Star Wars: Squadrons

 Xbox One
User Score
5.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 102 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 102
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 102
  3. Negative: 42 out of 102
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  1. Xbox_Alive
    Oct 18, 2020
    8
    STAR WARS: Squadrons is a First Person Star-flight Simulator. Set with a dual campaign in the story mode, you get to experience the thrill of spaceflight, and dogfights from both The Republic and Empire sides of the war. While immersing you in the many ships, and aspects of the game, Squadrons introduces you to all new characters, and situations in the intergalactic conflict. Fly all ofSTAR WARS: Squadrons is a First Person Star-flight Simulator. Set with a dual campaign in the story mode, you get to experience the thrill of spaceflight, and dogfights from both The Republic and Empire sides of the war. While immersing you in the many ships, and aspects of the game, Squadrons introduces you to all new characters, and situations in the intergalactic conflict. Fly all of your favorite single man Fighter Craft in a truly axis free environment, with full 360° control. You also have fairly intricate systems control too, with the ability to reroute your ships power to add shielding, firepower, or speed. You are in first person mode permanently, you will play the entire game from a cockpit view so long as you're in a ship. The gauges and readouts are easy to understand, and the lack of alien symbols, and random lights and bars and buttons doesn't detract from your ship's cockpit, in fact the aesthetic feels perfect. It's the Closest I've come to feeling like I'm in the cockpit of a Tie Fighter, or X-Wing. The character development is contained in well thought out conversations you can have with your squadron before and after missions. Multiplayer Provides endless action, with several different modes, and even Competitive play. Squadrons is easily the most immersive spaceflight game I've experienced. With dead on sound effects, and stunning environments, Fans of the Star Wars universe shouldn't pass this title up.… Expand
  2. Gall1234
    Jan 4, 2021
    8
    The game is an enjoyable experience, however not as good as battlefront 2 or fallen order. No third person and identity politics weigh the game down a bit, however the gameplay is usually fun.
  3. wrigleyirish
    Oct 3, 2020
    10
    Normal white dude here. This is the Star Wars space battles game you're looking for.
  4. kierank474
    Nov 27, 2020
    8
    The game is great in general, combat is good. One thing that I like is microtransactions, good job EA. My one complaint is that people on online multiplayer are way too good. The campaign is also a bit too short but it is overall great.
  5. mrlebowski79
    Oct 5, 2020
    10
    This game is great. If you are looking for a fun star wars flight sim this is it.
  6. atown350
    Oct 6, 2020
    8
    Fun Space battle game, and over all a fun game to play multi-player. I am seeing some negative reviews for lack of content and the obvious political agenda. for you upset that the campaign is to short well you bought a 40 dollar game and were told ahead of time that the campaign was short. As for the Wokeness in the game I guess I did not notice till it was pointed out, it is lame they didFun Space battle game, and over all a fun game to play multi-player. I am seeing some negative reviews for lack of content and the obvious political agenda. for you upset that the campaign is to short well you bought a 40 dollar game and were told ahead of time that the campaign was short. As for the Wokeness in the game I guess I did not notice till it was pointed out, it is lame they did that though.… Expand
  7. Joynas
    Oct 7, 2020
    10
    This game is awesome. Well, I still am not that good but I still love it! It’s cheaper than a AAA but there’s a lot of love here. A story split half and half with empire and new republic(post movie #6). It’s unique to me, and I grew up with Star Wars. The flying is Very advanced and it takes more than a day to get good or even to a competitive level. It’s not an easy game; it’s technical,This game is awesome. Well, I still am not that good but I still love it! It’s cheaper than a AAA but there’s a lot of love here. A story split half and half with empire and new republic(post movie #6). It’s unique to me, and I grew up with Star Wars. The flying is Very advanced and it takes more than a day to get good or even to a competitive level. It’s not an easy game; it’s technical, challenging, but a blast to just fly your own TIE or x-wing. Awesome times. I have to emphasize the game is not easy, but is so fun. The customization options are endless too! From the paint job of your fighter to it’s interior decorations, and the color of your helmet to your gloves you really get to put your stamp onto the game and make it your own. Oh and you can custom the vehicle specs too. I really really enjoy the game. Don’t let the snobs that say the story is boring or that complain when people use a-wings/interceptors because they’re too fast fool you, there’s ways to beat them. The game is best played with someone running as your wing mate but so far I haven’t and I still have fun. Going to get my brother in law to try it out I hope he takes to it… Expand
  8. DuracellDurrell
    Oct 4, 2020
    8
    Plenty of reviews here mad that the game is inclusive, and lets you have freedom of customization. Look, Star Wars and its focus on fighting for freedom hasn't changed, it should be inclusive and open. If you get mad that a Woman of colour is the Admiral of the imperial fleet, it's not an issue with the game, you should look in the mirror, and rethink your life.

    Keep in mind a few things    Plenty of reviews here mad that the game is inclusive, and lets you have freedom of customization. Look, Star Wars and its focus on fighting for freedom hasn't changed, it should be inclusive and open. If you get mad that a Woman of colour is the Admiral of the imperial fleet, it's not an issue with the game, you should look in the mirror, and rethink your life.

    Keep in mind a few things about this game. 1. It's designed to feel like Tie Fighter or X-wing, not rogue squadron or modern flight Games.

    2. It's a cheaper game($55 CAD) and a AA title, not a AAA massive budget game

    3. It is designed to be multiplayer first

    Story: 7/10 it's a serviceable star wars tale, but largely self contained. While major characters from the new EU pop in and out, you don't play as characters they are likely to remember. It's designed as a tutorial for multiplayer, as the functions of piloting in this game are deeper and more complex than modern games typically are.

    It serves its purpose, but won't be anything to write home about

    Multiplayer: 9/10

    A point off for limited maps, which in a full price AAA game would be unacceptable, but is mostly a low level desire for more due to its price tag.

    Level design is fantastic, well themed, and clearly designed to make manoeuvres interesting. A few shots won't take anyone down, and you will always have the ability to react, and outplay your opponents, even if they get the drop on you.

    It's easy to jump into, but difficult to master. It doesn't perfectly emulate Tie Fighter or X-wing but it comes close, and is a good point of entry to the genre for new players.

    The modes that exist are really all you would want.i know others would like to see more, but the two modes that are here, are exactly what modes you would actually want, and focused well on objectives, not just "kill the enemy"

    Graphics 9/10 it's not 8k, 1000fps, but hey, it gets the job done. The models are clearly derived from high quality ILM models, and the lighting is awesome. Nothing like watching light pour into your tie fighter cockpit from the tiny slit windows in the roof you forget are there, to dance on the control panel. The control panel and first person view are actually functional, and not just eye candy. It's completely possible to turn off the HUD and play the game in a competent manner.

    Gameplay 10/10 it may not have hit the exact feel of X-wing or tie fighter, but it's close enough to scratch the itch, and feel fresh. It's tight, but clearly star wars feeling. You won't see realistic space physics, with flip and burn to slow down, instant turns, etc. Instead you'll see WW2 style dog fights with a sci-fi skin, just like you see on screen on star wars.

    Also, "upgrades" you can unlock are actually sidegrades. You gain something and lose something for everything. They are well balanced, and clearly designed so that what you start with is decidedly competitive, and upgrades are to tweak to how you play, and nothing will be the "meta"

    Audio 10/10 it's a star wars game in the modern era. There is one thing they absolutely nail every time, it's sound design. Clearly some heavy input from ILM, Skywalker sound, etc. There's masters at work here.

    BONUS: Microtransactions - there are none. Full game right there, from the start.

    Overall 8/10

    This game set out to do a specific thing. There are some minor glitches and hiccups, as every new game has, but the devs landed exactly where they planned to, and it shows.

    It's not a AAA shooter, but it wasn't meant to be. I would firmly recommend to anyone who is a star wars fan.

    And to the right wing "I'm tired of SJWs in muh things", *waves hand* "I don't want your BS" *waves hand again* "you want to go home and rethink your life" Be better    … Expand
  9. Gabrielhaleboi
    Oct 4, 2020
    10
    I love the story for this game. It made reference to other great characters in Star Wars and expanded the lore. The multiplayer is fun and has great controls. Apart from a few bugs, it is a perfect Star Wars piloting game experience.
  10. ebodur
    Oct 3, 2020
    10
    Follow-up to my favorite game of all time, X-Wing Alliance, Star Wars: Squadrons is a dream come true. It is one of the most complex games I ever played on a console (requires using all buttons in gamepad, including D-Pad actively) and rewards you for your efforts. Content is acceptable for a new release and it deserves a solid '10' assuming new content will keep flowing in.

    All wings    Follow-up to my favorite game of all time, X-Wing Alliance, Star Wars: Squadrons is a dream come true. It is one of the most complex games I ever played on a console (requires using all buttons in gamepad, including D-Pad actively) and rewards you for your efforts. Content is acceptable for a new release and it deserves a solid '10' assuming new content will keep flowing in.

    All wings report in!    … Expand
  11. koinomegalover
    Oct 11, 2020
    9
    Pew pew pew pew pew five stars!

    I’m having a blast with this game. Riding in the cockpit of some of my favorite Star Wars ships is an amazing experience, especially in VR Scratches the starfighter itch that Battlefront couldn’t quite reach. One of the best Star Wars offerings since the Dark Times.
  12. Tuc4no
    Oct 7, 2020
    8
    A game well done, beautiful graphics, gameplay ok, I can say that it was another hit from EA along with the Fallen order ...
  13. thecolonel
    Oct 9, 2020
    10
    In a time where almost every game I pick up just feels like a copy and paste of another title (I'm looking at you, "Tomb Jedi: Fallen Raider") this game felt like something fresh. Do you like Star Wars? Do you like Star Wars space combat? Then you will enjoy this game. It's not perfect, it's rather limited, and while it carries SOME of the spirit of the X-Wing/Tie Fighter series, theIn a time where almost every game I pick up just feels like a copy and paste of another title (I'm looking at you, "Tomb Jedi: Fallen Raider") this game felt like something fresh. Do you like Star Wars? Do you like Star Wars space combat? Then you will enjoy this game. It's not perfect, it's rather limited, and while it carries SOME of the spirit of the X-Wing/Tie Fighter series, the scope is far narrower. I would have loved to see a greater variety of ships, factions, and objectives, not to mention more story playing out in-mission like the old XW/TF games, and not in frankly awkward feeling 1st person cutscenes/conversations. (The view controls outside the cockpit felt lifeless and broke the immersion for me. Also when I launch the mission I watch the Tie hanger crane start to pick up my Tie. Hey! you're forgetting me! I'm out here!)

    All that said, I try to judge games on one thing: do I have fun playing it? Yes, I absolutely do. Set your expectations for a $40 mini-title that will tickle your Star Wars fancy and you won't be disappointed.    … Expand
  14. woodsd8634
    Oct 4, 2020
    9
    Only complaint is that there isn’t more. Hopefully the devs see that there is a very large group of non casual gamers who enjoy seeing the long extinguished torch of the “X-Wing” series finally being re-lit. DLC/Sequel can’t come soon enough.
  15. TheBlackxRanger
    Oct 4, 2020
    10
    Great game. Ignore the haters review bombing because of their pronoun hate.

    Rate the game, nothing else. Game works fine
  16. GusFu
    Oct 5, 2020
    8
    Launch bugs aside, and there are a lot of them, Star Wars Squadrons is a great game with enough complexity in its systems and combat to make it a real challenge. That it's missing private or custom games is a real oversight, it would be perfect for playing against your friends, I hope it gets added soon!

    The campaign is really more of an extended tutorial that introduces you to the    Launch bugs aside, and there are a lot of them, Star Wars Squadrons is a great game with enough complexity in its systems and combat to make it a real challenge. That it's missing private or custom games is a real oversight, it would be perfect for playing against your friends, I hope it gets added soon!


    The campaign is really more of an extended tutorial that introduces you to the different ships and systems but captures the feel of Star Wars ship combat better than anything in recent years. The idea that a person can be so fragile that they won't play a game because it doesn't have enough white men in it is utterly laughable and that they would give a game a bad review because of it even more so. If you like challenging space combat with top Star Wars atmosphere you should buy this game, show the devs and the fat cats at EA that this is worth supporting. If you can't cope with people of colour in lead roles, non binary characters, or same sex relationships (literally the briefest mention) then first you need to take a close look at yourself and then buy this game anyway because why would you deny yourself the joy of piloting iconic craft because of your feelings about "identity politics"?    … Expand
  17. Filmanwalt
    Oct 6, 2020
    8
    Star Wars: Squadrons (single player)

    I ended the campaign after 9-10 hours. I played on the medium level of difficulty and with minimal HUD settings + controller. story I am satisfied, the whole campaign is not tearing any trees, but it is entertaining throughout and offers a great Star Wars experience. Playing the campaignstructure from the side of the Empire and the rebels made    Star Wars: Squadrons (single player)

    I ended the campaign after 9-10 hours. I played on the medium level of difficulty and with minimal HUD settings + controller.

    story

    I am satisfied, the whole campaign is not tearing any trees, but it is entertaining throughout and offers a great Star Wars experience. Playing the campaignstructure from the side of the Empire and the rebels made for enough variety. The interplay is well balanced and both flight squadrons have cool characters. You get the feeling of being part of a squad and not just being put in front of soulless AI colleagues. Nevertheless, because of the good foundation that is laid by the interesting characters and the relationship within a squad, I would have liked to have gone into more depth at this point.

    Outside of the missions you have the opportunity to have conversations with your fellow combatants, which can also be interesting, but that's more of a scratching of the surface ...its to shallow, a shame.

    Graphics / presentation

    Star Wars Squadrons looks wonderful and has nicely chosen cutscenes. The individual locations are nicely done, as are the air combat ships, characters and the mission presentation in the briefings.

    Didn't have a single bug or any graphic glitches, stutters or the like. The game is absolutely stable.

    You can clearly see in the presentation that a complete VR experience was developed at the same time and you only fly in the cockpit view, but certainly really awesome for people with VR glasses.

    Unfortunately, I don't understand at all that there is no photo mode, as there are great panoramic moments that cannot be captured in a screenshot from the cockpit perspective.

    Gameplay

    The campaign is very varied. You are given the most varied of mission objectives (escorting, destroying frigates, individual fighters or scanning various ship components.

    The controls are really well done and you are introduced step by step in the initial missions, because flying can be complex in the details (e.g. switching shields to the bow or stern, concentrating all the power on individual parts of the ship, etc.). Switching off frigates or larger ships also requires tactical behavior, which is certainly really important on higher levels of difficulty.

    The airships have different tasks (interceptor, bomber and support ship) and each individual ship can be equipped with different components and also with skins etc. (then mainly via the multiplayer and the in-game currency: no microtransactions!).

    I would have liked to have had to operate on a planet in the campaign and have very close dogfights here.

    The flying and fighting is implemented perfectly and logically goes well beyond the casual flying of a Battlefront 2, which I also had a lot of fun with.

    Conclusion

    Nice Star Wars game that will hopefully be well received enough for EA to continue on its way with the Star Wars games since Fallen Order and sticking to Battlefront 2. 8/10 Star Wars.

    Unfortunately, the Internet is again in a bad light, here on Metacritic e.g. are numerous negative reviews due to only one white playable character and LGBT moments (actually only briefly mentioned in a dialogue). As always pathetic.    … Expand
  18. JkhartheKnower
    Oct 5, 2020
    10
    A really fun game, very user and consumer friendly. While there are some flaws, its a really fun game, especially when you have friends to say with. I'm not sure why there is so much hate towards this game. I absolutely recommend this.
  19. Yacuooo
    Jan 20, 2021
    8
    A very enjoyable game with great gameplay. Would be nice to see a bit wider variety of game modes, but a solid 8/10
  20. kkentium
    Oct 4, 2020
    9
    It’s got some teething problems (hotas dead zone, sleeping controller) but the game is still insanely fun. Runs well on XBox One with cross platform friends. Ignore the Proud Boy haters. The sooner they leave the game, the better. Multiplayer is where this game shines and you don’t want to play with Proud Boys.
  21. Itchybug
    Oct 14, 2020
    10
    The game is a lot of fun, especially in VR. If you’re looking for an amazing Starfighter experience, one that cements the past Star Wars Starfighter games, then this is it. It has its issues, but I have had nothing but fun playing it. I feel like I’m a pilot when playing.
  22. AntVan89
    Aug 5, 2021
    9
    Awesome game. Great mechanics, and absolutely brilliant to fly iconic Star Wars craft. Excellent cast of characters. A really enjoyable game. Only thing that could be improved is the addition of other Star Wars eras (Clone Wars, High Republic, Resistance/First Order). But otherwise, a great Star Wars flight game.
  23. neomoonsevin
    Apr 9, 2023
    10
    I like this game swishing around shooting everything it's great feels like U are in the ships great game

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Best Xbox One Game of 2020
22
#22 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. ZTGD
    Oct 27, 2020
    75
    Star Wars: Squadrons is a wonderful entry in EA’s use of the license. It took long enough to get a proper dogfighting game, but the one they deliver should appease fans. The campaign is short, but sweet. The online is a blast with friends, and I hope it continues to flourish with players for a long time.
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  2. Xbox Tavern
    Oct 22, 2020
    75
    After playing the modern Star Wars Battlefront and its sequel I had some high hopes for Star Wars: Squadrons. I enjoyed the story, and playing both Empire and Rebel sides gave great additional context to proceedings. It’s also a stunning looking affair, the first person viewpoint showcasing lots of fine detail in the little switches and dials all immersing you in the experience. I’m not a big fan of first person aerial combat and would have liked a 3rd person option (especially as we don’t get a VR option on Xbox) though. Also managing some of the elements of the ship is tricky as I needed to constantly flick between the analogue stick and d-pad to adjust energy flow.
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  3. Cultured Vultures
    Oct 20, 2020
    80
    A great space combat simulator that is fun to play and contains plenty of great moments, even if it is a little barebones in some places.
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