Motive’s Star Wars: Squadrons is probably one of the best Star Wars games in years, proving that the franchise doesn’t need DLC or theatrical tie-ins to be successful. The ideal way to play is not just with a throttle and flightsticks, but in VR – the game supports most PC headsets, as well as PSVR on the PS4 and PS5. A question for purists is whether the game commits the cardinal sin of forcing players to take their headset off in different modes.
Squadrons is split into three game modes: a single-player campaign and two multiplayer options, Dogfight and Fleet Battles. The former is effectively a team deathmatch, while the latter is a more elaborate objective-based mode, in which opposing teams try to take out each other’s capital ships. In a sense, though, the real centerpiece is the stable of Imperial and Republic spaceships, which are faithfully recreated not just on the outside but the inside. The effect is even better in VR, and might even decide a person’s favorite ride. The A-Wing, for example, offers better visibility than the X-Wing, which makes it easier to track enemies and obstacles.
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The good news is that it’s possible to play every aspect of Squadrons in VR. That includes not just every in-cockpit experience, but menus and cutscenes – although it’s increasingly rare, VR games have sometimes forced gamers to switch in and out of flatscreen mode. Squadrons does cheat a bit, in that menus and cutscenes are often just projected rectangles, but even then Motive tries to re-insert some immersion by placing gamers in the middle of an Imperial or Republic hangar.
Squadrons Makes The Most Of A Limited Budget
The studio’s approach largely makes sense. Time- and resource-wise, it would’ve been difficult to build completely separate flatscreen and VR interfaces, especially since Squadrons has to run on everything from PSVR or the Oculus Rift S to Valve’s $999 Index rig. While some industry norms have been established, every VR platform has its quirks – indeed that might be one reason why Motive omitted the ability to grab onscreen cockpit controls.
Perhaps that’s a feature Motive could offer in a sequel. It’s not clear whether that will happen – although Squadrons sold reasonably well at launch, topping 1.1 million copies in October 2020, its Steam player count has dwindled. Of course, that’s not factoring in players on Origin, Xbox, or PlayStation, all of whom can fly together. If a sequel to Star Wars: Squadrons gets off the ground, chances are improved VR support will be along for the ride.
