Following an inadvertent store page leak over the weekend (which is less dangerous than a reactor leak, but no less embarrassing), EA today put out a cinematic trailer for its upcoming title Star Wars: Squadrons.
The trailer (very) briefly showed footage rendered from within the Frostbite-powered game, before transitioning to a pre-rendered cinematic. EA is promising more gameplay-related footage during the EA Play presentation on June 18. The trailer came the following summary:
Buckle up, take full control of starfighters such as the X-wing and TIE fighter, and feel the adrenaline of strategic first-person 5v5 multiplayer dogfights alongside your squadron. In a fateful campaign set near the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War, learn what it means to be a pilot in a thrilling STAR WARS™ single-player story. The New Republic fights for freedom. The Empire demands order. We need you to join the galaxy’s finest. STAR WARS™: Squadrons is available October 2, 2020 on PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Origin PC, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Virtual Reality (VR) on PlayStation 4 and PC with cross-play support.
The reaction to the trailer has not exactly been restrained, nor has it been completely enthusiastic. While the trailer sits at over 50k likes at the time of writing, more than a few people in the comments have made the comparison between the “Starfighter Assault” mode in Star Wars: Battlefront II and this new title. The skeptical question of why somebody would want to pay $60 USD for gameplay they can (presumably) already get in Battlefront II is not entirely unjustified, particularly given some of the controversial business decisions which accompanied Battlefront II.
However, further details suggest that Star Wars: Squadrons, while having a strong multiplayer element, will also be having an in-depth ship customization system to allow players to tweak their favorite ships to further enhance a given role. Of course, there is an equal degree of skepticism inherent in the claim that all ship customization components can be earned through play, considering the microtransactions in other EA titles. The interminable grind for certain “hero” characters in Battlefront II, combined with the “surprise mechanics” EA so poorly defended last year, soured a lot of players. We’ll have to see if things fall out different when the game releases in October.
Star Wars: Squadrons is set for release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. There is no word on whether a next-gen port is in the works.
