Every character in Star Wars Zero Company provides a unique perspective into the world of the galaxy far, far away during the Clone Wars. Players will be able to recruit mercenaries from criminal syndicates, former Jedi and Clone Troopers, ex-Separatist operatives, and more from the vast array of characters in the game. With each figure’s story promising strong RPG connections similar to Mass Effect, it puts extra pressure on players to keep them healthy by making the right call during tactical missions.
Star Wars Zero Company Includes Permadeath For All Its Characters During Tactical Encounters
Courtesy of Bit Reactor
One of the biggest systems in Star Wars Zero Company is permadeath, a notorious feature where characters killed during missions do not come back, remaining dead for the rest of the game. So injury or revival systems exists in this Star Wars game, calling back to developer Bit Reactor’s roots from XCOM, which also had permadeath in its campaigns. This layer of vulnerability immediately brings a new layer of weight to your choices, as even the slightest mistakes can lead to a character’s story being cut short.
According to Bit Reactor’s development team, permadeath was a system that caused some internal debate, as there was a fear that core characters in Star Wars Zero Company wouldn’t be as impactful if they could die off early. However, similar to how Star Wars: Rogue One embraced the idea of sacrificing characters, the turn around on this feature has been very rewarding since it was established. Permadeath forces players to take a deep look at the game’s mechanics, to prevent mistakes as much as possible by playing perfectly.
Although Star Wars Zero Company‘s story might pull some tricks to prevent some characters from dying off too early, for the most part, everyone is fair game. Losing a beloved character after you’ve invested so much time into their development is RPG 101, back to Final Fantasy 7 in some ways. The heightened emotions felt from character deaths are meant to be stronger than ever in this strategy game, with their Star Wars backgrounds possibly making them hurt even harder.
Mass Effect Companion Systems Will Make Every Loss Feel More Heartbreaking
Image courtesy of Respawn Entertainment
Star Wars Zero Company has unique “bond” systems between characters at various points in the game, to the point where they can even train with each other and learn shared skills. This makes permadeath extra painful, as you can see bonds between characters form organically, only for them to get ripped away if something terrible happens during a mission. The high affinities characters have for one another is sure to make death significantly more devastating in the long run.
Bonds don’t only grow in this game, they also decay over time as well. Your decisions have the chance to shatter or sour connections with particular characters in Star Wars Zero Company, making them weaker in moments where you need them to be at their best. This prioritizes the RPG systems in the game even more, but also makes their permanent death feel like not just a failure of tactics, but a failure to understand and empathize with a character. Losing a character you wanted to mend a relationship with might be even more brutal.
Real Stakes In A Star Wars Game Might Let Zero Company Become An Instant Classic
Co-founder of Bit Reactor Greg Foertsh claims that permadeath is a staple part of Star Wars‘ core themes, stating “Star Wars is about loss.” From the death of Obi-Wan in the first movie, Star Wars has never shied away from killing off important characters, so Star Wars Zero Company might be more authentic to the series than any other game has been before. In some ways, permadeath in this game makes me more excited for it than even Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic or Star Wars: Jedi 3.
By introducing much higher stakes that completely come down to your choices, the impact of this title might elevate it to being one of the best Star Wars games in recent memory. From what has been shown off so far, from deep character builds and combat to companion RPG systems, Star Wars Zero Company is easily becoming the strategy game I’m looking forward to the most.
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