• Star Wars Zero Company is perfect for two types of people: those craving a turn-based strategy challenge, and those looking for a cinematic new Star Wars story.

Personally, I fall into both categories, making Star Wars Zero Company a very easy recommendation. As for what to expect, think along the lines of XCOM or Fire Emblem. Keeping afloat in the Republic Era of Star Wars history requires keeping your mouthy mercs alive on the battlefield; while handling their facilities, resources, and relationships between missions.

Why play it today?

• I mention XCOM and Fire Emblem because Star Wars Zero Company is the first new strategy game in that space to make me care as much about what I’m doing

There’s enough strategic depth in combat to make you think carefully about your actions, and Zero Company’s misfits are a joy to spend time with.

You don’t need to be a strategy pro to jump in, either. I’m playing on hard difficulty and having a blast, but developer Bit Reactor does an excellent job at laying out Zero Company’s mechanics approachably – making it an excellent first-choice if you’ve been on the fence about playing more strategy games.

Being set in the Republic’s reign means we’re also treated with more Separatist droids – which, for my money, are the most entertaining Generic Baddie in gaming. Too specific? Fine – but what if I said you could design your own?

Time commitment:

While each battle is relatively short and snappy, this is a long adventure that could take 40 hours to finish. How much time you want to spend on missions can also be up to you depending on how much of a perfectionist you are.

Play Star Wars Zero Company if you love:

Skip Star Wars Zero Company if you want:

One thing to know:

Although perma-death features in Star Wars Zero Company, it can be toggled off for a more forgiving experience. Alternately, an optional Iron Man mode is there to put you through your paces with restricted saves (but Han Solo would have been the biggest save-scummer of us all).

A moment you’ll remember:

The first time you encounter cultists of the Infinite Coil. After fighting mostly droids and gangsters, these zealots cannot be underestimated – take it from me, as this was the first mission I failed in Zero Company. With powers bordering on the supernatural, you’ll need to pay close attention to their abilities.

The final verdict:

In our Star Wars Zero Company review, we said that “it might not reinvent the format like Midnight Suns, but it’s a rare treat to see the tactics genre given this kind of big-budget treatment”. With Star Wars Zero Company, Bit Reactor hits a bullseye on its debut game. I worried that this would appeal to casual strategy fans or XCOM diehards, catering to one and losing the other. But by putting an original story first, it all falls in line smoothly – which is more than can be said for some of the mercs on your team.

So, where can you play it?

Star Wars Zero Company is available to play on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam/Epic Games Store/the EA app.

How to get started with Star Wars Zero Company:

There are plenty of tactical calls you’ll need to get used to making in Star Wars Zero Company, which can be intimidating if you’re new to the genre of just need pointers in embracing the Star Wars twists on play here. Below, we’ve got some great advice on how you can kick off your own adventure.

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