Star Wars Zero Company is an intriguing Star Wars project for several reasons. It’s terrific to see the gargantuan sci-fi IP explore the turn-based tactics genre, for instance, even if the game’s era set-dressing of “the twilight of the Clone Wars” isn’t particularly untrodden. Star Wars Zero Company’s protagonist, Hawks, a “former Republic officer,” even bears what’s probably not a coincidental likeness to Andor’s eponymous Cassian Andor, at least in the game’s key art. Nearly every popular nook in the Star Wars universe is depicted in a playable character archetype confirmed to be affiliated with Zero Company: Trick, a clone trooper; Cly Kullervo, an “infamous” Clan Verminoth Mandalorian; Luco Bronc, an Umbaran sharpshooter; and Tel-Rea Vokoss, a Tognath Jedi Padawan.
Star Wars Zero Company’s key art also features a presently unnamed/undesignated R-series astromech droid.
Each authored character will hopefully be well-written and thoroughly significant in turn-based tactics, but it’s Tel-Rea who undoubtedly eclipses all others due to the popularity of Jedi characters. Tel-Rea’s brief databank file on Star Wars’ website reveals that “she seeks to honor the legacy of her late Jedi Master,” and that’s not at all an unfamiliar premise as it’s arguable that such themes are mirrored by Cal Kestis’ journey in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Still, knowing that a Jedi is a part of Zero Company comes with a ton of immense implications for not only the story but also gameplay.
Star Wars Zero Company’s Jedi Padawan is a Fish Out of Water
No matter what mixture of happenstances results in Tel-Rea Vokoss joining Zero Company, having a Jedi on the squad who has “boundless discipline and determination” should have an unquestionably monumental effect on gameplay composition. Indeed, turn-based tactical gameplay often requires that players suspend disbelief and shelve their prerequisites for immersion in order to maintain a fine-toothed balance.
For example, characters such as Scarlet Witch, Hulk, or Deadpool should’ve been remarkably more overpowered in Firaxis’ Marvel’s Midnight Suns, but were scaled downward within the context of the gridless game’s structure so that tactical strategy could still be engaging and challenging against the lowliest of Hydra lackeys.
It’s immediately easy to imagine how a Jedi could be terribly overpowered in Star Wars Zero Company, and especially among a motley crew of individuals from different pockets of the Republic’s asphyxiating Force choke. Plus, Tel-Rea needs a compelling reason as to why she is allied with this team.
Star Wars Zero Company Has No Easy Task in Balancing Tel-Rea
Hawks, Trick, Cly, and Luco may all be remarkable practitioners in their respective fields of expertise, whether it be sabotage or war, but surely none alone could hope to match the sheer power Tel-Rea wields with the Force at her disposal, much less dual lightsabers. The only ability depicted for Tel-Rea so far has been a Force push at the tail-end of Star Wars Zero Company’s story and gameplay reveal teaser, and yet she’s bound to be able to deflect blaster bolts and cut down foes with her lightsabers.
Bit Reactor has a wide scope of Jedi powers it could lean on for Tel-Rea and, even as a Padawan, it wouldn’t be alarming to see her clearing whole stages by herself. Of course, each other playable story-related character or custom recruit in Star Wars Zero Company should hope to be as fun to control on the battlefield, and perhaps Tel-Rea won’t have as much advantage when it comes to strategic maneuvers or will simply be a powerhouse with enormous cooldowns.
How Zero Company designs Tel-Rea in contrast to the rest of players’ squadmates may be a make-or-break scenario in terms of how comprehensive and synergetic its tactical gameplay is. Conversely, it is reportedly possible to “create, recruit, and deploy a full squad of entirely custom heroes.” Therefore, players can theoretically compose a squad of only Jedi characters, in which case it may not matter what character-to-character diversity looks like as a sea of lightsabers ignite before a poor pack of Star Wars’ B1-series battle droids, or no Jedi characters, in which case Zero Company could be tackled drastically differently.
