2020 video game
2020 video game
Star Wars: Squadrons
is a
space combat game
set in the
Star Wars
universe developed by
Motive Studio
and published by
Electronic Arts
. It was released for
PlayStation 4
,
Windows
, and
Xbox One
, on October 2, 2020 and for
Xbox Series X/S
on December 3, 2020. The game features both
multiplayer
game modes and a
single-player
campaign. Set after
Return of the Jedi
, the campaign alternates between the
New Republic
's Vanguard Squadron and the
Galactic Empire
's Titan Squadron, both of which become involved with the Republic's Project Starhawk; Vanguard Squadron wants to ensure its completion, while Titan Squadron attempts to destroy it.
The game received generally favorable reviews upon release, garnering praise for its gameplay, while facing some criticism over its story and lack of content.
Gameplay
[
edit
]
Star Wars: Squadrons
is a
space combat game
, played from a
first-person perspective
. Players take control of starfighters from either the
Galactic Empire
or the
New Republic
navy. In these ships, they can utilise the movement of power between the ship's functions of weaponry, shields and engines to defeat their opponents in combat. Imperial starfighters do not have shields, resulting in other additions to their class so that the two teams would be balanced.
[1]
As players earn more
experience
, they can unlock new weapons, shields, upgrades and various cosmetic items for the pilot and their ship.
[2]
Completing Daily Challenges and Operation Challenges will also give players Glory, which can be spent on purchasing cosmetic unlocks.
[3]
Players can check the ship's status, shields and powers by viewing the instruments in the ship's
cockpit
.
[4]
Gameplay is
class
-based, with both the New Republic and the Empire having four starfighter classes that the player can choose from: Fighter (
TIE Fighter
for the Empire and
X-wing
for the Republic), Interceptor (
TIE Interceptor
and
A-Wing
), Bomber (
TIE Bomber
and
Y-Wing
), and Support (
TIE Reaper
and
U-Wing
). An update added the
B-Wing
to the bomber class for the New Republic and the
TIE Defender
for the fighter class of the Galactic Empire.
The game features two multiplayer modes, and a single-player mode:
[5]
The story mode is set after the Battle of Endor and the destruction of the second
Death Star
. The narrative alternates between two customizable pilots from the New Republic's Vanguard Squadron and the Empire's Titan Squadron, with the former debuting in Alexander Freed's 2019 novel
Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron
. The game offers two online modes: Dogfight, which is a
team deathmatch
mode that supports 10 players, and Fleet Battles, in which two teams of up to 5 players compete to destroy each other's Capital Ships.
Plot
[
edit
]
Following
the destruction
of
Alderaan
,
Darth Vader
orders all
Imperial
forces to hunt down any refugees who escaped the planet's destruction. Captain Lindon Javes of the Imperial Navy is tasked by Commodore
Rae Sloane
to lead Helix Squadron in finding and eliminating a convoy of refugees at Fostar Haven. Disgusted with his orders, Javes turns on his wingmen and disables their ships to protect the refugees. The convoy sends a distress signal to the
Rebel Alliance
, who dispatches Echo Squadron to assist in the convoy’s escape. After the battle, Javes defects to the Alliance, offering his knowledge of Imperial Fleet protocols to earn their trust.
Four years later, after the Alliance's victory in the
Battle of
Endor
, the newly promoted Commander Javes assumes command of the
New Republic
cruiser
Temperance
and its elite fighter squadron, Vanguard Squadron. Assigned to the secret project known as Starhawk, the squadron undertakes missions to ensure Project Starhawk’s completion. It is later revealed that the project is a massive battleship constructed using parts from stolen
Star Destroyers
and has a powerful tractor beam.
Meanwhile, Imperial Captain Terisa Kerrill, Javes' former protege and wingman from Fostar, is eager to take vengeance on him for his betrayal and is assigned to put an end to Project Starhawk before its completion. She assigns her own elite fighter squadron, Titan Squadron, to hinder the New Republic’s progress to complete the
Starhawk
. While Titan Squadron's initial operations are a success, an impulsive Kerrill is baited into a trap by Javes which nearly destroys her
Star Destroyer
, the
Overseer
. Unwilling to let Javes go, Kerrill forgoes repairs and instead hastily rearms the
Overseer
, planning to destroy the
Starhawk
even at the cost of her own life.
A surprise Imperial assault at the Nadiri Dockyards badly damages the
Starhawk
, although it manages to escape destruction. In an attempt to defend what’s left of the battleship, Javes personally takes command of Anvil Squadron but is later shot down and presumed dead. The
Starhawk
itself becomes damaged beyond repair in a secondary attack by Titan Squadron, although Vanguard Squadron, now led by General
Hera Syndulla
, make a last stand and use the remains of
Starhawk
to destroy the Imperial fleet by ramming it into an unstable moon. The plan is a success and, with the help of a surviving Javes, Vanguard Squadron manages to escape the explosion while Kerrill goes down with her ship. Both Titan and Vanguard Squadrons are commended for their actions, with the New Republic planning to construct more
Starhawk
battleships while the Empire makes plans to regain control of the galaxy.
Development
[
edit
]
Initially conceived and pitched by James Clement and Patrick Lalonde to
Motive Studio
leadership, they were soon joined by Steven Masters to help develop the presentation for what would become
Star Wars: Squadrons
. As these 3 developers were still finalizing the single player campaign for
Star Wars Battlefront II
, a small group led by Ian Frazier laid the groundwork to build the production team.
The game was revealed on June 15, 2020 with the release of a trailer.
[6]
[7]
[8]
It released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on October 2, 2020 with
cross-platform play
enabled. The PC version can be played in
virtual reality
using various VR headsets, with the PlayStation 4 version supporting
PlayStation VR
. All versions of the game have
HOTAS
support, with the console editions receiving support in a day one patch.
[9]
[10]
By September 10, 2020, development for the game had reached "gold" status, meaning that it was ready to begin production on the physical editions of the game.
[11]
The game received enhancements for the
PlayStation 5
and
Xbox Series X and S
,
[12]
including improved lighting for the former and 4K support and high frame rate on the latter.
Release
[
edit
]
Marketing
[
edit
]
Following the June 15, 2020 trailer, a further gameplay trailer was released on July 18, 2020, and a trailer focusing on the single-player campaign was showcased at
Gamescom 2020
on August 27, 2020.
[13]
[14]
On September 14, 2020, a CGI short titled
Hunted
was debuted on the
Star Wars
YouTube
channel, being produced by Motive Studios in collaboration with
Lucasfilm
,
Skywalker Sound
, and
Industrial Light & Magic
. The short follows the Empire's retreat after a surprise attack by the New Republic, which marks yet another defeat for the Empire after the destruction of the second Death Star. Squadron Leader Varko Grey delayed his retreat in an attempt to defend a TIE Bomber pilot, yet the pilot's ship is destroyed and Grey is too late to escape with his Star Destroyer. Now the last TIE ship on the battlefield, he enters into a dogfight with an X-wing and manages to destroy it before crashing onto the planet's surface. He states that the war is not yet over as he is retrieved by Imperial forces.
[15]
Pre-order bonuses
[
edit
]
If pre-ordering the game, additional cosmetic skins for the game's pilots and ships were included. The first selection of these are themed around the New Republic Recruit or Imperial Ace sets, and include a skin for each ship, a skin each for both Imperial and New Republic pilots, and a decal for both sets.
[16]
Following the promotional short
Hunted
, two additional skins for the X-wing and TIE Interceptor respectively, titled the Var-Shaa set, were added to the pre-order bonuses and are based on the appearances of the two ships from the short.
[17]
Reception
[
edit
]
Star Wars: Squadrons
received "generally favorable" reviews, according to
review aggregator
Metacritic
.
[18]
[19]
[20]
PC Gamer
awarded the game a score of 83/100, praising the combat and flight mechanics but criticizing the lack of choices in the story and character development.
[30]
Game Informer
awarded it 8.25 out of 10, praising the multiplayer but saying the single-player "struggles to hit the target."
[23]
Push Square
awarded the game 6 out of 10, praising its flight mechanics, but criticizing the overall experience as lacking in excitement and content.
[31]
Awards
[
edit
]
It was nominated for Best VR/AR at
The Game Awards 2020
.
[37]
It won the Music of the Year award at
The Game Audio Network Guild Awards
[38]
Sales
[
edit
]
In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version of
Star Wars: Squadrons
sold 5,114 physical copies within its first week of release, making it the twelfth best-selling retail game of the week in the country.
[39]
In the UK,
Star Wars: Squadrons
was the second bestselling retail game during its first week of release,
[40]
and the bestselling digital game during the same week.
[41]
It was the third best-selling game in Switzerland during its first week of release.
[42]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Why Star Wars: Squadrons' TIE Fighters Aren't At A Disadvantage Against X-Wings"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
August 2,
2020
.
- ^
Skerebels, Joe (June 15, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Officially Revealed, Out in October"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
June 15,
2020
.
- ^
Sheridan, Connor (September 24, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons progression details include seasons, cosmetic unlocks, and no cash shop"
.
GamesRadar
. Retrieved
November 12,
2020
.
- ^
Saed, Sherif (June 19, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons is locked to first-person view"
.
VG 247
. Retrieved
October 2,
2020
.
- ^
"Star Wars: Squadrons Everything You Need To Know - Release Date, VR Support, And More"
.
UploadVR
. July 24, 2020
. Retrieved
August 2,
2020
.
- ^
Barbosa, Alessandro (June 12, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Confirmed After Leaking On Xbox Site"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
June 13,
2020
.
- ^
Kim, Matt (June 12, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Leaks on Xbox Store Website [First Trailer Next Week]"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
June 13,
2020
.
- ^
Chalk, Andy (June 12, 2020).
"EA confirms Star Wars: Squadrons is real, official reveal coming next week"
.
PC Gamer
. Retrieved
June 13,
2020
.
- ^
Reiner, Andrew (June 14, 2020).
"Take Your First Look At Star Wars: Squadrons"
.
Game Informer
. Retrieved
June 15,
2020
.
- ^
Goslin, Austen (September 11, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons will support joysticks and throttles on PlayStation and Xbox"
.
Polygon
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
.
- ^
"Star Wars Squadrons Goes Gold Ahead Of October Release"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
September 15,
2020
.
- ^
EA details next-gen enhancements coming to Star Wars: Squadrons, Apex Legends, more - Eurogamer
- ^
"Star Wars Squadrons gameplay trailer looks impressively hardcore"
.
Metro
. June 19, 2020
. Retrieved
September 15,
2020
.
- ^
Gartenberg, Chaim (August 27, 2020).
"The latest Star Wars: Squadrons trailer shows off its single-player campaign"
.
The Verge
. Retrieved
September 15,
2020
.
- ^
"With the Star Wars: Squadrons CG Short "Hunted," EA, Motive Studios, and ILM Tell a New Kind of Star Wars Story"
.
StarWars.com
. September 14, 2020
. Retrieved
September 15,
2020
.
- ^
"All Star Wars: Squadrons Pre-Order Bonuses"
.
Game Rant
. August 23, 2020
. Retrieved
September 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Star Wars: Squadrons gets a new CGI trailer, pre-order bonuses revealed"
.
Game-Debate
. Retrieved
September 15,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Star Wars: Squadrons for PC Reviews"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
September 20,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Star Wars: Squadrons for PlayStation 4 Reviews"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
October 4,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Star Wars: Squadrons for Xbox One Reviews"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
October 4,
2020
.
- ^
Hancock, Patrick (October 11, 2020).
"Review: Star Wars Squadrons"
.
Destructoid
. Retrieved
October 11,
2020
.
- ^
Ellis, Bradley (October 5, 2020).
"Review: Star Wars: Squadrons"
.
Easy Allies
. Retrieved
October 5,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Reiner, Andrew (October 1, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Review ? Roaring With Excitement"
.
Game Informer
. Retrieved
October 1,
2020
.
- ^
Faulkner, Jason (October 4, 2020).
"Star Wars Squadrons Review - 'A flawed homage to flight sims of decades past'
"
.
Game Revolution
. Retrieved
October 4,
2020
.
- ^
Tran, Edmond (October 14, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Review ? Catch Me If You Can"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
October 14,
2020
.
- ^
Tyrer, Ben (October 1, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons review ? "Turns idle daydreams into tangible experiences"
"
.
GamesRadar
. Retrieved
October 1,
2020
.
- ^
Spyrison, Sam (October 6, 2020).
"Review: Star Wars: Squadrons"
. Hardcore Gamer
. Retrieved
October 6,
2020
.
- ^
Marks, Tom (October 6, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Single-Player Review"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
October 19,
2020
.
- ^
Marks, Tom (October 6, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Multiplayer Review"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
October 19,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Fenlon, Wes (October 2, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons review"
.
PC Gamer
. Retrieved
October 2,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Croft, Liam (October 5, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Review (PS4)"
.
Push Square
. Retrieved
October 5,
2020
.
- ^
Jarrad, Chris (October 1, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons review - It's not a trap"
.
Shacknews
. Retrieved
October 1,
2020
.
- ^
Holland, Luke (October 7, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons review ? childhood dreams, realised"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
October 7,
2020
.
- ^
Bailey, Kat (October 2, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadrons Review: The X-Wing Strikes Back"
.
USGamer
. Retrieved
October 2,
2020
.
- ^
Donaldson, Alex (October 1, 2020).
"Star Wars Squadrons review: EA's smallest scale Star Wars title yet ? but also its best"
.
VG247
. Retrieved
October 1,
2020
.
- ^
Wise, Josh (October 6, 2020).
"Star Wars: Squadron review"
. VideoGamer.com
. Retrieved
October 6,
2020
.
- ^
Tassi, Paul (December 11, 2020).
"Here's The Game Awards 2020 Winners List With A Near-Total 'Last Of Us' Sweep"
.
Forbes
.
- ^
"Game Audio Network Guild announces 19th Annual G.A.N.G. Award Winners"
.
Game Audio Network Guild
. April 28, 2021.
- ^
Romano, Sal (October 8, 2020).
"Famitsu Sales: 9/28/20 ? 10/4/20"
. Gematsu
. Retrieved
October 8,
2020
.
- ^
Dring, Christoper (October 4, 2020).
"Crash Bandicoot 4 narrowly beats Star Wars Squadrons to No.1 l UK Boxed Charts"
.
Gamesindustry.biz
. Retrieved
October 20,
2020
.
- ^
Dring, Christoper (October 9, 2020).
"Star Wars Squadrons stays on target to beat Crash Bandicoot UK Digital Charts"
.
Gamesindustry.biz
. Retrieved
October 20,
2020
.
- ^
"PLATTFORMUBERGREIFEND"
.
GameChartz.ch
. April 12, 2021. Archived from
the original
on April 12, 2021
. Retrieved
April 12,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Action
|
|
---|
Action-adventure
| Film adaptations
| |
---|
The Clone Wars
| |
---|
The Force Unleashed
| |
---|
Star Wars Jedi
| |
---|
|
---|
Arcade
| |
---|
Educational
| |
---|
Racing
| |
---|
Role-playing
|
|
---|
Simulation
|
|
---|
Strategy
| |
---|
First-person shooter
|
|
---|
Crossovers
|
|
---|
Cancelled games
| |
---|
|