As someone who frequently finds themselves embroiled in gargantuan, branching RPGs and spends far too much time in live service romps, I really appreciate a game I don't need to dedicate my life to—a nice palette cleanser that's one and done. And it looks like Star Wars Zero Company falls into that category.
In a recent Discord Q&A, developer Bit Reactor tackled the subject of game length, and while I certainly wouldn't call it short, it does sound pretty manageable. "Depending on your difficulty level and experience with the strategy genre, we estimate about 30-40 hours for the average player to complete the main story campaign," said lead producer Caydence Funk.
We also know it's going to be a linear deal, with no branching paths or romances between operatives. So there are not a whole lot of reasons to dive back in once you've already concluded your Clone Wars misadventure.
There's no New Game+ mode, either, though Funk notes that "players will unlock certain customisation options on subsequent playthroughs". I doubt I'll feel compelled to play again just for some extra customisation options, and honestly without an NG+ mode I feel like Bit Reactor should just give us everything in one playthrough.
At this point, the only thing that would encourage me to play through it multiple times is modding, but nope, there won't be any official mod support.
Aside from the lack of mod support, this isn't miles away from XCOM 2, which was also technically a linear game, though there were plenty of tactical choices you could make, especially in the War of the Chosen expansion with its different factions.
It's probably good news for folks who bounced off Midnight Suns, which was full of platonic relationships for you to develop and a mountain of optional diversions. Personally, I loved all that nonsense, but I'm looking forward to a new tactical romp that doesn't swallow up my life.
Zero Company is a little over a month away, launching on August 27, ending a pretty dry period with few notable releases, aside from a couple of remakes. I am ready for some clone fun.
