Star Wars Zero Company Aims to Transform the Clone Wars into a Personal Tactical Conflict - Preview

Do you remember the Clone Wars? It's the period in Star Wars when the galaxy explodes into an all-out conflict between the Republic and the Separatists, with clone armies, Jedi commanders, and battles fought on entire planets. It's also one of the most extensively chronicled phases of the saga, across cinema, television series, and video games, almost always focusing on large-scale military operations and the figures who decide the fate of the conflict.

Comics have also explored the less visible side of this war. Star Wars: Republic, especially in the arcs dedicated to Quinlan Vos, told stories of undercover missions, infiltrations, and increasingly blurred loyalties. Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, born from unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars, instead showed the clash between Sith, Separatists, Mandalorians, and criminal organizations operating on the fringes of the official conflict. These are probably the closest references to the narrative space Zero Company aims to inhabit.

Star Wars Zero Company indeed seems to want to start from the opposite side of large battles, recounting what happens far from the main front: sabotage, intelligence activities, insurrections, and missions that neither side could openly claim. The chosen format is that of a turn-based tactical game, and considering who is behind the project, it couldn't be otherwise. Bit Reactor was founded by genre veterans, including a game director who left Firaxis Games after twenty-two years with the intention of exploring how much this formula can still evolve after productions like XCOM.

The project is built around four principles: respect for the Star Wars universe, choices with tangible consequences, more cinematic combat, and a direct relationship between campaign management and what happens on the field. These are ambitious promises, but also quite familiar for a modern tactical game, so the full game will demonstrate how much they truly distinguish Zero Company.

The preview, at least from what we've seen, reveals a clear direction: Bit Reactor doesn't just want to tell the story of a company, but to ensure that relationships, decisions, and mission consequences create empathy for its characters.

The Untold War: How Does Espionage Work in Star Wars?

Bit Reactor defines the narrative context as "the war beneath the war", an effective phrase to immediately convey the idea of a conflict fought in the shadows. There won't just be droids to eliminate or outposts to conquer, but also undercover operations and that underworld of mercenaries, criminals, and scoundrels that Star Wars has made iconic through characters like Han Solo.

The choice of setting, therefore, doesn't just serve to justify the presence of Jedi, clones, and Mandalorians. It primarily serves to make credible a company capable of uniting former Republicans, Separatists, criminals, and characters who, under normal circumstances, would find themselves on opposing sides.

At the center of the story is Hawks, former captain of the 100th Clone Company and a customizable protagonist in terms of gender, species, appearance, and attire. A disastrous mission ended his military career and transformed him into a disillusioned commander, now more willing to trust credits than grand causes.

The dialogues heard in the preview build, however, quickly show that his cynicism does not equate to indifference. Hawks still retains a sense of responsibility towards the people he leads, even if what happened to him has made him lose faith in the institutions and ideals he once represented. More than a ruthless scoundrel, he seems like a man who has learned to act as such to avoid exposing himself again.

He still has an eye for talent. The new Zero Company is born from this ability and a very simple rule: it doesn't matter where an operative comes from, what they've done in the past, or which side of the war they supported. They must be capable and able to work with others.

This doesn't mean everyone suddenly becomes friends. On the contrary, the company seems designed precisely to bring together people who would have excellent reasons not to trust each other. This is where the Clone Wars setting stops being just a backdrop and becomes part of the team's very functioning.

On the opposite front is the Infinite Spiral, a paramilitary cult close to the Separatists that prepares for the arrival of droid armies by destabilizing planets through sabotage, terror, and insurrections. Its members voluntarily infect themselves with the Shadow Plague, a disease that kills weaker recruits and grants survivors greater resistance and anomalous abilities. It's a brutal form of selection that transforms suffering into a test of belonging.

Leading the cult is Kundri Fathom, a manipulator shrouded in mystery. Some claim she can use the Force, others that she is merely a skilled impostor, but what matters is the absolute loyalty she commands from her followers. In the preview, the character seemed fascinating, although what we've seen isn't yet enough to establish whether she can fully sustain the role of main antagonist.

Hawks and Fathom work with the same human material, but they do so in opposite ways. The former brings together different individuals because he recognizes the value of their abilities. The latter exploits fear and disillusionment to divide the world between those who belong to the group and those who must be fought.

It's a more interesting conflict, at least for now, than the mutations caused by the Shadow Plague itself. It remains to be seen whether Zero Company can bring this out through relationships, missions, and player choices, or if it will primarily rely on narrative scenes.

The More Different They Are, The More We Like Them

Zero Company allows the use of both original operatives, with precise backgrounds and written directly by the authors, and player-created characters, who can be recruited in the Hideout after unlocking the dedicated structure.

During the preview, we primarily used Trick, a clone from Hawks' old company who truly has character to spare. Originally known as CT-3301, he was wounded while saving Hawks during a Separatist attack on Antine. Despite a full recovery, he was declared unfit for military service and decided to follow his old commander into the new company. He is a soldier loyal to the Republic and his friends, but also a gambling enthusiast.

Alongside him is Kabbney "Kabb" Uppercut, a former boxer and criminal belonging to the Felshi, a new species created for the game. His cybernetic arm, rhyming speech, and the punch from which his nickname derives make him immediately recognizable.

On the field, Kabb proved particularly effective at close range. His Uppercut repels the enemy and, if the attack eliminates them, returns the action points spent, allowing him to continue his turn. When targets are positioned correctly, he can chain multiple eliminations, which is why we often used him first.

Among the characters who best express the company's contradictions is also Luco Bronc, a sharpshooter from Umbara. Luco defended his planet during the Republican invasion and has no sympathy for the army that defeated and occupied it. He nevertheless decides to put aside his resentment to collaborate with Hawks. This is exactly the kind of uncomfortable alliance that the setting should make interesting.

Jae Mordant, on the other hand, belongs to the ruthless House Mordant of Shu-Torun. After leaving her home planet, she built a mining citadel on Luunata, ruling it as Baroness of Minerals, before Fathom and the Infinite Spiral conquered the world on behalf of the Separatists. It was Jae herself who convinced the Republic to rely on Zero Company, and she has no intention of stopping until she reclaims what was taken from her. Those who wish to delve deeper into Shu-Torun can also check out the Darth Vader comic series dedicated to the planet's events.

Then we find Cly Kullervo, one of the last survivors of the ancient Verminoth Clan, who joined the company to pursue a personal vendetta. Her jetpack allows her to quickly reach a position, repel enemies, and set them on fire, making her very useful for controlling space and altering enemy disposition.

Completing the group is the Tognath Padawan Tel-Rea Vokoss, who joined Zero Company to honor the legacy of the Jedi Master she lost. In the build, her customization seemed more limited compared to Hawks and player-created operatives. Original heroes can still be aesthetically modified, but within stricter boundaries related to their identity.

All these figures live together in the Hideout, Zero Company's operational base built on the Kafrene Ring, the mining station seen in Rogue One. Coexistence is not just a narrative framework, because relationships developed during missions and operations can influence dialogues, stats, and abilities.

Customized operatives can be modified in appearance and attire throughout the campaign, while for Hawks and other player-created characters, the species can also be changed. In the preview, however, these recruits seemed more sketchily characterized than the original operatives.

The developers have promised recognizable archetypes and decent characterization for them too, but the difference was evident. It seems like a detail, yet in tactical games of this type, the distance between a character and a stat sheet matters a lot. Giving a soldier a name and changing their face isn't enough to make them feel alive, especially when they fight alongside figures with dialogues, relationships, and personal stories.

Bit Reactor still tries to reduce this distance without preventing the player from building the team they prefer. It will be possible to deploy a group composed entirely of clones or fill the field with astromechs, the small cylindrical droids made famous by R2-D2. Among these is also the BR1, a new model created specifically for the project.

And no, astromechs won't be limited to opening doors or repairing machinery. They can be equipped with incendiary bombs, thermal detonators, and anti-droid tools, becoming small mobile weapon platforms.

Each operative combines specialization, talent, primary weapon, and support items. Specialization does not automatically determine equipment, so a character can use different weapons and further modify their role through talents and upgrades.

Two medics can therefore function differently: one might use a pistol and focus on sabotage, while another might wield a repeater and increase rewards recovered during the mission. Later, it will also be possible to add a second specialization and build characters capable of covering multiple roles.

We couldn't test this part in the preview build, so judgment remains open. The possibility intrigues us, but it will need to be carefully balanced: greater freedom in building operatives is only useful as long as it doesn't make everyone capable of doing everything.

Operative Relationships Also Evolve Through Battles

The system that, more than any other, tries to hold the company together is that of operative relationships. Each pair starts from a neutral or negative condition, which can change by fighting together, participating in the same operation, or using collaborative abilities.

It's not just about filling a bar to get some extra dialogue. When a relationship levels up, both operatives receive Focus points and can access cross-training, gaining permanent stat bonuses. Reaching the maximum level also unlocks a more powerful and specific benefit for that pair.

The relationship also changes how characters speak to each other on the field. Two members who initially can't stand each other might grow closer after saving each other during a mission. If things go wrong, however, they might accuse or taunt each other while the player is still trying to get them back to the Hideout alive.

This is where team composition stops being a simple sum of classes. Always bringing the strongest operatives might seem like the best choice, but it also means leaving others on the sidelines and preventing some relationships from developing. Sometimes it can even make sense to deploy two less compatible characters together, accepting an immediate risk in the hope of building something useful for subsequent missions.

The relationship thus arises from a tactical decision and, in turn, modifies the possibilities available on the field. This is probably the clearest point where Zero Company tries to make story and gameplay communicate.

Relationships can also be tested away from battles. During certain Dilemmas on the galactic map, each company member expresses their opinion, and Hawks' choice can improve the relationship with some operatives while simultaneously worsening it with others. Thus, there is no single answer that can satisfy everyone, at least in intention.

The conditional remains necessary, because in the preview build we couldn't verify to what extent these variations truly manage to change the campaign. The observed bonuses primarily concerned health points, critical hits, and damage dealt during assists.

Assists themselves are one of the mechanics that convinced us the most. When the required conditions are met, an operative can call in a second team member. If the target is within their range of action, the companion opens fire and adds their damage to that of the main action.

It's not just a way to make attacks more spectacular. A good assist can eliminate an enemy before they have a chance to act, reduce the number of turns needed to end an encounter, or compensate for an initial attack that was less effective than expected.

Jae Mordant proved particularly useful in these situations. Her Final Shot talent causes her to automatically assist against low-health targets and, when the damage is sufficient, eliminate them. This changes the order in which it's best to attack enemies and allows some actions to be completed without spending additional points.

The presence of permanent death makes relationships even more important. With the option active, almost all operatives can die and disappear permanently from the campaign. Hawks represents the main exception: his fall causes mission failure, while other characters can be lost forever once they have permanently joined the team.

Death doesn't just depend on what happens in a single combat. When an operative is downed or faces a particularly dangerous operation, they can suffer a Wound, which reduces their stats. Infirmary beds require one Cycle to remove it, while the bacta tank allows immediate healing at a higher cost.

Upon the third Wound, the operative dies permanently. The player must therefore decide whether to continue deploying an already debilitated character, risking losing them, or temporarily forgo their abilities to allow them to recover.

With that character, not only does a well-equipped unit disappear. Hours of development, abilities, relationships, and a part of the story that the game had begun to build are erased.

It's also the most difficult narrative problem Bit Reactor will have to solve. The authors want to create recognizable characters with their own journeys, but simultaneously promise that journey can be cut short by a wrong decision or a particularly unlucky blow.

The names of the fallen are preserved in the Memorial in the Hideout, but building a monument isn't enough to truly make us feel the weight of their absence. The loss will have to change relationships between survivors, tactical possibilities, and, when necessary, even how the story progresses. Otherwise, it will remain a mechanical punishment accompanied by a purely decorative memory.

The Hideout Shouldn't Just Be a Well-Disguised Menu

Between missions, the company returns to the Hideout, hidden within a massive hangar on the Kafrene Ring. Here, the view abandons the isometric perspective of battles and switches to third-person, allowing the player to move between structures and speak directly with team members.

It's an important choice, as it tries to transform the base into a real place and not just a collection of menus. Here, new operatives are recruited, the wounded are healed, weapons and specializations are modified, items are bought on the black market, and company structures are improved.

Administering the Hideout is Runa Blask, head of finance and operations, still politically tied to Separatist ideals. Working with her are Neesh Renark, a Lasat with extensive experience in the criminal underworld who manages the Armory and keeps the ship running, and M-3VO, an evacuation medical droid with a fair amount of sarcasm.

The idea is to transform the Hideout into a living space, capable of showing what is happening to the company without relying solely on screens and statistics. In the build we had, however, we didn't notice significant visual changes during progression, which is a shame.

In games like this, the base isn't just strategically important. It's also the place where the player should see what they've built grow. And let's admit it, how satisfying is it to add rooms, objects, and structures, even when they don't really serve any purpose?

The structures do have specific functions, however. In the Personnel area, the team is managed, Focus points are spent, and relationships are observed. The Armory allows changing weapons, installing modifications, equipping support items, and accessing the black market. Recruitment allows hiring new operatives, although space in the Hideout is limited and must be expanded during the campaign.

The upgrade structure, on the other hand, allows purchasing improvements valid for the entire company and for other areas of the base. Each construction requires at least one Cycle and occupies an available space, so it's not possible to develop everything at the same time. One must choose whether to invest first in team capacity, equipment quality, healing, or other strategic advantages.

The Holotable Turns Time into a Resource

The center of operations is the holotable, which hosts an interactive galactic map with over 150 planets. The number is impressive, although it says little about the quality of available activities. More interesting is how the map connects operations, combat, and progression.

The galaxy is divided into twelve Zones. By completing operations and tactical missions, or assigning contacts, the player increases the Influence exerted in a given area. Reaching certain thresholds allows obtaining rewards, including particularly rare weapons and modifications.

Not everything turns into a battle. Some assignments involve espionage, meetings with contacts, information retrieval, or situations resolved by choosing which operatives to send and how to react to unforeseen events.

During one of these operations, for example, the player might be tasked with recovering credits on behalf of a Hutt and decide whether to let the debtor go or demand more than is due. The characters involved react to the choice, while those sent together can strengthen their relationship.

Operations, however, require Intel, primarily obtained by completing tactical missions. This creates a fairly clear cycle: you fight to gather information, this information is invested in operations, and the rewards obtained serve to improve the company before the next encounter.

Time and resources do not allow following every lead. Opportunities appear and disappear, while the presence of the Infinite Spiral changes based on operations completed or ignored. In some cases, one must choose which enemy technology to counter, accepting that another continues to advance.

It's not a particularly original solution, but it manages to make the enemy's pressure felt while the player decides where to intervene. The Cycles system makes the choice more concrete. Starting a tactical mission advances the campaign to the next Cycle, so it's advisable to close any open activities in the Hideout before departing.

As in many strategy games, there isn't enough time to complete everything. One must choose whether to pursue a narrative thread, strengthen relationships between operatives, obtain new resources, build an upgrade, or slow down the Infinite Spiral.

The value of the map will therefore not depend on the number of planets, but on the weight of the sacrifices. If ignoring an operation produces a recognizable change, the campaign can truly feel alive. If lost opportunities are simply replaced by other icons, it will remain just a very large map.

Spectacular Missions, But Always Legible

Tactical missions should last between fifteen and forty-five minutes and include sabotage, rescues, elimination of important targets, skirmishes to obtain resources, and assignments dedicated to individual operatives.

Team, weapons, specializations, and environment determine how to approach them. Kabb can hurl enemies against destructible elements or off a ledge, while the Force can be used to push an opponent into the line of fire of a waiting companion. Cly can land in the middle of a group, displace enemies, and set them on fire. Armed astromechs do the rest.

Weapons also follow different logics. Pistols cost few action points and can be used multiple times, while long-barreled rifles require a greater investment but inflict more damage and increase the chances of a critical hit. Repeaters consume all available points, rewarding those who decide to focus the entire turn on a single attack.

The comparison with XCOM is inevitable, but stopping at that definition would be reductive. Zero Company wants to add a stronger character presence to the tactical structure, through dialogues, animations, and reactions that accompany what happens on the field.

The cinematic component, however, must not slow down or obscure combat. In a tactical game, the player must immediately understand who they can hit, which cover is safe, and what they risk losing. The elegance Bit Reactor speaks of will be measured primarily here: making the conflict spectacular without hiding the information needed to face it.

The studio has planned several difficulty levels, including a mode dedicated to those who primarily want to follow the story. This is a sensible choice, as many players might come for Star Wars without knowing the genre. Making the rules clearer helps everyone. Completely eliminating risk, however, produces a different experience, especially in a game that uses the possibility of loss to give value to the company.

Without permanent death, characters and battles remain, but an important part of the tension built around them is lost.