Hawks leads Star Wars Zero Company in a 15-hour preview that makes one thing plain: this is a turn-based tactics game built around squad loss, not just squad power. The build spends its time on combat rules, recruitable fighters, and the pressure of sending characters into missions where one bad run can end them.
Hawks and the Clone Wars
The player controls Hawks, a former Republic officer who commands Zero Company, and the opening setup gives him debt to the Hutt crime syndicate. A displaced noble and a Republic Intelligence agent then pull him toward the Coil, which is spreading in the outer reaches of the galaxy alongside a mysterious and terrifying plague.
That framing puts Star Wars Zero Company in the same lane as XCOM while still leaning on the Star Wars setting. It is a tactics game first, with the Clone Wars serving as the backdrop for squad management, character builds, and the sort of mission structure where every deployment carries consequences.
3 Wounds, Then Done
One Rodian dies in the tutorial mission, and that early loss is the cleanest demonstration of how the system works. Going down in combat gives a wound, and three wounds without resting ends that character’s run.
That rule changes how each mission should be read. Players are not only chasing victory on the map; they are managing exhaustion, damage, and the long-term survival of named fighters who can disappear before the campaign has really settled in.
Kabb Uppercut in the Squad
Kabb Uppercut enters as a starting squad member, and the preview gives him one of the clearest profiles in the cast: he is an ex-convict and boxer, and he is Hawks’ best friend in the bond system. Trick joins as a discharged clone trooper, while Jae Mordant arrives as a displaced noble whose mining citadel was stolen by Fathom.
Yaan Nia, a human rebel firebrand, and Kos Niemz, a Weequay mercenary, round out the named crew shown so far. The character system also lets players fully customize Hawks at the start, respec any of the named characters at any time, and change generated characters’ appearance and personality whenever they want.
Zero Company’s build options
The only characters that cannot be changed are those with unique specializations, and the preview says those unique slots include a Jedi Padawan and a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter. Players can also build characters from scratch from the start menu and enable or disable them for recruitment, which makes the roster system feel closer to a sandbox than a fixed party.
That is the part to watch in Star Wars Zero Company. A 15-hour preview is enough to show the bones of the game, but the final read will come from how many missions, classes, and recruitable characters make it into the full release.
