EA Play 2020 is behind us now and the most notable presence at this year’s virtual format of the show was Motive’s upcoming Star Wars Squadrons. The new gameplay trailer and the few interviews we got out of the developers during the show, reveal a lot more information about what exactly the game will be and how will it differ from Star Wars Battlefront 2’s Starfighter Assault!
In my first preview of Star Wars Squadron article I covered what this game is. In brief, before we begin with the more interesting stuff: Star Wars Squadrons is a first-person Star Wars flying experience video game, available for PC, PS5 and Xbox One, including VR. The game releases on October 2 2020. It will have a single player story campaign and a multiplayer mode.
Star Wars Squadrons vs Starfighter Assault – what will be different
First and foremost, Star Wars Squadrons is a first-person game. You pilot your ships from within the cockpit and will rarely get to see the outside of your ship during battle.
Squadrons will be a stand-alone game. It will cost $39.99 on release and aims to hit your nostalgia feelings hard.
Motive has designed Squadrons to be quite different in both visuals and gameplay experience from the Starship Assault mode in Battlefrotn 2. Squadrons should feel more like a simulation, rather than an arcade.
This may be a game we didn’t expect, but as it turns out quite a few of us, the older gamers and Star Wars fans, were secretly hoping for it to come one day.
Motive’s devs actually explain how they did draw expiration from scenes from the movies. Creative director Ian Frazier gave examples with the Poe’s flight scene from the beginning of The Last Jedi and the battles in Rogue One.
Squadrons is also a form of a spiritual successor to the old classics TIE Fighter and X-Wing video games from the end of the twentieth century.
You will not be able to switch from first-person to third-person perspective. It will happen automatically in rare moments from the story or in some cinematic intros or mid-action scenes in the multiplayer mode.
That is a bit of an issue for me. I may have enjoyed the aforementioned games more than twenty years ago, but today I would 100% prefer to have a third person experience, even if it’s at the cost of getting an arcade type of flying experience. What about you?
What will Star Wars Squadrons Single Player Campaign be like
From the first reveal trailer we knew that Squadrons will offer single player campaign. From the gameplay trailer, released for EA Play, we learned that the campaign will feature gameplay from both sides.
You will start by creating two pilots – one for the Empire and one for the New Republic. The action will happen in parallel and you will get to see both sides of the conflict. The events of Squadrons take place shortly after the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
The single player campaign is intended to introduce you to the various ships you will get to pilot in the multiplayer mode. It almost feels like it’s created as a tutorial for it.
When asked about the game’s single player campaign’s duration, creative director Ian Frazier gave a very strange yet revealing the possible dark truth answer.
“It varies quite a bit from player to player, but also based on difficulty mode. We are still in the process of testing, so I am very hesitant to go for specific numbers, but we are trying to land on something that feels satisfying, but doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’m pretty happy with where we are at right now, but am not comfortable to throw a number just yet.”
This screams loudly and clearly that the story is short. Motive was responsible for the single player story in Battlefront 2. They did a rather good job with Eiden’s “transformation” from an Empire pilot to a Republic Hero.
The fact that all the advertising and previews prior to release pointed out to the fact that we will get to see the Empire’s side this time around and get to explore the story from their point of view, turned out a lie.
This nearly ruined for me the single player experience. The gameplay was a good mix of ground and flight. Overall I wished it to be longer.
If Squadrons sells for $40 and the creative director is hesitant to tell us the duration of the campaign some three to four months before release, then the answer is not something we will like. That’s for sure.
If I was a troll, I would even go as deep as to drag the game’s early project secret title “Project Incom”. Was Squadrons made purely for EA to extract a few more dollars from us?
The answer to that question is usually among the details of what and how will we be able to purchase as microtransactions in the game. It’s an EA game, so naturally, they would want an additional income after the initial purchase, right?
Will Squadrons have microtransactions
To my personal surprise Ian and everyone else firmly confirmed at EA Play that Star Wars Squadrons will not contain any form of microtransactions.
In Squadrons there will be no store. Not for cosmetics, not for anything else. You will still be able to modify your ships both in terms of performance and in visual appearance, but all of this will come through gameplay.
Pre-ordering Squadrons will give you a few skins as a gift. Here these are truly a gift. The game doesn’t have different editions. There is only one version and if you pre-order it, you get the few bonuses. EA Access members will be able to try a 10 hours long demo of the game.
This game is not going to be a true live service like SWTOR and Battlefront. It will be a stand-alone title, which strangely why relies more on its multiplayer mode than the story campaign.
What will you be able to personalize on your Ship in Squadrons
First, let’s talk about the ships you will get to pilot!
Some of the iconic Star Wars starfighters you will get to pilot in the single player campaign. Some will remain unlocked for multiplayer until you gain enough gameplay time or earn a specific achievement to unlock them.
- The X-Wing / TIE Fighter is an all-rounder starfighter type of a ship.
- The Interceptor is built for dogfighting and is lightning fast and light
- The Y-Wing / SA Bomber is quite sluggish, but it packs a ton of stamina and firepower
- The U-Wing / RP-Reaper is a support craft, designed to help other pilots in their missions by keeping them alive
Each ship handles differently in battle and you should feel very unique in the cockpit of each one of them. I remember how BioWare said the exact same thing about Anthem’s Javelin suits and this turned out to be true. In Anthem each individual exosuit feels and plays very differently. Hopefully Motive has managed to achieve that with Squadrons.
Each ship will have a number of slots you can customize. Here is a list of ship component types you will be able to modify:
- Primary Weapons
- Auxiliary (x2)
- Countermeasures
- Hull
- Shields
- Engines
Balancing the strong sides and trade-offs of the individual components will make your own build unique and tailored to your personal taste.
Ian Frazier said in an interview for IGN that they designed the game to make it easy for everyone to sit down and take control of the ship easy.
Figuring out how to target and shoot lasers is just the topping, though. The gameplay mechanics get much deeper the more you progress and become an experienced pilot.
An advanced player will know how to operate the various systems for each ship to take the advantage they offer. When to move power to the front or back shields, how to plan and execute complex maneuvers and which modules to equip before the battle – these are all important aspects each pilot would need to master if they want to be the best.
What locations will we visit in Star Wars Squadrons
The trailers and interviews from EA Play are quite vague on the details of where exactly the single player campaign and the multiplayer modes will take us.
The game’s official website has a bit of info on that topic already. Here are the locations we will play in or around:
- Yavin Prime
- Esseles
- Nadiri Dockyards
- Sissubo
- Galitan
- Zavian Abyss
There is no word if these are all or some of the worlds available, but that’s more than I personally expected. That $40 price keeps dragging my expectations down, D’OH!
What Multiplayer Modes will be available
When you finish with the single player story campaign, however short or long it may be, you will reach the main reason why Squadrons is developed – for the multiplayer experience.
Squadrons is designed to be played by five players in a team. A well-prepared group of pilots is going to be a key factor for your success.
Squadrons will offer two multiplayer modes:
- Dogfighting – 5vs5 skirmishes with a simple task – take down more ships of your opponents than they take of your team. In this more ship loadout and team awareness is essential.
- Fleet Battles – attack or defend strategic locations once again in a team of five players. The missions will be split into several stages through which you have to either push forward or push back the attackers.
Dissection of the Squadrons Gameplay Trailer
Because it is never enough to just overview an event and list everything that was revealed, said or slipped through the mouths of the devs and representatives, it is now time to take a deeper dive and check out some of the scenes from the gameplay trailer.
Here is the Star Wars Squadrons Gameplay Trailer from EA Play 2020:
