Star Wars Squadrons announced for October 2nd on PC, PS4 and Xbox One

Playing an X-Wing starfighter or TIE-interceptor has been a desire since I saw the Star Wars movies over 25 years ago. Oddly enough, That is what I did, with games such as X-wing at friends and later X-wing Alliance and Rogue Squadron at home. Such games are a rarity now. I know the genre of space sim can be limited, or the game has to have meta-gameplay elements such as trading, mining and bounty hunting. Nonetheless, Electronics Arts is going to try and give fans what they want – emphasize on try. On October 2nd their latest game set in a galaxy far far away will be released – Star Wars Squadrons. The game will have both a single and multiplayer mode. EA has already posted a reveal trailer, which you can view below. Actual gameplay footage is set to be shown at EA Play livestream this Friday – June 19th.

Single-player in Star Wars Squadrons

So what can players expect from Star Wars Squadrons? The single-player campaign will have an engaging story set after the Battle of Endor. On the side of the New Republic you can play as a member of Vanguard Squadron. On the side of the Empire you will be part of Titan Squadron. There is no news on whether this story will tie in with the Alphabet Squadron novels series. That series will see its second novel – Shadow Fall – released on June 23rd. What is promised are the return of familiar characters. So far, little that was announced astounds me. However, the game can be played with VR-goggles and will becomes available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. It will be distributed on Steam, Epic Games and EA’s Origin for 40 euros.

Multi-player in Star Wars Squadrons

The game will also have multiplayer in which you can engage in 5vs5 battles in modes such as Fleet Battles and Dogfights. In the former it is necessary to down the enemy capital ships. Playing multiplayer will allow players to unlock upgrades for their ships. Crossplay will also possible between all platforms. So with all that out of the way what do we think of Star Wars Squadrons. Well, at a mere 40 euros it is clear that EA understands the concept is probably limited. This is not Jedi Fallen Order. This is a quick-paced space shooter – leaning closer to Rogue Squadron than the X-wing series of games. Basically it is Battlefront 2 without the ground combat – but that could be fun.

What could go wrong?

I am looking forward to the single player campaign. I wonder if there are two campaigns, one for the New Republic and one for the Empire. So far I have not seen any indication that Janina Gavankar‘s character Iden Versio will return. I would have liked a sequel Battlefront 2’s story, but alas. All in all Star Wars Squadrons could be a fun iteration on the space shooter genre. On the part of EA it is an attempt to earn back the trust they have squandered since they received the right to the Star Wars franchise from Disney. I wonder however how multiplayer will be handled. Will matching be skill-based or will it be like Battlefront 2 in which those will fully researched skills rack up the lion-share of the kills. Return on Friday to see the first actual gameplay footage. Until then!