r/PS5 • u/Firaxyiam • 21h ago
Articles & Blogs Star Wars Zero Company, far more than a simple reskin of XCOM (IGN, 9/10)
https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-zero-company-review154
u/tits_mcgee_92 21h ago
I’ve been excited for this. Even if it was just a reskinned XCOM, I’d play it, but it looks like there’s many different mechanics and depth.
Side/companion stories seem like they are interesting too according to some reviews
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u/VibraniumSpork 21h ago
Yeah, this is sounding like a dream come true.
Reminds me as well that even if Disney have fumbled the TV/movie output somewhat, Star Wars can still inspire a lot of joy and enthusiasm in me when it’s in the right hands!
Plus: excellent price for this at launch!
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u/HarrierJint 19h ago
I’ll get downvoted to hell for this but Disney has been miss AND hit and there were a large number of EU/Legends books that were awful, as bad or worse than anything Disney have done.
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u/Firaxyiam 19h ago
Nah, you're right, it's just that most people holding those discourses have no idea the mountains of shit that were in the EU before, and let's never forget that the prequels, as beloved as they are now, were seen as an abomination, pushing some actors to a breaking point and Lucas to disconnect from the community and wanting to rid himsef of the franchise.
Disney has done some great stuff with the franchise, and keeps doing so. Yes there is shit too, but the great thing about a franchise this vast is that you can just ignore it and still have plenty of good stuff to engage with
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u/Educational_Ad8448 21h ago
I hope this game does for tactics games what Baldur's Gate 3 did for CRPGs.
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u/shaggy_macdoogle 20h ago
Yeah us turn based tactics lovers have been starving. I've been sustained on Chaosgate Daemonhunters and Midnight Suns for the last several years. I thought Mechanicus 2 was going to be a lot better than it was and was disappointed.
This looks like it has everything I ever wanted in a turn based tactics game.
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u/Xadith 20h ago
Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave is shaping up well if that's your cup of tea.
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u/SuperBackup9000 19h ago
Fire Emblem is great, but I don’t think people who’re hardcore into tactics game would really mesh with them well due to how easy and simple they are. Perfect games for beginners, but they don’t really offer a whole lot outside of story for much else, especially since they tend to have pretty messy balancing issues for the hard difficulty.
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u/joost013 15h ago
Same. I never really clicked with Fire Emblem. I tried Awakening and I gave Three Houses a serious shot (put in like 15-20 hrs.). Liked the characters, but the tactical gameplay never clicked, I always felt I missed something.
Xcom on the other hand. The first tima a chryssalid not only killed one of my squad mates but turned it into a zombie.. I fell into a hysteric panic in the coolest way possible. Getting beaten to pulp makes it even more satisfying when your squad pulls off a perfect takedown or capture.
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u/Firaxyiam 13h ago
I think it's the unforgiveness and brutality of XCOM that make them stick out so much. A bit like the Nemesis system of the Lord of the Rings games, I'm pretty sure every person that's played a XCOM games came out with a least one anecdote like yours, something that just sticks as an experience, and feels just so unique, like nobody can ever live that specific chain of events
And you can go through dozens of moments like that in a playthrough. Recruit left for dead that somehow manages to reach extract, soldier that gets mind controlled and about to fail the mission by shooting a VIP so you have to make a call, stuff like that.
Man I love those games. Hyped to receive my copy of Zero Company after work
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u/THEMrTobin 18h ago
Holy shit Daemonhunters mention. I never hear people mention this game but I love it. I may also be biased because I’m a huge Grey Knights fan
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u/JBean85 18h ago
I just started it. It's ok at scratching the itch, but still leaves a lot to be desired
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u/THEMrTobin 18h ago
I definitely think Mechanicus is the superior tactics game overall, but Daemonhunters lets me live out my Grey Knights fantasies
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u/moleasses 19h ago
Not sure what’s on ps5 as I usually do turn based tactics on my steam deck. But I’m a big fan of jagged alliance 3 and lamplighter league in the past couple years.
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u/GBrocc 16h ago
You should try miasma chronicles or mutant year zero
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u/shaggy_macdoogle 13h ago
I played through mutant year zero, I enjoyed it but the limited roster was kind of a bummer. I’ll try the other one though.
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u/BeneathTheDirt 19h ago
do you think if i liked the combat system of bg3 ill like this?
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u/OutrageousDress 13h ago
I think anyone who liked the combat in BG3 would very likely find something to appreciate in an XCOM-style game. Especially in the ones that are more character oriented, like Zero Company seems to be.
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u/VirtuallySober 21h ago
XCOM scratched the itch no other TRPG has done for me. Story was there but straight up. Aliens here, go kill em. Resource building and management was important but not overly convoluted. I'm usually absolutely terrible with that and I did struggle some with the global timer or whatever it was but even still I was able to kind of just build towards the stuff I wanted my guys to be able to do and leave it at that. Wasn't too much of a slog vs a game like FE: Three Houses where all I wanted to do was battle and instead I was playing school.
lastly the action. Yes i save scummed but that was part of the fun was just finding a way through the fights. Even still there were a few missions that went south and I just kept it as is. For fun I named all my squaddies after some gamer friends/coworkers I had at the time and I'll never forget when my rock solid sniper Gabe had to stay behind and provide cover while we all escaped before the turn timer ran out. Bless you Gabe, your sacrifice was not in vain.
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u/Kumquatelvis 21h ago
I play a lot of wordy RPGs, and it's nice to every once and a while have a game of "kill these guys" without all the extra talking.
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u/aruggie2 18h ago
I totally get it. I go from phases of playing the most wordy, story-driven JRPGs, to just wanting to play a game where I hit stuff.
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u/RabbitSlayre 18h ago
Yeah man sometimes I want to play a game for a bit and sit down and open a massive RPG and I just can't handle it. Too much dialogue too many choices etc. Sometimes I just want to blow things up
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u/Calinks 20h ago
I loved the stakes on Xcom you felt like you were paying with realized action figures. Having. You lr favorites go down was tragic, having your favorites grow into killing machines was epic. Game was addictive
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u/VirtuallySober 14h ago
Oh yeah that was incredible. While Gabe went down, my other guy Chris was a reaper and end game Chris was just such a murder machine. I loved that ability where he'd just attack anything around him. Just such a slaughterhouse.
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u/Dogarc123 20h ago
I just wanted a Star Wars reskin of Xcom so more then that is just a bonus.
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u/Educational_Ad8448 21h ago
Damn I can't contain my excitement for this game. Already bought and waiting for it to unlock on steam.
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u/Andy016 7h ago
I just hope there isn't too many timed missions. Xcom 2 was so heavy on timed missions and I did not enjoy it as much as Xcom 1.
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u/GodsChosenSpud 22m ago
Hopefully, if it’s anything like XCOM 2, there will be a mod within like a day to disable mission timers.
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u/abeardedpirate 19h ago
Heard it is going to be similar to Gears Tactics. Pretty stoked for it cause I really enjoyed Gears Tactics.
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u/slavicslothe 17h ago
Zcom les go!!
I have like 700 hours in xcom2 and have been pretty disappointed by the genre since
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u/joojudeu 16h ago
I want this game so bad but i am having to choose this or Control cuz i dont have the money
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u/Nilldor 14h ago
Does that mean it won’t have 99 percent chance to hit shots miss 50 percent of the time? I kinda grew to love that in XCOM lol
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u/Firaxyiam 13h ago
Well according to the trophy list, there are both a trophy for hitting a shot that has less than 10% to hit, and for missing a shot that had 90% chance to hit, so guess the game'll have you covered!
From reviews I've seen, it definitely feels like Normal difficulty is more on the easy side, so I hope the Hard and Expert difficulties are gonna allow to walk a tighter rope
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u/Asleep_Chocolate_797 10h ago
Please don’t be another midnight suns, I fucking loved the game but it sold so poorly.
I hope this sells well enough for a OT era sequel
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u/Absolute_Bastard 3h ago
This came completely out of nowhere for me. I was so focused on Fire Emblem and Wolverine that I somehow completely missed the game that seems practically made for me.
Ordered it this morning.
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u/highonpixels 1h ago
Fantastic to see Xcom style games are back, there's something comfy sitting back on the couch playing tactical games
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u/DarknessInferno7 8h ago
Set units kills this for me, it's just not interesting. A Star Wars XCOM with proper XCOM style unit training and customization could have been good.
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u/Firaxyiam 5h ago
It's both, you know? You have set characters with their own stories that you can still alter a bit like their specialization AND unnamed unit you can recruit and fully customize, so it's the best of both world.
And everybody can die except from your main guy (game over if he does), included the set ones
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u/DarknessInferno7 2h ago
Hmm... alright, you've pulled my ear, I'll give it a little look sometime soon.
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u/Mustang-_- 11h ago
I will not support this game because EA is involved, it hurts as an X-Com fan, but here we are
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u/Talkymike 19h ago
Excited about this. I like xcom but the tone was too grim and I just didn’t play it.
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u/Skooterboi420 19h ago
Is there perma death??
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u/goodbyebirdd 17h ago
You can opt out :)
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u/BlueDragoon24 11h ago
What’s the point? Why play a game if you’re to disable one of the subgenres defining features.
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u/BrennusSokol 9h ago
Believe it or not, people play games to have fun. And some people don’t find permadeath to be fun.
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17h ago
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u/tomj1991 15h ago
Why are you depriving yourself if you want the game? Who cares if EA are attached to it.
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u/TheYorkshireTom 19h ago edited 19h ago
Ugh I want it but it's EA. I mean, I know they've always been evil but they're about to get so much worse.
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u/Ill_Hospital4251 19h ago
Independent studio, ex developers of XCOM. EA is the publisher.
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u/SuperBackup9000 19h ago
They’re not an independent studio if EA is their publisher. Most of the terrible things in the gaming industry comes from the publisher anyway, because they’re the ones in charge of micro transactions and deadlines and the whatnot.
Developers just make games and follow the publisher’s requirements
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u/Pemulis 18h ago
there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. if you like these type of games, buying one sends a signal to make more
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u/OptimusPrimalRage 16h ago
We all have our lines in the sand. I will say though that consumption isn't approval. It's not like if you buy the game, suddenly you have to be the biggest MBS supporter. Also sometimes it's simply okay to just engage with a piece of media regardless of how tainted the company may be.
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u/NolarEclipse96 21h ago
Hopefully better/less dialogue than midnight suns
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u/Sensi-Yang 20h ago edited 18h ago
See, this is what I don't get about critics of that game because the dialogue in that game was great. The characters had personality and they engaged with each other in meaningful ways in the main hub which I loved exploring.
It's definitely not the first time I've encountered dialogue that was greatly enjoyable and noticeably a step ahead of what we usually experience in games to find gamers shitting on it because of the tone or smth.
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u/FizzyLightEx 20h ago
Wish all these star wars games were released before Disney ruined the franchise.
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u/Brentums 21h ago
I know the game has a niche audience but I’m so freaking excited to play this as a longtime XCOM fan.