Star Wars: Squadrons Review. Politically Correct Squadron

A new game in the universe of “Star Wars”, which is especially not to blame. But for some reason, she also does not cause enthusiasm. We will  tell you what  Star Wars: Squadrons is and who should play it.

Introduction

Something strange has been going on with the Star Wars universe lately. The most striking event of the decade was the series “The Mandalorian”, and the saddest – a whole trilogy, which neither Luke nor Leia, nor even the mighty Palpatine saved. This similar situation with video games is also ambiguous. 

There is, on the one hand, an incredibly cool ” Fallen Order “, and on the other – an outrageously sterile and commercially verified series of updated Battlefront . The latter, by the way, over the years has become much better and better quality, but it will not be easy for the franchise to cleanse the reputation tarnished by F95zone. 

However, Battlefront 2 had a pretty good single player campaign, revealing a curious period of battles between the nascent New Republic and the crumbling Empire. All the more interesting was the announcement of Squadrons – a game about space battles in the Star Wars universe, covering the same time period and, which is typical, from the same developers – Motive Studios . 

The last time X-Wing fights against TIE fighters were played in games for a very long time, and it was the legendary Rogue Squadron series . Only this time, along with the campaign, we were promised a full-fledged online game-service and comprehensive VR support. And, in general, they did not lie. 

It is worth starting, of course, with a full-fledged storyline for eight hours, which will lead us through the confrontation between the young Republic and the Empire, which is in agony after the death of Palpatine. 

It all starts with the fact that the commander of the flight of the imperial elite pilots in the middle of the mission refuses to kill civilians once again and adjoins the enemy. His belligerent protégé takes command of the squadron and vows to destroy his former mentor, as well as all the damned rebels.

We have to play for both sides. We immediately create for ourselves two pilots: both imperial and republican, in order to play during the same campaign alternately for both. This is a rather strange approach, considering that, for example, for the Republic we are intensively building new superweapons, and for the Empire we are trying our best to destroy these same weapons. 

Because of this, the feeling that all this time we are fighting with ourselves does not leave. Even the ending of Motive Studios has managed to make such that both sides seem to be the winners. At some point, the developers manage to create some kind of drama, but even here it all comes down to a happy ending. Yes, we are shown a conflict from both sides, but it turns out somehow very sterile, although this plot cannot be called bad either.

A game like HuniePop 2 will definitely be a good test of lore knowledge for well-versed fans, but most of the audience will probably not understand many of the references. There are moments here that suggest a kind of “wow-effect” from the appearance of famous personalities. 

But the problem is that not everyone is familiar with the new canon enough to know who, for example, Admiral Ray Sloan, who has appeared in recent books, is. Or they will not recognize Hera Syndulla, who was one of the main characters in the animated series “Rebels”. 

By the way, it was very nasty, so it was not difficult to miss it. In general, the game is very closely intertwined with the entire lore of “Star Wars” during the early days of the New Republic. Even Gideon and Eden Versio are mentioned. Although Wedge Antilles, perhaps, everyone should know. And it was really nice to chat with him during the next briefing. 

It is also worth noting that the game is very, very politically correct. There are perhaps even more women here than men. All the main characters are a true celebration of racial and ethnic diversity. By default, we are also asked to make black and Asian protagonists. Because of this, by the way, some Russian-speaking users managed to raise another kipish in the Steam reviews section , complaining that they were not allowed to play with a white man. 

This, of course, is not so: you can play as a white man here. We, however, still approved of the chic Cuban for the role of the imperial, and entrusted the defense of the interests of the Republic to a fashionable guy with a mustache from the eighties.

Conclusion:

Well, and most importantly, what is worth mentioning: the game is really sharpened for VR and plays well with it. We tested the PS VR version and generally liked it. Yes, the picture is traditionally soapy and fuzzy, but these are already limitations of the helmet itself and the current generation of consoles, because in normal mode Squadrons looks very good. 

The videos are a little more frustrating, which for obvious reasons even inside the helmet look exactly like flat rollers, and not a three-dimensional picture around you. The multiplayer customization also came in handy. 

Any little thing like a plush Ewok or a Darth Vader statuette installed in the cockpit acquires a special charm in volume. As well as the whole atmosphere of the fact that you yourself are sitting in a tiny armchair, separated from space by only a small layer of glass and metal. This game is perfect for VR and VR is perfect for it.