Star Wars: Squadrons

Star Wars: Squadrons
Information
VR/AR	Virtual Reality
Developer	Motive Studios
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Platform	SteamVR, PlayStation VR
Device	Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality, PlayStation VR
Operating System	Windows, PlayStation 4
Type	Game
Genre	Space combat, Flight simulation
Input Device	Gamepad, Keyboard / Mouse, HOTAS flight stick
Play Area	Seated
Game Mode	Single-player, Online multiplayer (5v5)
Comfort Level	Comfortable (seated cockpit; smooth or snap turn, optional peripheral blinders)
Release Date	October 2, 2020
Price	US$39.99
App Store	Steam, Origin, Epic Games Store, PlayStation Store
Website	https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/squadrons

See also: VR Apps and VR Games

Star Wars: Squadrons is a 2020 first-person space-combat game developed by Motive Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It is set in the Star Wars universe and casts the player as a starfighter pilot flying for either the New Republic or the Galactic Empire. The entire game, including its single-player campaign and online multiplayer, is optionally playable in Virtual Reality on PlayStation VR for the PlayStation 4 and on PC headsets through SteamVR.

The game released on October 2, 2020 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, with cross-platform play across all versions, including between flatscreen and VR players. VR support is limited to the cockpit flight experience: it uses a fixed seated viewpoint and standard controllers (gamepad, keyboard and mouse, or a HOTAS flight stick) rather than tracked motion controllers. Road to VR called it "the new Top Gun of VR dogfighters" and scored it 9 out of 10.

Gameplay

Players pilot starfighters from a first-person cockpit view in space dogfights. Both Rebel and Imperial craft are flown across the modes, including the X-wing, A-wing, Y-wing and U-wing for the New Republic and the TIE fighter, TIE interceptor, TIE bomber and TIE reaper for the Empire. Each ship has a power-management system that lets the pilot divert energy between engines, lasers and shields (Imperial fighters lack shields), a mechanic central to combat.

The game has two online multiplayer modes. Dogfight is a 5v5 team deathmatch, and Fleet Battles is a larger objective mode in which two teams of five players fight through waves of AI and player ships to destroy each other's capital ships and flagship.

In VR, the cockpit is rendered in stereoscopic 3D around the player, and Road to VR's reviewer described "the level of detail everywhere" in the cockpit interiors as "astounding to see in VR". The game does not use tracked motion controllers; it is played seated with a gamepad, keyboard and mouse, or a HOTAS (hands-on-throttle-and-stick) controller. Motive's lead gameplay and technical design director James Clement said the best experience came from feeling a physical HOTAS in the cockpit, and that Touch-style motion controllers did not have enough inputs to map every cockpit function.

VR comfort

The VR mode offers comfort options aimed at reducing motion sickness, including a choice between smooth turning and snap turning, an adjustable snap-turn angle (30 degrees by default), and a "FOV filter" that applies peripheral blinders during turns with adjustable strength. Because the action takes place from inside an enclosed cockpit, the cockpit frame acts as a stable visual reference; Road to VR reported no nausea across extended sessions.

Supported VR hardware

On PC the game runs on SteamVR-compatible and Oculus headsets. Road to VR's setup guide lists the Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and the Oculus Quest connected by Oculus Link. On console the game supports PlayStation VR on the PlayStation 4. EA's minimum PC specification for VR is Windows 10, an Intel Core i7-7700 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor, 16 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics card.

Development

Star Wars: Squadrons was built on EA's Frostbite engine by Motive Studios, the Montreal developer that had earlier worked on Star Wars Battlefront II. EA, Motive and Lucasfilm announced the game on June 15, 2020, with VR and cross-play confirmed from the reveal. The single-player campaign is set after the events of the film Return of the Jedi and alternates between two squadrons, the New Republic's Vanguard Squadron and the Empire's Titan Squadron, against the backdrop of the Empire's secret Project Starhawk.

HOTAS support was a stated goal for both PC and console. The console versions received HOTAS support in a day-one patch, allowing PlayStation VR players to fly with a physical flight stick.

Release

The game launched on October 2, 2020 at a price of US$39.99, lower than a typical full-price release; on PC it was sold through Steam, EA's Origin storefront, and the Epic Games Store. The Xbox Series X and Series S can run the game through backward compatibility from December 3, 2020.

Platform	Date	Notes
PlayStation 4 (incl. PlayStation VR)	October 2, 2020	Cross-play enabled at launch
Xbox One	October 2, 2020	Flatscreen only (no VR)
Windows PC (incl. PC VR)	October 2, 2020	Steam, Origin, Epic Games Store
Xbox Series X/S	December 3, 2020	Backward compatibility

EA initially said the game was a self-contained product with no post-launch content; creative director Ian Frazier described it as "you've paid the $40, this is the game and it's entirely self-contained". The studio later reversed that position and released a free two-part content update: a November 25, 2020 update added the Fostar Haven multiplayer map and new ship components, and a mid-December 2020 update added two new starfighters, the B-wing and the TIE defender, along with custom matches.

Reception

On the review aggregator Metacritic the game holds a score of 79 out of 100 on both PC and PlayStation 4 and 78 out of 100 on Xbox One, indicating generally favorable reviews. It sold more than 1.1 million digital copies as of October 2020.

Road to VR scored the VR experience 9 out of 10 ("Great"), with category ratings of 9 for gameplay, 8 for immersion, and 8.5 for comfort, and called it "the new Top Gun of VR dogfighters". The reviewer praised the cockpit detail and the eight-hour campaign while noting two limitations for VR: the lack of motion-controller support and cutscenes that are presented as flat 2D screens rather than in stereoscopic 3D.

The game was nominated for Best VR/AR at The Game Awards 2020. It won Best PlayStation VR Experience in the PlayStation.Blog 2020 Game of the Year Awards and Music of the Year at the Game Audio Network Guild Awards.