For many, August is rife with big releases such as Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Beast of Reincarnation. While Star Wars Zero Company fits, its marketing has definitely felt more clandestine. Case in point, a recent Q&A on the EA Star Wars Discord, which offers a boatload of new details on the turn-based tactics title, including the playtime.
According to lead producer Caydence Funk, it will take the average player “about 30-40 hours” to finish the campaign, but this depends on “your difficulty level and experience with the strategy genre.” Given the crossover with XCOM, one would imagine that veterans of Firaxis’s franchise will have an easier time getting into the game and learning its intricacies.
However, New Game Plus won’t be available to challenge a veteran squad. However, Funk mentioned that you’ll be able to “unlock certain customization options on subsequent playthroughs.” Perhaps that includes bumping up enemy health or making it so that injuries take longer to recover from.
Players also shouldn’t expect the campaign to have any “branching paths” – this is a “linear” story throughout, says BitReactor. “While we are excited about pushing the genre forward with a more cinematic approach, this is still a turn-based tactics game at its heart where adept skill and strategy are needed to overcome tense combat challenges.
“That said, there are story moments that can alter based on who you have in your squad, but the overall story is a linear one from beginning to end.” It also notes that while some choices will affect certain narrative elements and Bonds between characters, everyone will have “largely the same” ending.
Of course, if it can capture even a shred of the magic that defined The Clone Wars or Andor, especially when it comes to inter-squad drama, then Star Wars Zero Company could end up something special. It’s out on August 27th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.
