PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   Ever since the invention of video games, the medium has constantly served as a space for players to immerse themselves in the fantasy worlds of popular film and television franchises, and many would argue that no large fictional universe has gained more from this trend than Star Wars. Direct adaptations of the core films have had inconsistent results, but the franchise truly flourishes in gaming when developers are given room to craft original stories within a corner of George Lucas’ vast galaxy. Titles like The Force Unleashed, Knights of the Old Republic, and even the recent Jedi: Fallen Order are beloved not just for their Star Wars branding, but because they exist within the universe in a way that feels both familiar and refreshingly new.

A huge range of gaming subgenres have gotten the chance to experiment within the Star Wars setting — traditional action-adventure games (Jedi: Fallen Order), dogfighting combat simulators (Star Wars: Rogue Squadron), and even puzzle-focused Lego Star Wars games have all had their turn. But the franchise’s best fit has arguably always been RPGs, which makes perfect sense: in a universe packed with dozens of unique alien species and competing moral and political factions, players naturally want to build a custom character from the ground up. That core philosophy gave us Knights of the Old Republic, one of the greatest Star Wars games and one of the best RPGs ever made. Now, the team at Bit Reactor is putting their own twist on a Star Wars RPG, and from what we’ve heard, they’re delivering a perfect mix of elements pulled from two different eras of the franchise.

Star Wars: Zero Company, the upcoming tactical RPG developed by Bit Reactor and published by Electronic Arts, combines the precise, high-risk, high-reward gameplay of the XCOM series with the third-person exploration mechanics of titles like the aforementioned Fallen Order. Bit Reactor founder Greg Foertsch recently spoke to PC Gamer about the project, and clarified that while turn-based combat is the game’s core focus, there is also a massive explorable world outside of battles. “We really wanted to add an element that lets players spend even more time in Star Wars environments, rather than having those spaces limited by what works for fun combat,” he explained.

This design choice naturally offers two key benefits. First, blending two rarely combined gameplay styles lets Zero Company appeal beyond just tactical RPG fans, with the hope of winning over adventure game fans as well as anyone who simply wants to explore the Star Wars universe without being tied exclusively to challenging combat. Second, this blend also lets the game — which is set during the Clone Wars era — carry the same sense of wonder and discovery that defined the original Star Wars trilogy.

George Lucas’ original Star Wars was first and foremost a coming-of-age story that follows the classic Hero’s Journey. Much of what makes it work so well is that as audiences live vicariously through Luke Skywalker, they get to explore worlds completely alien to our own; there is a tangible, meaningful sense of exploration that comes from discovering strange, exciting locations like Cloud City or Dagobah. The prequel trilogy, on the other hand, is far darker and more grounded, focusing on the on-the-ground reality of war and how the conflict served as a stepping stone to undermine democracy.

Few games have balanced this line between two eras as confidently as Bit Reactor appears to be doing, which makes Zero Company a very unique entry in the franchise’s huge catalog of video game adaptations. It is exciting that thoughtful, responsive combat and immersive world-building and exploration are just two of the many features players can look forward to when Star Wars: Zero Company finally launches, hopefully in the near future.

Star Wars: Zero Company does not currently have an official release date.