STAR WARS: Squadrons

🔥 What is STAR WARS: Squadrons for PC

STAR WARS: Squadrons is a first-person space combat game developed by Motive Studios and published by Electronic Arts, designed as a focused and immersive experience within the Star Wars universe. Released for PC and other major platforms, the game places players directly in the cockpit of iconic starfighters from both the New Republic and the Galactic Empire, offering a mix of single-player storytelling and competitive multiplayer battles.

Set shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi, the story follows two parallel perspectives: one from Vanguard Squadron, representing the New Republic, and the other from Titan Squadron, fighting for the remnants of the Empire. The campaign weaves together loyalty, loss, and the uncertain peace that follows the destruction of the second Death Star. Players engage in dogfights, fleet battles, and tactical missions that showcase the balance between cinematic storytelling and mechanical precision.

Squadrons brings back the feeling of the classic X-Wing and TIE Fighter simulators but updates it with modern controls, VR support, and multiplayer systems that reward skill and coordination. The game focuses entirely on piloting, with no on-foot sections, emphasizing teamwork, ship management, and situational awareness in the chaos of battle.

👉 Features of STAR WARS: Squadrons

Immersive Cockpit Experience

Every mission unfolds entirely from the cockpit, with a fully functional dashboard that displays shields, power distribution, radar, and targeting systems. Players must read instruments and make real-time decisions rather than relying on external HUDs. This creates a deeper sense of presence, especially in VR, where you can physically look around your cockpit to track enemies or admire the galaxy beyond your canopy.

The attention to small details like light reflections, warning alarms, and the glow of blaster fire makes each starfighter feel alive. It’s not just an aesthetic choice; it’s a design philosophy that roots gameplay in immersion and authenticity.

Authentic Starfighter Roster

Squadrons lets players pilot eight carefully balanced ships split between two factions: the nimble X-wing, A-wing, and Y-wing of the New Republic, and the deadly TIE Fighter, TIE Bomber, and TIE Interceptor of the Empire. Each ship has its own handling, speed, and weapon systems, creating tactical depth and specialization.

Every vessel can be customized with components such as hull reinforcements, weapon loadouts, and engine modifications. These changes alter flight performance, letting players adapt to specific missions or playstyles, from agile dogfighters to heavy bombardment roles.

Deep Power Management System

One of the game’s core mechanics involves shifting power between engines, weapons, and shields. This system rewards attentive pilots who know when to divert energy to match combat flow. For instance, focusing power to engines helps you evade pursuit, while prioritizing shields gives a critical edge in drawn-out engagements.

Mastering this mechanic transforms good players into exceptional pilots. It adds rhythm to every fight, forcing constant adaptation instead of static button mashing.

Multiplayer Fleet Battles

Fleet Battles form the backbone of Squadrons’ multiplayer mode, offering large-scale, objective-based combat where two teams clash across multiple stages. Each match unfolds dynamically: teams first engage in small skirmishes, then push toward attacking or defending capital ships like Star Destroyers and MC75 cruisers.

These battles emphasize coordination, with players fulfilling roles such as support, interceptor, or bomber. Voice communication, tactical planning, and situational awareness are key to success, giving the mode a strategic layer that few space combat games achieve.

VR and HOTAS Support

Squadrons was designed from the ground up to support virtual reality and flight sticks (HOTAS), making it one of the most complete VR-compatible Star Wars experiences to date. The ability to glance around your cockpit naturally or physically track an enemy fighter amplifies both tension and thrill.

Combined with precise joystick input, VR transforms the game from a standard dogfighting title into something closer to a flight simulation experience. It’s one of the few modern games where peripheral support isn’t just an option but a major part of the design philosophy.

Gameplay

Dynamic Dogfights and Tactical Control

Combat in STAR WARS: Squadrons feels fast, dangerous, and grounded in skill. Players can drift through asteroid fields, skim capital ship hulls, or thread blaster fire in zero gravity. Dogfights rely heavily on precision flying and teamwork, rewarding players who understand positioning rather than simply chasing targets.

Each engagement feels cinematic yet mechanical, blending Star Wars’ signature chaos with methodical tactical play. The lack of auto-aim and reliance on situational awareness gives the game a refreshing level of challenge that mirrors the intensity of aerial combat rather than arcade-style action.

Progression and Customization

Progression is tied to both performance and participation. By completing matches and challenges, players earn requisition points used to unlock ship components, cosmetics, and pilot gear. Customization options allow players to personalize both their cockpit and pilot appearance without affecting balance—every upgrade is purely mechanical or visual, not pay-to-win.

Unlocking new systems, experimenting with builds, and adjusting tactics creates a satisfying loop that rewards consistent play. The game encourages experimentation, letting you discover new synergies between ship components and squad composition.

Campaign Structure and Storytelling

The single-player campaign acts as a guided introduction to each ship and mechanic. Missions shift perspectives between the New Republic and Imperial sides, giving insight into how both factions operate and how their pilots rationalize loyalty after the war. It’s not a sprawling narrative, but it effectively frames each encounter with context and emotion.

The story is supported by voice-acted briefings and hangar interactions, which help flesh out your squadmates. While not groundbreaking, these quieter moments give the campaign personality and serve as a comfortable rhythm between high-intensity battles.

Graphics

Cinematic Visual Presentation

STAR WARS: Squadrons uses the Frostbite engine to deliver striking space visuals filled with nebulae, starfields, and colossal ship silhouettes. The environments are richly colored and filled with debris, light trails, and explosions that make every battle feel like part of a larger galactic war. The lighting, reflections, and scale of capital ships contribute to a strong sense of immersion.

The visuals balance spectacle with clarity. Even during chaotic engagements, you can read the battlefield and orient yourself easily, which is essential for competitive play.

Cockpit Detail and Animation

Every cockpit is modeled with care, complete with flickering indicators, mechanical panels, and atmospheric lighting that shifts with power distribution. When shields drop or engines overheat, your instruments react accordingly. This layer of realism reinforces the illusion that you are truly flying these starfighters rather than just controlling them from a distance.

Animations are fluid, from the shimmer of engine thrusters to the trails of laser fire. When viewed in VR, these small details become the difference between playing and inhabiting the game.

Performance and Optimization

The PC version offers wide scalability for both high-end and mid-range systems. It supports high resolutions, ultra-wide displays, and variable frame rates while maintaining consistent performance. The VR mode runs smoothly, provided your hardware can handle the demand, delivering one of the most stable cockpit experiences available in a modern game.

Frequent patches and driver updates have improved stability since launch, ensuring that both standard and VR players get a responsive and polished experience.

Pros and Cons

✔️ Pros

• Immersive cockpit gameplay with authentic Star Wars atmosphere
• Excellent VR and HOTAS integration that elevates the experience
• Balanced ship roster with meaningful tactical differences
• Deep power management system rewarding skill and strategy
• Strong visual design and cinematic presentation

❌ Cons

• Short single-player campaign with limited narrative depth
• Steep learning curve for newcomers to flight games
• Limited long-term content and maps reduce replay value
• Team coordination required in multiplayer can deter solo players