
I really didn’t expect this going in, but I can definitely see myself playing this game on a regular basis if EA commits to it and fleshes it out over the next few years.
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I might not be topping every leaderboard, but I’m still doing relatively well with a HOTAS and learning how to fly has been so rewarding. I’ve heard that controller players have an advantage over peripheral peeps due to the simplified aiming system, but I really don’t care. If you have no intention of getting a HOTAS I can certainly still recommend Squadrons for the gameplay alone, but if you have the means you’ll struggle to use anything else, I feel. Luckily the control scheme isn’t as complex as Flight Simulator, and is easy to pick up across all of the input devices. I feel like EA should have bundled the game with a HOTAS, because on keyboard and mouse or controller it feels strangely lifeless, like you’re playing a pastiche of space flight rather than actually experiencing it in all of its technical nuance.
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Flight for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 a few months ago, and even though it feels fantastic, I’m now regretting that decision and looking for upgrades with vibration and more clinical control. It’s even more exciting when you’re using a HOTAS. Curving the torso of an A-Wing through the carcass of a desolate cruiser to lock and tap a TIE Fighter with a salvo of cluster missiles is easily some of the most fun I’ve had playing video games in 2020. While I love the fact that this game even has a campaign, and I want to support that endeavour, it just wasn’t much to shout about.īut, oh boy, will you start hollering when you dig into Star Wars Squadrons’ multiplayer component. I think this compromise would have really given the campaign an identity because it’s such a shame that it’s being totally overshadowed by the awesome multiplayer. It felt clear that this was a multiplayer game first, which is why I think it’s quite strange that you can’t play the campaign in co-op with your friends.

I didn’t end up caring much about any of the characters, but there were some really solid set pieces in there. The writing is clearly passionate but quite trite, most likely hamstrung by the elusive licence. The story mode ultimately didn’t really click with me.

If I wasn’t being chased down by TIE Fighters and dodging missiles, I’d be over there trying to chomp my way through the set dressing like it’s a Star Wars caesar salad. The skyboxes in Squadrons – usually framed by gigantic warships – are filled with delectable globs of pastel clouds that are simply breathtaking. Skywalking all over these Imperial traitors has never felt so immersive, and after a few missions, I was already convinced that the game had delivered upon its lofty ambitions, to hone in and become the new standard for galactic dogfighting. It is precisely what I had in mind when I was six-years-old watching Anakin destroy the Trade Federation in his Naboo starfighter. Playing Star Wars Squadrons in virtual reality with a hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) peripheral is the closest I’ve ever been to the true Star Wars space flight experience.
