types of galactic species, wrapped in an authentic plot that runs concurrent to the famed Clone Wars.
Here’s why Star Wars Zero Company is a necessary play for followers of turn-based techniques, and one thing well-worthy of consideration for Star Wars stalwarts.
Star Wars Zero Company launches on August 27, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC. This assessment was primarily performed on Xbox Series X with a code supplied by EA.
Star Wars Zero Company: Art and Performance
Star Wars Zero Company follows a familiar formula for those who have played XCOM, given the pedigree of those who worked on both properties. The gameplay primarily revolves around isometric turn-based battles, with a grid-based cover system and squad-oriented combat mechanics. However, Zero Company goes a little bit further than most within this genre.
Given the Star Wars property, Bit Reactor has poured a ton of work into making Zero Company seem truly cinematic. This required ditching the rulebook to some degree, and giving the player the ability to explore the environments up close and personal. It also required a similarly cinematic story, with detailed character models that meet modern expectations.
Typically XCOM-style games straddle a stylized presentation, given the de-emphasis on story content and zoomed-out camera, but Zero Company defies this convention. The environments and lighting are immaculate and authentically Star Wars, with impressive explosion and smoke effects, in heavily destructible, dynamic combat spaces.
The game runs at a solid 60 FPS on Xbox Series X even with many, many units on screen. You’ll see some dips at times when there’s huge amounts of volumetric smoke popping off, but there’s rarely an issue.
My only real complaint on the performance front pertains to calculation glitches that seem to be a staple of the genre in some ways. Sometimes the enemy AI can get stuck in loops in some scenarios, unable to actually take their turn. It’s an issue that I’ve seen in various incarnations of this genre, whether it’s XCOM, Gears Tactics, WH40K: Mechanicus, and beyond. Usually these kinds of issues get patched out over time, and Zero Company does have a turn-based autosave function, but it’s not ideal in situations where you can lose progress. I also did have a couple of hard crashes even after the day one patch, so more polish is probably warranted. But it’s hardly a deal breaker, and issues are definitively rare.
Overall, Zero Company is a generally technically impressive game. The art delivery is exactly what you’d expect from Respawn Entertainment’s era of Star Wars games, with tons of little details and easter eggs Star Wars fans will appreciate. The digital acting is excellent, and the explorable environments between battles are also engaging and immersive. I would argue Zero Company has raised the bar and expectations for the genre as a result.
Star Wars Zero Company: Story
I did not expect to be sitting here thinking of comparing a turn-based tactics game to the likes of Mass Effect for story delivery, but here we are.
Star Wars Zero Company absolutely rose to the occasion with regards to story treatment, given expectations around the legendary sci-fi license.
Players take the reins of Hawks, a disgraced former Republic captain, dishonorably discharged in a military stitch-up of sorts. Hawks sets up a mercenary band to make ends meet, although his team, Zero Company, has fallen upon hard times. And hard debt, owing thousands of credits to the Hutt clan.
It’s only when an exiled noble, Jae, and a Republic Intelligence officer show up on his doorstep that things begin to look up. At least, comparatively speaking. Early on, Hawks finds himself running afoul of a new galactic faction, known as The Coil. Infected with some mysterious, psionic space virus, Coil members form into some sort of hive mind, intent on spreading their deadly cult. The Coil has already threatened various planets in Republic space, but the Clone Wars are in full swing, and resources are stretched thin. Perhaps some outsourcing might help?
Republic Intelligence offers Hawks’ band a deal he can’t refuse, but the investigation into The Coil quickly becomes personal.
Without spoiling too much, the early stages of the game really did give me a Mass Effect vibe, particularly so in Mass Effect 2, in the most complimentary way possible. You’re chasing a mysterious threat that kidnaps citizens, all while gathering a menagerie of mercenaries from all walks of alien life, with all sorts of different motivations. There are even loyalty-style missions that offer deeper insights into the various characters, complete with unique scenarios and unlockable story sequences that can also boost character prowess in combat.
Typically, I play these types of games for the infectious tactical gameplay and gradual sense of progression, but Zero Company was the first where I found myself playing specifically for the story.
I would’ve liked Zero Company to have been a little bit on the more “mature” side, given the espionage angle and coming off the back of Star Wars: Andor, but that’s perhaps just personal preference. The Coil is a genuinely interesting threat, and the adjacency with the events of the Clone Wars is woven expertly in such a way that it doesn’t interfere with established lore, but still makes for nostalgic moments and fan-service scenes that are truly delightful.
Thankfully, the gameplay itself is also top-notch.
Star Wars Zero Company: Gameplay
The last pure XCOM-style tactics game I played before this was Gears Tactics, and as much as I did enjoy it, it was clearly limited by the scope of the Gears in-universe tech. Given the diversity of weapons, technology, abilities, and enemy types in the Star Wars universe; Zero Company absolutely does not have this issue. There are so many options in Zero Company that you’re often too spoiled for choice.
In Zero Company, you create your own character with a variety of alien races, clothes, and cosmetics to choose from; you’re then able to choose a basic archetype class. These seem deceptively simple to start with, stuff like highly-ranged Sniper, advantage-seeking Scoundrel, and general-purpose Assault-type classes, and so on. However, as you level up, unlock focus points, equip different mods, weapons, accessories, and bond skills — depth ramps up quickly. And that’s before we talk about hero character-specific abilities.
Indeed, beyond the basic archetypes and custom-created mercs you can make, Hawks will meet some very powerful characters along the way, fitting famed Star Wars roles. A Jedi padawan deserter signs up, alongside a jetpack-wielding Mandalorian. A Disney-approved new alien named Kabb is always on task to uppercut enemies across the map, too. Each of these heroes has unique and powerful abilities that can set up satisfying kill zones when the right conditions align.
Many XCOM-style staples return, such as overwatch scanning zones, melee knockback attacks, and so on. Star Wars Zero Company changes it up with advantage points, which allow squaddies to use more powerful abilities. As you rack up kills, you’ll be able to spend advantage points on things like a powerful Jedi area knock back shockwave, an extreme-range guaranteed crit sniper shot, and an electrifying taser stun gun.
You can switch between party members at any time, too, so you’ll want to make sure they’re positioned to complement each other well. Some passives let characters take extra shots in some conditions, for example. So you’ll want them in line of sight to take advantage of that. You’re also able to do things like Force-push enemies off ledges and into overwatch fields for extra shots, and call upon allies to back you up when you attack with their own follow-up shots.
Zero Company also tasks you with upgrading and maintaining your mercenary “den” between missions. Ensuring that you have a proper arsenal of powerful weapons, complementary equipment like grenades, and facilities like a med bay for healing injuries is paramount.
I’ve been playing through on normal difficulty so far, and have found the game to be a decidedly addictive experience. It doesn’t reach the stakes of XCOM’s panic-inducing time-limit mechanics, but you can ramp up the difficulty and turn on character perma-death and “beskar mode,” which is Zero Company’s ironman no-save scumming mode. Every decision is final. And yes, even major story characters can die here.
Star Wars Zero Company is simply a top-shelf XCOM-styled game, well worthy of the genre’s legacy, and arguably the best we’ve seen from the medium in a very long time.
Star Wars Zero Company: Conclusion
Star Wars Zero Company is one of those rare games where I found myself grinning ear-to-ear (something I rarely do these days, frankly). Whether it was the nostalgic nods to Clone Wars events and even obscure Star Wars lore, pulling off kill sequences that made me feel smart (even though I’m not), or the various surprises and little details Bit Reactor weaved throughout the game — Star Wars Zero Company is a true delight.
If you don’t like XCOM-style games like Gears Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics, Midnight Suns, and so on, Star Wars Zero Company likely isn’t going to do much to change your mind. It leans into that genre incredibly hard, at least on the gameplay side.
Star Wars Zero Company is truly phenomenal.
Where Zero Company changes it up is in the cinematic, character-driven story that feels every bit as deserving of a place among some of Star Wars’ greatest video game tales. The characters are as interesting as they are fun to be around, making it all the more painful if you find one of them perma-killed by an ill-thought-out plan.
There’s perhaps more Zero Company could’ve done to mitigate the genre’s long-standing foibles. My attention-addled mind is less tolerant of things like waiting for the AI to catch up, or turn-based tooltips and messages to play out. I’m not sure why some abilities can’t run concurrently, or enemies can’t take attacks more quickly at times.
I also think Zero Company could’ve benefitted from leaning more towards Andor’s darker tone rather than the family-friendly Clone Wars movies, given the likely age range of the turn-based tactics demographic (we’re old, guys). But none of my personal preferences undermine what Bit Reactor has crafted here: Star Wars Zero Company is a banger, and I absolutely hope we see more of Hawks’ squad in the future.
Star Wars Zero Company is a uncommon AAA turn-based techniques recreation from the minds that introduced you XCOM 2 and Midnight Suns. It’s each bit as genuine as you’d hope, weaving a novel Clone Wars-adjacent storyline atop satisfying tactical fight.
See at: Xbox
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