Star Wars Zero Company: 10 Hours In, This Feels Like Mass Effect, Not XCOM
The international press got hands-on with the first 17 missions of Star Wars Zero Company. The verdict? Solid, but not yet mind-blowing. With just two weeks until launch, that’s a verdict worth paying attention to.
Set for release on August 27 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, Star Wars Zero Company is getting its first wave of previews after about ten hours in the hands of reviewers. Bit Reactor’s tactical game—built by ex-Firaxis veterans and the narrative director from Star Wars Jedi—impresses with its RPG layer but struggles to wow with its turn-based combat. That’s a surprising twist for a game that promised big things, especially with the AAA-packed fall of 2026 looming.
Image credit: Electronic Arts
A competent Star Wars XCOM, but too by-the-book
On paper, Star Wars Zero Company checks all the tactical boxes: four-person squads, cover system, overwatch, cinematic kill cams—the Firaxis DNA is obvious in every mission. The Backup system, letting you pick an ally each turn for a free shot, adds a satisfying tactical twist when firing lines line up. Animations are smooth, firefights between turns make the battlefield feel alive, and the core gameplay loop clicks right from the start.
The problem? That loop gets old fast. Multiple journalists who played the first 17 missions flagged a worrying lack of tactical variety. The pattern repeats: move up, take cover, shoot if there’s a target, go into overwatch if not. Exotic characters—like a grenade-tossing Astromech droid or Jedi Padawan Tel-Rea who can Force-push enemies—should shake things up. But in practice, these units interact with the arenas too much like standard soldiers to really refresh the experience. In a post-Baldur’s Gate 3 world, where turn-based combat means sandbox experimentation, playing it safe comes at a cost.
The Mass Effect comparison changes everything
If the tactics don’t surprise, it’s everything around them that’s winning over the press. Several outlets landed on the same unexpected comparison: Mass Effect. The game’s rhythm channels BioWare’s trilogy—pick a mission on the galactic map, return to base, chat with your crew, upgrade your gear. The Den, your squad’s HQ on the Ring of Kafrene (spotted in Rogue One), is fully explorable in third-person, not just a menu hub. You’ll meet a colorful cast: Trick the clone, Kabbney the one-armed boxer, Mandalorian Cly Kullervo, and a perpetually stressed ex-Separatist accountant.
The Bonds system cranks up the RPG side. Deploy the same characters together and they’ll build relationships, unlocking shared abilities that actually change your tactical options. Aaron Contreras, who only joined the project on the condition that Hawks would be a boots-on-the-ground character (not just a distant commander), left his mark. “If you want me on board, Greg, we need a character who carries the story, who’s there in the thick of it, because that’s how you build empathy in Star Wars,” he told the game director. The result: a narrative and relationship layer that could be Zero Company’s real ace in the hole.
Permadeath: a scary (and divisive) feature
Permadeath is a tactical staple, and Bit Reactor almost scrapped it mid-development. In the end, it’s still here—but optional, and brutal. When a character hits 0 HP, they’re downed and must be revived manually on the field, coming back with a wound debuff. Three wounds and they’re gone for good, erased from your game. Every squad member is at risk, even key story NPCs—only Hawks, the protagonist, is immune.
This raises a thorny question: if major narrative characters like Tel-Rea or Cly Kullervo can die at any time, how much do they really matter to the story? Bit Reactor confirmed the ending will be “largely the same for everyone,” suggesting these deaths don’t fundamentally change the main plot. That might frustrate players craving heavy narrative consequences, but it’ll reassure those afraid of missing content. The balance isn’t clear yet—only the final release will settle it.
Launching August 27: a risky bet in a crowded AAA season
Star Wars Zero Company is dropping into a fiercely competitive window. Fall 2026 is stacked with major releases, and Bit Reactor’s game will have to fight for attention. Greg Foertsch, who brought nearly 20 ex-Firaxis colleagues along for the ride, is clear about his ambition: “I want people to say ‘that’s a great game,’ not just ‘that’s a good tactics game.’ Players are more sophisticated now.”
With a $49.99 price tag on PC (and PS5/Xbox Series X/S versions), the game sits just below the usual AAA price point. Maybe that’s EA and Bit Reactor acknowledging that tactics games are still a niche to win over. The linear campaign promises 30 to 40 hours of gameplay—a hefty chunk, but it’ll need to keep mixing up its combat to hold interest. Here’s what we know about the main features:
- Linear single-player campaign: 30–40 hours
- Customize Hawks: choose gender, species, and backstory
- Optional permadeath for all characters except the protagonist
- No space battles, no fog of war
- Available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC from August 27
Star Wars Zero Company has the bones of a great game—a well-crafted universe, promising RPG depth, and a studio that knows its stuff. The big question: can the final version inject the creative spark these early hours are missing? We’ll find out August 27, when players finally get to see what the press only scratched the surface of.
