Star Wars: Squadrons Will Show A Different Side To The Empire

At its core, Star Wars: Squadrons is all about giving players the opportunity to experience spectacle-laden dogfights from the pilot seat of iconic spacecrafts such as the X-Wing and TIE Fighter, but EA Motive also wants to make sure its budget title finds a welcome place in the franchise’s wider continuity. We’ve known since the game’s initial reveal earlier this year, of course, that it will have a fully fleshed out campaign mode and that, in a neat twist, the story will be told from two perspectives.

The Rebel Alliance (soon to be the New Republic) and what remains of the Galactic Empire following its defeat on Endor continue to clash for control of the galaxy in Squadrons, though neither side is without its inner conflicts. While the former struggles to transition from a rebellious force into one intended to govern through peace and freedom, what remains of the latter threatens to collapse from the inside, following the apparent loss of its leader, Emperor Palpatine.

It’s these ideas and concepts as well as what drives individuals on both sides of the moral spectrum to sign up for their respective cause that Squadrons will explore, according to writer Jo Berry. Speaking to LADbible in a recent interview, Berry says:

Palpatine was kind of the glue that held everything together. And now disagreement is seeping in. Some people are in denial. There are new factions forming. Everyone has their reason for being in the Empire, and being in the Empire at this point. Which is really interesting because you get to see, like, the sort of spectrum of what’s motivating them.

Whether or not Motive can succeed in showing a sympathetic side to the Empire remains to be seen, though it’ll nevertheless be interesting to see the conflict between two diametrically opposed ideologies play out from a perspective rarely explored. DICE attempted something similar in Star Wars Battlefront II‘s campaign with Imperial shock trooper Iden Versio, though fans were left feeling largely shortchanged by her swift change of allegiance. Let’s hope Motive learns from those mistakes.

Star Wars: Squadrons is out October 2nd for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.