Star Wars Squadrons is well received by many players & fans. Even MeinMMO author Maik Schneider enjoys the title. However, after the first hours, he believes he won’t launch the space fighter hunts as often as he had hoped.
What is Star Wars Squadrons? A new spaceship game that I was really looking forward to. The space simulation lets us pilot familiar starfighters from the vast science fiction universe “Star Wars” and sends us into battles in the “Star Wars” style in Story mode or Multiplayer. The new game from EA has good ratings on Metacritic and receives a lot of love.
Last weekend, I completed the story and already spent several hours in Multiplayer, and I must say: It is truly a fun experience.
You fly through the vastness of space in authentically designed cockpits of X-Wings or TIE Fighters and battle iconic spaceships that have delivered spectacular battles in the films. Rockets, lasers, and fan service flew all around me, creating a spectacular atmosphere. Truly a fantastic experience.
However, I must also say that I was expecting more playtime. As great as the game is: It currently seems that not much will come after the story, and I was actually hoping for something different.
A great game for fans and space pilots – But…
What are the drawbacks of Squadrons? It’s the meager multiplayer mode. Until the release, I thought that with the new “Star Wars” title, we would be served a space combat game with a clear focus on the multiplayer mode.
It was already clear that Squadrons wouldn’t be a service game that provides new content for years. However, what is currently available in multiplayer can hardly keep you engaged for a week – if at all.
There are only 2 different modes available, and the solo campaign offers no co-op mode, which would have been excellent.
No question: The game is good, maybe even very good. And if you fly over the battlefields with several friends, formation flying and covering each other is a lot of fun. But my expectations were different – less story, but more motivation in multiplayer.
Multiplayer offers little incentive to stay longer
What was I hoping for? A few more modes, perhaps more ships or at least a motivating ranking or cosmetic system.
Especially the matches could use more variety. Here I even see a setback compared to space battles in Battlefront 2. In the big brother, you could earn hero ships like the Millennium Falcon during the battles. That was very motivating for me and made the battles more engaging.
The same goes for the ranking system and acquiring cosmetics. The system has been kept as simple as possible in Star Wars: Squadrons:
- Ship equipment costs requisition points
- Cosmetics cost glory
- Both can be earned through leveling up
- You can also earn extra glory through small missions
There is also a kind of “Battle Pass” that lasts for 60 days. If I complete 10 tasks during this time, I get a stylish helmet of the New Republic. When I looked at this, I even felt a little bit mocked.
“Here you have a cool game, but the fun you have to create yourself.” – What works really well in Minecraft isn’t appealing to me at all in Star Wars Squadrons.
Also, the rank system, which assesses my performance in fleet battles, can’t change much. Here, I can only farm more glory for cosmetics that don’t excite me. I didn’t want 1,000 hours of engagement, but a little more motivation would have been beneficial to the game, in my opinion.
The only things that slightly excite me are the 3 different toys for the cockpit (trinket, hologram, dashboard figure). But the trinket of the Naboo Starfighter only reminds me that I can’t fly this cool part in Squadrons.
EA also plans nothing major for the game. Ian Frazier, Creative Director of Star Wars: Squadrons, spoke in an interview with the English site “UploadedVR” about the future of Squadrons. He stated: “We are currently not planning to add new content.” He does also say “Never say never,” but I have little hope for content that would turn the multiplayer around after these statements.
It’s a shame, Star Wars Squadrons. I really hoped that we would see each other more often. But a motivating multiplayer mode looks different.
Thanks to fan factor and story, it’s worth the money
Why it’s still worth the money: In the end, you won’t regret buying the game. It’s not a full-price title and only asks for “30 to 40€” of your hard-earned money. In return, it delivers a strong “Star Wars” story with top-notch graphics that makes every fan’s mouth water.
It also runs in VR and quite well. The colleagues at GameStar say it is stunning in VR if you have the right hardware.
Also, the multiplayer offers several hours of fun, and especially with friends, the starfighter simulation really picks up. However, as the battles slowly repeat, it quickly runs out of steam.
I think I can get around 30 hours out of the game with story & multiplayer – the campaign took me about 8 hours. That’s quite decent, and I don’t want to complain. But I find it a bit disappointing.
A glimmer of hope remains: If the game is successful, there’s a possibility of a second part and possibly a bigger multiplayer. I’m also willing to pay for a full-price title for that. Because the only thing Star Wars Squadrons is missing, in my opinion, is a substantial amount of content. Otherwise, it has become a really good “Star Wars” game.
Do you feel the same way as I do or are you more satisfied with Squadrons? Or do you have a negative view of the space adventure? MyMMO colleague Jürgen Horn also thinks the game is great, but he unfortunately lacks a coveted piece of hardware to fully enjoy Squadrons.
