Star Wars: Squadrons

- Reviewed on PS4 -

Star Wars: Squadrons released on October 1st, 2020.

Set in the enormous and elaborate world (universe) of Star Wars, Star Wars: Squadrons is a space combat / simulation video game, developed by Motive Studios and published by Electronic Arts (EA).

Although criticized by many online, Star Wars: Squadrons was actually a very in-depth, interesting, and enjoyable experience that any fan of flight simulation, like myself, would enjoy. 

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Star Wars: Squadrons, and its nine-hour (average) campaign, puts you, the player, in the shoes of two different protagonists for both the New Republic and the Galactic Empire. 

The story alternates every few levels between these two forces as you fly and defeat enemies throughout the 14 main missions. 

Unfortunately, the character customization for the two protagonists isn't the most in-depth feature, and you can only choose randomized names. 

The main protagonists (you) in Star Wars: Squadrons barely speak, and when they do, it is only one liners, that the NPCs can acknowledge no matter the situation. 

Although a bummer, this detail about the protagonists doesn't hinder the entire experience, as I believe the main cast of characters are extremely memorable!

The two forces you play a role in, (SPOILER) are the New Republics' Vanguard Squadron (led by Kierah Koovah) and the Galactic Empires' Titan Squadron (led by Varko Grey).

The overall story (SPOILER) revolves around both squadrons fighting each other due to Captain Lindon Javes backstabbing the Empire (in the prologue / first mission) and now helping the New Republic. 

Star Wars: Squadrons is entirely composed of flying combat missions that all have unique features to manage, use, and maintain in order to secure victory. 

There are special medals rewarded to the player too for meeting specific criteria, like not dying, or completing the mission in a set time limit. 

The graphics in Star Wars: Squadrons are unbelievable! The entire game can be played in VR, which I did, and even IN the world, the graphics held up and made it feel like a real-life amusement park ride beginning to end! 

There are eight total Starfighters to choose and pilot in Star Wars: Squadrons. 

These include the...

    - T-65B X-Wing Fighter
    - BTL A4 Y-Wing Bomber
    - RZ-1 A-Wing Interceptor
    - U-Wing Gunship Support
    - TIE/LN Fighter
    - TIE/SA Bomber
    - TIE/IN Interceptor
    - TIE/RP Reaper Support

Before leaving the hub world (more on that later), you will customize your desired Starfighter, as choosing the right weapons, hulls, and shields will benefit you after knowing what to expect in the briefings beforehand. 

Every Starfighter has Components and Stats to evaluate before a mission. These are...

    - Primary Weapons
    - Left Auxiliary
    - Right Auxiliary
    - Countermeasures
    - Hull
    - Sheilds
    - Engines
    - Speed
    - Acceleration
    - Maneuverability

I can't stress enough how important choosing these Components and Stats are, as, especially towards the end of the story, choosing the right components will make your life much easier and help get those medals (for completionists).

Primary weapons are your Starfighters main weapon that will damage your enemies or disable them long enough for your teammates too (Ion Cannons). 

Left and Right Auxiliary components are special features that can help you during combat. For example, you can choose to have a Repair Droid or even Concussion Missiles. You only can have two though. 

Countermeasures are for dodging enemy lock-ons.

Hulls is another name for your main (max) health. 

Shields are your rechargeable friend! Choosing the right shield can help different Starfighters in the field. 

Engines (and other components too) can be swapped for others, but upon doing so, will change the stats of other components, like acceleration, recharge speed, and / or maneuverability (to name a few).

During flight you can maximize / minimize specific components for longer (and / or greater) duration of damage, speed, or shields. 

Finally, the last gameplay feature to discuss, is your teammates. Unlike other games where your NPC allies are worthless, Star Wars: Squadrons does a fantastic job of making NPCs reliable. 

Of course, in other game modes, you can have your friends do it (multiplayer), but in single player, you can order your teammates to attack specific targets or defend specific targets. 

You can auto target / scan enemies as well in your Starfighter, or manually do so when you are in range (range limit being under 1000).

The color scheme is Blue / Red for the Empire, and Yellow / Orange for the New Republic. 

The two hub worlds in Star Wars: Squadrons take place on two different ships. One for the New Republic, and the other for the Empire. 

In the hub world (before preparing to launch), you can talk with certain available crew members, inspect your current Starfighter from multiple angles, and then ultimately listen to the commanders' briefings. 

I personally enjoyed listening to all the crew members talk and it truly invested me into the story, so much so, that I got upset when the game was coming to a close (the story that is). 

Not that many games tend to do that for me, and I was surprised that a flight game accomplished this. Then again, Ace Combat 7 did so as well.

Lastly, all the game modes in Star Wars: Squadrons are Story, Dogfight, Fleet Battles, and Custom Matches. 

I, for one, believe Star Wars: Squadrons doesn't get as much love as it should. 

The game truly invests you into the story (if you're willing to listen to the optional dialogue in the hub worlds) and the graphics look amazing! 

The voice acting is superb, and the controls are as smooth as it could be. 

Star Wars: Squadrons is a hidden gem in my opinion, and with the multiplayer available, I will definitely come back to this in the future!

Pros: 

    - Memorable Story and Characters
    - Smooth Controls and Gameplay
    - VR Capability
    - Offline Multiplayer (with Bots) 
    - Fast Loading
    - Star Wars Inspired Music
    - Starfighter Customization
    - Good Replayability 

Cons:

    - Lack of Character Customization
    - Other Features are Heavily Restricted to Online Only

My Rating for Star Wars: Squadrons (on PS4):

5 / 5


-----



Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC

- Reviewed on  Switch  - PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC released on August 25th, 2022.  One of the most famous video game characters, Pac-Man, originally had his very first Pac-Man World adventure, way back in 1999. I actually own the original version, and tried it here and there, but never had the ambition to actually, fully dive, into this adventure, platformer title. And now, on my favorite console, (as of writing this blog post), I did have the ambition to play it, and boy was I an idiot for not ever playing the original beforehand! With hardly any frame rate drops, hardly any visual or audio glitches, and easy to understand (master) controls, this platformer was so, incredibly fun, and actually a platformer I may return to in the future, for another go! This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... The game starts with a cutscene of Pac-Man's friends and family, preparing for Pac-Man's 20th Anniversary. However, as with many Pa...
Read more

Super Mario Party Jamboree

- Reviewed on  Switch  - Super Mario Party Jamboree released on October 17th, 2024.  With dozens, upon dozens of Mario Party games, across all generations of Nintendo systems, this latest installment in the illustrious Mario Party series, is an award nominated party game, well worth the time of any and all Mario fans. It's no secret that Mario titles, especially on Nintendo Switch, have mouthwatering graphics. Super Mario Party Jamboree is no different! This game is incredibly polished, the music is incredible as usual, however, I do have a problem with the Mario Party mode, minigames. Nonetheless, Super Mario Party Jamboree combines all the great aspects of Mario Party, into this one title. Making this installment in the series, the biggest and most enjoyable one yet (in my opinion)! This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... Mario Party is one of my highlights of the Nintendo gaming calendar.  Whenever a new Mari...
Read more

60 Seconds! Reatomized

- Reviewed on  Switch  - 60 Seconds! Reatomized released on July 25th, 2019. Made by Polish based studio, Robot Gentleman, 60 Seconds! Reatomized is a heavily strategized, independent game, that caught my eye from the plethora of videos made on it. The replayability of this game is near infinite, with anyone and everyone having different playthroughs and scenarios. Your actions, choices, and stories constantly affect one another, resulting in flexible gameplay and playthroughs that could last over an hour, or even less than five minutes. This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... Developed in the Unity game engine, 60 Seconds! Reatomized is actually a remaster of the original title.  This is great for newcomers such as myself, as we can experience the updated graphics, additional game modes, and various endings the game has to offer, right from the beginning! The main plot of 60 Seconds! Reatomized is about a family, co...
Read more