'Star Wars: Zero Company' review: XCOM-like strategically recaptures the magic of your favorite Star Wars films

Across the decades, Star Wars' secret sauce has always been a feeling – an intoxicating mixture of whimsy and adventure that’s nearly impossible to replicate.

That’s especially true with the original film trilogy and the prequel film trilogy, even if the two have distinctly different flavors.

The series forays into video games have seen a lot of success, but Zero Company does something I’ve never seen a Star Wars game do before: it seamlessly combines the two different eras of the original and prequel film trilogies into something that not only recaptures the magic of those stories, but entirely stands on its own.

By taking the strategic XCOM formula and splicing it together with the whimsy of Star Wars, Zero Company becomes one of the best adventures you can find in a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Zero Company: $59.88 Command an elite squad through a gritty and authentic Star Wars story set in the twilight of the Clone Wars.

Step into the role of Hawks, a former Republic officer leading Zero Company against an emerging threat that could consume the galaxy.

Available on PC , PS5 , and Xbox Series X/S .

View Deal Zero Company takes place in the midst of the Clone Wars of the prequel trilogy, following an ex-Republic officer named Hawks who left their military post after losing an entire unit.

The game picks up long after this event, with Hawks now running the titular “Zero Company,” a mercenary group that takes on odd — and often off-the-books — jobs across the war-torn galaxy.

But on an ordinary mission, Hawks discovers a bizarre magic plague, a secret plan hatched by the Separatist army, and a contract with Republic intelligence to take on jobs the army can’t do.

The story of Zero Company is firmly set within the Clone Wars, and along with that comes the era's distinctive visual style and aesthetic.

Fascinatingly, though, this narrative feels remarkably like a Rebel one, more in line with the original trilogy. (Image credit: Bitreactor / Lucasfilm Games) Zero Company’s secretive missions are a perfect vessel to explore the fringes of Galactic Society, the underworld, and the harsh reality common people face in a Republic dangerously veering toward authoritarianism.

Zero Company meaningfully explores these themes, using a ragtag band of outcasts as a filter to view them.

For all intents and purposes, this story could slot into the original trilogy just as easily, making it a fascinating mish-mash that Star Wars has seldom seen before.