EA’s next video game set in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, Star Wars: Squadrons, aims to offer a gameplay experience markedly different from those provided over the last few years. A dogfighter in the same vein as LucasArts’ classic Rogue Squadron trilogy, EA Motive’s first solo Star Wars project essentially rips out the multiplayer space combat segments found in DICE’s Battlefront II with the ultimate goal of transforming the feature into a fully-fledged, standalone title.
Will such a narrowly-focused gameplay hook be enough to score the same level of sales as that of Respawn’s acclaimed Jedi: Fallen Order? Owing to the niche genre, probably not, but at the budget price of $40 from launch day and early trailers depicting a beautiful-looking adventure, hopes are certainly high that Squadrons can be a worthwhile last hurrah for Star Wars on current-gen consoles.
A final verdict will, of course, have to wait until October, but EA certainly seems confident that it has a winner currently baking in the oven. As part of a recent preview event, the publisher invited a number of influencers to partake in some hands-on time with the game, footage of which you can find above, courtesy of YouTube channel BattlefrontUpdates.
As detailed previously, the ability to juggle ship energy levels while in the heat of battle will be a key strategy that players will need to master in order to become the best pilots possible, though it’s not immediately clear from the video above if diverting resources to different ship functions will have cooldowns or other restrictions in place to prevent their overuse.
It’s worth noting, too, that no third-person viewpoint will be available in the final release, and that all of the action will unfold in the cramped cockpit of Rebel and Imperial fighters. If we’re honest, it certainly feels, based on the footage alone, that there’s a real danger of disorientation due to the amount of information on-screen. It could well be the case, however, that this is intended.
Star Wars: Squadrons is out October 2nd for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
