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Even if youâre unfamiliar with the term âemergent storytellingâ, youâve likely experienced some of the unscripted tales that can bubble up out of a gameâs systems. Perhaps youâve led a scheming dynasty in Crusader Kings, or watched a favourite hero succumb to madness in Darkest Dungeon. Maybe youâve surrendered yourself to the infinite yarn-spinner that is Dwarf Fortress â or read about it from the mid-00s forums where users helped popularise the term âLetâs Playâ by chronicling their games in descriptive posts. Or perhaps youâve played Firaxisâ XCOM, the alien invasion tactics hit that several key members of Zero Company studio Bit Reactor had a hand in.
Zero Company hinges on a concept as simple as it is perfect: take the complementary class abilities, tough dice rolls, and permanent character deaths of XCOM, and house them in a sci-fi setting known for spaghetti western blaster duels, last stands and heroic sacrifices. As creative director Greg Foertsch puts it, âStar Wars is about loss.â Which losses you end up mourning in Zero Company depends on you.
In theory, anyway. The game echoes Rogue One in its titular company of doomed misfits, but despite selling permadeath as a looming threat in the scripted tutorial, things rarely get dicey enough to put your squad in real danger. Even on its toughest difficulty, Zero Company feels reluctant to let a stray thermal detonator cut your companionsâ stories short, blunting much of its potential for unscripted drama.
But in lieu of heroic sacrifices, Zcom (as I like to call it) is exceptional at telling a different kind of emergent story. Ones about iron-clad camaraderie and uneasy alliances. About the time your Mandalorian medic jetted in to heal your Jedi right on time, or the begrudging ânice shotâ your clone trooper paid a former enemy sniper. The script feels designed to sell your mercenaries as an inseparable, dysfunctional family. Unironically, this one really is about the friends you make along the way.
Each fight is a reminder that Zero Company have each otherâs backs. After an opening shot at enemy droids, you might have Kabb â a squat, bulbous alien scoundrel who speaks entirely in cutesy anastrophes â rush over and punch a hulking robot straight down a ravine. âWhatâs for supper? Cutty-upper!â, he declares for the third time in 15 minutes, met by some variations of ânicely doneâ from a random squadmate. Kabbâs still in bad shape from last turn, so you have your Astromech launch over healing stim. Kabb grabs it mid-air, slams it into his bicep, thanks the droid, and a notification tells you their bond has gotten stronger. Thatâll mean a nice stat bump for them both later.
As all this happens, the battlefield buzzes with noise and motion. Idle combatants trade harmless potshots, ducking behind cover. Blaster holes sizzle through steel barriers. Battle Droids mock your missed shots, babbling âoh no!â like exploding lemmings when their comrades fall. There is so much personality in the different ways characters move. Gangers scramble down ladders. Astromechs bump into crates, then jump-jet over. Jedi leap and flip, and droids curl and spin like chrome woodlice. Through it all, veteran Star Wars composer Gordy Haab underscores every peril and triumph, paying pitch-perfect tribute to the textures of John Williamsâ original score.
Between missions, youâll return to the Den: a streamlined but engaging take on the customisation and upgrades of XCOMâs command centre, with the hangout space of Mass Effectâs Normandy. Via a galaxy map, youâll spend intel, collect rewards, and make tough choices about which upgrades to deny your foes. Itâs also here youâll learn about your crewâs pasts. If youâve got the time, you can even join them on personal quests.
I havenât mentioned Zero Companyâs overarching plot so far, mainly because thereâs little worth mentioning. Its central threat, the Infinite Coil, are a tiresomely exoticised, first-draft cult with ill-defined goals, evidently concocted because the combat needed an enemy faction with some flavour of space magic for varietyâs sake. The enemyâs reliance on healing and damage negation â a clumsy workaround for AI that canât keep up with your teamâs escalating stats and skills â results in some laborious late-game encounters.
These are by far the weakest parts of an otherwise brilliant debut from Bit Reactor, however. And even when the plot falters, touching character moments join digestible, deeply human explorations of this era of Star Warsâ byzantine factional politics. XCOMâs success has influenced countless turn-based tactics games. Few have made squeezing joyfully absurd heroics out of a handful of action points feel this good. Fewer have made me grin so hard at a final lucky shot during a last-second evacuation. Thatâs my squad down there, after all.
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