The Campaign Takes Place Towards the End of the Galactic War
Things You Should Know Before Starting Star Wars: Squadrons
While the campaign may not be the primary reason you’re interested in Star Wars: Squadrons, it’s absolutely well-worth your time.
The campaign follows the stories of two pilots; one is a new recruit for the New Republic, the other the Empire. Over the course of its 16 missions, the campaign frequently switches perspectives, allowing you to see the fallout of your actions from both sides.
Most importantly for you avid Star Wars fans, Squadrons is set towards the end of the Galactic War which saw forces between the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic battle it out following the collapse of the peace treaty that had tenuously lasted for the previous 12 years.
Don’t worry if you’re not clued up on all of this Star Wars background, though. You’ll still be able to enjoy the campaign if you’re a relative newcomer to the franchise.
The Whole Game Is Playable in VR
While we’re on the topic of the campaign, I find myself obligated to tell you that the entire campaign is playable in VR and — if you have a compatible headset — you should absolutely play it this way. In fact, the entire game is playable in VR and only adds to the immersive Star Wars aerial dogfighting experience on offer.
Worried you’d get motion sick with all those barrel rolls and drifts? Don’t be. Having played Squadrons in VR for a good few hours now, I never felt queasy. In fact, I didn’t feel any discomfort at all.
In case you’re wondering, these are the compatible VR headsets for Star Wars Squadrons:
- Valve Index
- PSVR
- Oculust Rift
- HTC Vive
- Windows Mixed Reality
Component Unlocks
Things You Should Know Before Starting Star Wars: Squadrons
Here’s a progression-related tidbit for you. If you unlock say, the Quadex Jet Engine for the New Republic’s X-Wing, you won’t unlock it across every one of your ships for both factions.
Instead, purchasing the Quadex Jet Engine will only unlock it for your New Republic ships, as it is a part only used by their starfighters. If you wanted to get and use a similar engine for the Empire faction, you’ll have to spend the extra Requisition to unlock it again.
To simplify things, the component names will be different for the New Republic and Empire factions. For example, the New Republic’s Quadex Jet Engine equivalent for the Empire is called the Twin Ion Jet Engine.
There’s No Planned Content Post-Launch
One of my biggest criticisms of Star Wars: Squadrons is that there just isn’t enough of it. With only six maps available at launch, two multiplayer modes and four starfighters per faction, the multiplayer offering can come across a little barebones. Not to mention there’s a good chance you’ll end up playing the same map back-to-back-to-back, as I experienced.
That being said, it is priced at $40, so it’d be a little unfair to argue it should have as many multiplayer maps and modes as Call of Duty. But the occasional new map or game mode thrown in post-launch would definitely go a long way in keeping us playing for the long-term.
Unfortunately, we can confirm there are no plans for any post-launch content. In a virtual Q&A attended by Twinfinite, Creative Director Ian Frazier confirmed that the team has “no new content planned at this time.” That doesn’t mean things can’t change, and we certainly hope they do, but us fans will just have to collectively cross our fingers for now.
You Can Use Flight Sticks
Things You Should Know Before Starting Star Wars: Squadrons
If you’re looking to up your immersion game one step further, then you’ll be delighted to know that Star Wars: Squadrons supports flight sticks on both PC and console.
There’s nothing quite like using a HOTAS set-up to really make you feel like you’re in the pit of a TIE Fighter, gunning down New Republic starfighters with pinpoint precision. Combine that with VR and you’re in for a real treat.
Here’s a list of the the flight sticks that have been tested with Star Wars Squadrons:
- Saitek x52
- Saitek X-55 Rhino
- Thrustmaster t1600M
- Logitech Extreme 3D Pro
- Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas One (Xbox One)
- Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas 4 (PS4)
This does come with a bit of a disclaimer though. You’ll need to manually map controls to suit your specific set-up, but all of this can be done within the game’s settings.
Multiplayer Is Cross-Play Across All Platforms
As we come to the end of the current gen, and peek excitedly around the corner at the next-gen consoles from both Sony and Microsoft, we’re beginning to see the big multiplayer wall between the two break down.
More and more games have introduced cross-play compatibility across all platforms over the past year, and Star Wars: Squadrons continues that trend.
Star Wars: Squadrons is fully cross-play compatible across all platforms, meaning you can play on PC, and play with your two friends playing on the PS4 and Xbox One versions respectively. This means you can buy for your preferred platform without having to worry about coordinating your planned purchase with friends. Simple! And everyone likes simple.
There Are No Microtransactions
Things You Should Know Before Starting Star Wars: Squadrons
Yes, you read that right. EA has clearly opted not to mix microtransactions with its Star Wars licensed games for the time being, following the Star Wars Battlefront II debacle at launch in 2017.
Instead, all cosmetics and ship parts in the game are unlocked with Glory and Requisition — Squadrons’ two currencies — respectively. You’ll get a chunk of each every time you level up, and additional Glory can be earned by completing Daily Challenges.
What’s more, you’ll have enough Requisition to unlock every starfighter component by the time you reach level 40, meaning you’re not looking at an unrealistic grind of 200 levels before you get that sweet Ewok bobblehead.
There Are Difficulty Trophies for the Campaign
Last but not least for you trophy and achievement hunters out there, you’ll want to play on the hardest difficulty you feel you can manage when playing the campaign if you want to get that Platinum trophy/1000 Gamerscore as quickly as possible.
Star Wars Squadrons has four difficulty trophies tied to each of its difficulty settings — Story, Pilot, Veteran, and Ace. These do stack, though, so if you play through and beat the game on Ace difficulty, you’ll unlock the other three with it.
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