I was very excited when Star Wars: Squadrons was revealed. Say what you want, but I have enjoyed all of the EA Star Wars games so far and this one is fantastic. It is like a throwback to the days of games like Rogue Squadron and even the PC X-Wing and Tie-Fighter games.
How to Download Star Wars: Squadrons
If you like Star Wars, check out also some other games, for example, STAR WARS Episode I: Racer, which is based on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, or Star Wars Battlefront II or STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order. To download Star Wars: Squadrons, click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Game Review
The single-player campaign here is great and as a Star Wars fan, I found myself fully invested. The story takes place after the events of Return of the Jedi, the New Republic is making a new weapon and what remains of The Empire wants to destroy it before it can finish them off.
I liked the idea of it being the good guys who have built a superweapon and the bad guys wanting to stop it. The story has some very interesting characters and you get to play it from both sides. It is pretty cool when one mission you are setting up a devastating attack and then the next you are dealing with that attack you just set up!
The gameplay on offer here was something I was worried about. I am not what you would call a flight sim fan. Thankfully, Star Wars: Squadrons manages to walk a fine line of being accessible for everyone while offering a bit of depth too. I played the hell out of the N64 Squadron games back in the day and this feels like an extension of that.
While it is very easy to get to grips with, you do have some important decisions you can make. For example, you can defer power from weapons to shields and so on. I liked how there are many things you can tinker with in your ship, but it is not overwhelming and pretty much anyone can jump in and enjoy it.
Speaking of the ships, there are four classes of ships and I liked how diverse they were. The Republic and Empire have very different ships such as X-Wings and Tie-Fighters and even if they technically share a class, the two sides’ ships are very different for example a Tie-Fighter does not have a shield like an X-Wing does, but it has a stronger hull.
The mission variety is far better than you would think. While a great deal of the game is taking part in spectacular space dogfights. You also have missions where you need to do objectives like hijack a Star Destroyer or make your way through a space graveyard filled with destroyed ships, which is awesome by the way.
I played the game on PlayStation 4 and Star Wars: Squadrons does support VR and it was amazing. The VR mode in the original Battlefront was fun, but this takes things to a whole new level. It did make me feel a tad motion sick at first, but this is the immersive VR Star Wars experience that I have been waiting for.
There are also a couple of multiplayer modes as well, but I have only dabbled in these. You can take part in a Team Deathmatch style dogfight mode where two teams of five battle it out. There is also a Fleet Battle mode where you need to win by taking down the enemies’ largest ship.
I am very, very impressed with Star Wars: Squadrons. It is a real shame it has been released just before the new consoles have come out as many people will probably skip this game. This is one of the best Star Wars games I have played this console generation and it is one I highly recommend that you try out. It is accessible for everyone, no matter your skill or love for flight games.
