When the makers of Star Wars: Squadrons first revealed a preview of the VR immersive starfighter combat game earlier this year in June, many childhood dreams were realised.
Because lightsabers and spaceship dogfights are two of the biggest fantasies that every die hard Star Wars fan has harbored at least once in their FanShip.
While the lightsabers were realised in last year’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, space battles have been brought to life by the Canadian game developer Motive in the Star Wars: Squadrons.
Released to the public earlier this month on October 2, 2020, Star Wars: Squadrons seems to have lived up to and even surpassed fan-expectations.
Set after the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the game allows you to alternate between squadrons of the New Republic trying to complete their Project Starhawk and the Galactic Empire trying to foil their plans.
It has it all – chaos of space fights, close-quarters chase, nauseating escapes, cockpit controls and along with high-fidelity visuals and an immersive VR experience.
1. What to Expect
In what is the first Star Wars space combat game in years, Squadrons offers its players deep craft customization, in-depth strategy and amazing gameplay models. Players can choose to enlist as fighter pilots for either of the two sides – New Republic or the Empire.
“We created this game for every Star Wars fan who has ever dreamt about soaring across the galaxy in their favorite starfighter,”
Ian Frazier, Creative Director, Motive Studios
“Through the collaboration of … Motive and Lucasfilm, we’ve been able to create a high-fidelity starfighter experience with an authentic storyline that invites Star Wars fans to explore never-before-seen corners of the galaxy in their own ship.”
You can play in groups of five with its two multiplayer modes or go solo with the single player mode. Either way, players can expect the rush of first-person combat while being a part of a squadron.
This is a primarily team game. In order to win, you may adjust the squadron composition to suit your playstyle to crush opponents and complete tasks laid out across the vast Galaxy.
The single-person mode has in fact been criticised for being a tad bit tougher than necessary.
You can also enjoy all this in VR and s-quadruple the fun because the game is available in virtual reality on PlayStation 4 and PC!
2. A long, Teasing Wait
Ever since its first trailer in June 2020, Star Wars: Squadrons has given us sneak peaks nearly every month ever since. A gameplay trailer was released the following month on July 18 followed by a single-player focussed trailer at Gamescom 2020 in August.
Then, a CG short titled Hunted was unveiled on the Star Wars YouTube channel on September 14, 2020 before finally releasing for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 2, 2020.
However, the wait for a game as successful as Squadrons in creating a convincing reality of being in a galaxy far, far away for the player, has been even longer.
Constrained by technology of their times, almost all Star Wars games before 2016 left a lot to desire by relying on the player’s imagination.
It wasn’t until EA released Rogue One – the single, supplementary VR mission for 2016’s Star Wars: Battlefront – that the players could actually be ‘there’ for the first time.
Four years later, EA’s Motive Studio has come up with a game where you can peer around your fighter’s cockpit, lean back in your seat as the ship launches itself deep into space and witness your X-Wing’s S-Foils lock into attack mode. Borrowing from The Guardian’s Luke Holland, the experience is “indescribably epic”.
3. The Squadrons Story
Star Wars: Squadrons joins a long list of over a hundred computer, video and board games created under the Star Wars banner.
Squadrons follows the trend of expanding on the existing Star Wars universe and fills the gap between Episodes VI and VII.
It is set at the end of Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi after Princess Leia’s home planet Alderaan is destroyed by the Imperial Army’s Star Destroyers.
Darth Vader has announced a hunt for any surviving refugees of the planet’s destruction. Little does he know that one of his own, Captain Lindon Javes will soon defect to the Rebel Alliance.
Despite locating a convoy of escaped refugees, Javes disables the ships of the Helix Squadron and saves the targets.
Javes succeeds in saving the convoy and later joins the Alliance by offering his knowledge of the Imperial Fleet protocols as proof of loyalty.
Four year after this event, Javes is leading the Vanguard Squadrons to fulfil the Project Starhawk. As part of the project, a massive battleship is to be constructed from stolen Star destroyers with a powerful tractor beam.
On the other side is Imperial Captain Terisa Kerill, Javes’ former protege and wingman, is ready to avenge his betrayal with her own squadron – Titan.
Javes lays a trap for Kerill and nearly destroys her Star Destroyer, Overseer.
In return, an Imperial assault on the Nadiri Dockyards gives a double whammy to the Rebels – not only is the battleship hit beyond repair even Javes is shot down and presumed dead.
However, Javes makes a return and devises a plan to use the remains of the Starhawk to destroy the Imperial fleet by ramming it into an unstable moon.
Both Titan and Vanguard Squadrons are commended by their respective commanding officers and return home emboldened.
In the story, players will be able to alternate between serving as pilots for both the Titan and the Vanguard Squadrons. There is a diverse cast of original characters along with cameos from familiar faces that add to the authenticity of the game.
4. About Star Wars Squadron
EA Motive Studios have come up with the latest Star Wars game, Squadrons which is leaving fans of the franchise awestruck.
Available entirely in virtual reality, the game allows players to completely immerse in the space dogfights, a feature which has been prominent across Lucasfilm’s all Star Wars productions over the decades.
Master the art of starfighter combat in this immersive piloting experience, says the official SW: Squadrons website.
Indeed, the game involves planning every skirmish with your squadron of five, for the galactic battlefields. Get ready for Galactic locations you have never witnessed before, including but not limited to, the gas giant of Yavin Prime and the shattered moon of Galitan.
You can modify your ship, divert the power between its systems and destroy your opponents in its intense 5v5 space dogfights. What’s more, you can do this for starfighter classes from both the New Republic and Imperial fleets.
No Comments on When is Star Wars: Squadrons Out?