I got the chance to go hands-on with Star Wars Zero Company earlier this month, and due to the lengthy nature of that build, feel like the genuine love I have for this game might not only sound familiar, but might also have increased.
So apologies in advance if we touch on a few of the same points here. That being said, Star Wars Zero Company might not only be one of the biggest surprises and best games of 2026, but one of the best tactics-based games ever made. The team at Bit Reactor really knows their stuff, and as a team primarily made up of ex-X-Com developers, it shows.
It delivers a story packed with heart and a cast of memorable characters, along with a combat system that’s easy to learn but equally hard to master. With depth through character progression and customisation, there’s plenty to love about the newest game from a galaxy far, far away.
In Good Company
Set during the twilight era of the Clone Wars, players assume the role of Hawks, a disgraced ex-Republic officer blamed for the death of his entire unit. Looking to turn over a new leaf, Hawks seeks to form a new group of mercenaries known as Zero Company, who provide their services to the highest bidder. Hawks can be customised to your liking, but I admittedly stuck with the default version, which I had grown attached to in my hands-on preview of the game earlier in the month.
The story is generally fun and upbeat, but certainly raises the stakes as it progresses, making your decisions feel not only incredibly important, but also making the lives and relationships of your crew feel grounded and relatable. You’ll spend the opening hours coming to grips with Hawks and Zero Company, but we soon find out about The Coil, a new threat that seeks to use a deadly virus known as the Shadow Plague to infect those nearby and control them.
The sense of urgency does provide some memorable moments through some admittedly thrilling cinematic sequences and decent voice acting across the board. But more importantly, these characters, namely the protagonist Hawks, feel like they’ve been around for the longest time. If you told me the next big Star Wars show or film would involve Hawks in some way, shape or form, I would be over the moon.
You might initially notice the charisma of someone like Han Solo, but you’ll ultimately come to appreciate the jagged edges of someone with a dark past, wrestling with the concept of redemption.
Lasting around 30-or-so hours, I would also like to point out that Star Wars Zero Company is expertly paced, and while not all missions propel the main story forward, they all feel equally important to the broader world and context, as they flesh out most of the main supporting characters as well.
Either way, it’s a ride I was glad I stuck with, and would recommend to almost anyone, even if you’re not a Star Wars fan.
Plan It Out
Much like the X-Com games, players command a squad, led by Hawks, in a turn-based tactical environment, in which players have several moves, attacks and special abilities to utilise within each turn. Each character is granted a certain number of Action Points (AP), with which you’ll be able to complete any of these moves, but you’ll soon realise the better prepared you are, the more likely you are to succeed.
The actual gameplay loop is easy enough to grasp, but it’s your understanding of your team that is key. While most characters will be able to move to certain points, with further distances using more AP, it’s really about how you choose to attack and back each other up. The game also plays quite well on a controller, although it is slightly more convenient on PC, given the action wheel that you must consistently select from.
You’ll cycle through each of your squadmates and end your turn once all your AP has been spent, at which point the enemy will then advance and attack in the same fashion. To top it all off, you’ll need to complete a bunch of objectives within these missions, which may involve reaching a certain control panel, taking out a particular enemy, or simply extracting with everyone intact. You’ll even get the chance to team up with some iconic characters, the likes of which I won’t spoil here.
It all comes together quite well, and is bolstered by more traditional third-person gameplay that allows players to move about and explore the environment in between battles, which helps with world-building in the process. To be fair, however, you don’t really do much in these sequences, apart from moving to the next encounter.
While it might feel familiar to X-Com fans, I urge those who haven’t yet dipped their toe into this genre to start here, as it feels incredibly accessible, without feeling overbearing or challenging until you’ve actually come to grips with these mechanics and systems.
The Best of Friends
The real core of the experience, and the reason why you’ll eventually feel so connected to each of your squad mates, comes from the permadeath feature. While this can be disabled, by default, your fallen squad mates will remain dead for the rest of the game, changing the trajectory of certain missions and relationships.
There will be missions that are based around certain squad members which will override this feature, and it’s also worth noting that the death of Hawks will result in the mission restarting, but much like X-Com, you’ll feel those heightened stakes seep into not only the story, but the general gameplay as well.
Along with interchangeable loadouts and equipment, players will also be able to upgrade each squad member’s special abilities in between missions, and even use credits to buy new weapons and gear. But beyond that, players will also develop a bond with certain squad members depending on their actions.
If you choose to back up a certain member consistently, your bond will strengthen and upgrade the individual statistics of both members, and even add certain perks to their combined strategies during gameplay.
While certain decision-based Operations missions and dedicated hero missions will weaken or strengthen bonds in ways that can sometimes feel outside of your control, the way you play Star Wars Zero Company will simply enhance the characters you enjoy using, making their progression feel not only natural, but extremely gut-wrenching when you lose them for good.
It really does feel like the backbone of the entire experience, bolstering not only the story, but the decision-based gameplay as a result. While I love Hawks, there are plenty of other squad members I would love to see return elsewhere. That being said, not all squad members feel as important, as you are able to recruit more generic members without any real backstory or character arcs, which are really just there to fill the place of other fallen squad members.
Look the Part
Star Wars Zero Company offers both a Quality and Performance mode, the latter of which I would recommend for most games where possible. Quality Mode runs at 30 FPS in native 4K with enhanced ray-tracing, while the Performance Mode runs closer to 60 FPS at 1440p.
Here, the decision feels much tougher. The game certainly looks better in Quality Mode, but I much prefer the smoother frame rate. Unfortunately, though, there are multiple occasions in which the game drops to what feels like closer to 40 FPS. It’s not a deal breaker given the turn-based nature of the gameplay, but it is certainly noticeable.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Star Wars Zero Company is the turn-based tactics game I never knew I wanted, and one of the best games of 2026. As a Star Wars experience, there’s a fantastic story to unpack, complete with plenty of memorable characters and sequences, all backed by a solid protagonist in Hawks.
The gameplay also feels incredibly deep, yet accessible at the same time, making it a perfect choice for newcomers who want to see what the turn-based tactics genre is all about.
But through it all, I really do hope to see Hawks and Zero Company again down the road.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Great story; Memorable cast of characters; Fun tactics-based gameplay; Plenty of depth through progression and customisation
Lowlights: Game can feel a little choppy at times; Not all characters feel as important
Developer: Bit Reactor, Respawn Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 Pro with a code provided by the publisher.
Featured header image also provided by the publisher.
