A fantastic Star Wars sport? In 2026? That’s what the streets are saying. Early evaluations for Star Wars Zero Firm are buzzing about its wonderful characters and enjoyable techniques gameplay, with some even suggesting it needs to be within the operating for Sport of the Yr.
A joint collaboration between Respawn Leisure and Bit Reactor, the most recent Star Wars online game adaptation takes the galaxy-changing occasions of the Clone Wars and funnels them by way of an XCOM-like turn-based tactical method, full with moments again at base to debrief together with your squadmates and permadeath if you wish to expertise maximal heartbreak for lacking a 99-percent hit fee assault.
The embargo lifted for the preliminary wave of evaluations earlier at this time, registering the sport at an 86 on the score-aggregating website Metacritic. PC Gamer‘s Ted Litchfield prompt Star Wars Zero Firm is “among the finest video games of 2026.” Home windows Central known as it a brand new benchmark for the style. Not everybody’s praising it, nevertheless. Shacknews‘ Lucas White known as the expertise “weighed down by sauceless writing and a plot with the narrative weight of a non-canon shonen anime movie.”
Whereas Kotaku will ultimately publish its personal evaluate within the days forward, right here’s what individuals are saying within the meantime.
Star Wars Zero Firm is a superb tactical sport that does a improbable job of slathering on the identical cinematic appear and feel we noticed in Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi video games, incorporating sturdy characters and a storyline that’s refreshingly centered on non-Pressure customers and a non-traditional villain. There’s extra of an emphasis on cooperation and adaptability, and a tighter concentrate on smaller maps that encourage a radically completely different and extra aggressive playstyle. It may not have the legendary stage of replayability that’s saved XCOM 2 in my rotation for a decade, however its prolonged story marketing campaign is greater than value a minimum of a few playthroughs earlier than you may see every little thing and get the dangle of its nuanced fight and synergies. – Dan Stapleton
Not solely is the writing genuinely humorous and quick-witted, however the sport will get throughout what it’s wish to be a background participant in a method that extra Jedi-centric tales can’t. Members of your squad have allegiances to both aspect of the battle (or neither), however like most individuals with political beliefs, these views don’t outline their each motion. [Protagonist] Hawks’ squad isn’t serving to the Republic army out of patriotism, however as a result of their short-term targets occur to align. This friction ultimately involves the forefront in an extremely satisfying method, as what was as soon as background noise turns into an ever-present actuality. Whereas not as instantly tuned into political happenings as Andor, this story works as a surprisingly incisive prequel, depicting a gradual descent into fascism with uncomfortable poignancy. – Elijah Gonzalez
Typically you play a sport the place its inspirations are by no means in query. Hardly ever has that been extra evident in current reminiscence than with Star Wars Zero Firm from Bit Reactor, a studio based by former XCOM builders. Whereas it’s extra than simply an XCOM-like techniques sport with Star Wars stylings, the outline nonetheless holds up underneath scrutiny – with the wonderful tactical gameplay and useful resource administration buoying what’s in any other case only a competent if unremarkable story and characters. – James Galizio
The most important achievement of Star Wars Zero Firm is how a lot it made me care a couple of universe that has grown achingly uninteresting and predictable in recent times. It not often innovates with its fight or characters, nevertheless it doesn’t need to after they’re each this properly executed. Battles are nuanced video games of chess the place each single transfer issues, whereas the non-public tales of every companion tugged at my heartstrings in methods I might have by no means anticipated from a title like this. By changing the sunshine and darkish with a demonstrable shade of gray, Zero Firm is ready to present us precisely what Star Wars is able to in the proper fingers. – Jade King
That is the very best Star Wars gaming expertise I’ve had in years – probably since Knights of the Previous Republic, which I do know is a reasonably excessive bar. It’s additionally true that Zero Firm generally is a little ropey and just a little tough across the edges. I noticed some fairly manky bugs, and there’s nothing worse than mis-ordering a unit as a result of the digital camera is bugging out. I hope that every one will get ironed out considerably in patches – however in the end, it’s nonetheless an exhilarating expertise. I can see a whole lot of hours logged on this in my future; that makes it worthy of the Star Wars title, and of the XCOM non secular successor standing. – Alex Donaldson
Even when the sport is idling, ready so that you can punch in your subsequent set of orders, laser fireplace will dance throughout the battlefield, as each side lay down suppressive fireplace. Sometimes, one in every of these blasts will join with Tel-Rea’s lightsaber and be deflected with an easy flick of the wrist. And each time, my eyes mild up like a toddler watching their favorite toys come to life. – Alex Spencer
Minor points apart, Star Wars Zero Firm is likely one of the greatest video games of 2026 and a brand new all-timer Star Wars videogame. Whereas I don’t see it having the modding/sandbox “eternally sport” gravity of XCOM 2, it’s wonderful, substantial, and extremely replayable. I’ve discovered it to be a mic drop of a debut from Bit Reactor, a way that’s solely compounded by its crowd-pleasingly anachronistic price ticket of $50. –
Man is it ever slowed down in a number of the most uninspired Star Wars-themed storytelling and character work I’ve ever handled. It wouldn’t be so unhealthy if the storytelling took a backseat to the fight, however this sport clearly expects you to be strapped in for each, and took its candy time boring me to demise between skirmishes. I can see the imaginative and prescient although, and maybe that made the middling stuff all of the extra irritating. I too yearn for the potential of Star Wars’ grittier settings made manifest in RPG type, and that’s what Zero Firm confirmed as much as ship. It simply doesn’t have the sauce.. – Lucas White
