Straight to it then, this is a good, if not great game in the tactics space. It is not a strategic game, which is what differentiates it from XCOM2 or Phoenix Point. What I mean by this is that the game is driven by story rather than choice, which will reduce it’s replay value a decent chunk. So in that way, it’s a whole lot closer to Mario + Rabbids, which is also great. Noting immediately that 100% hit chance exists here, and always works, no rounding errors. That is a crazy good feeling!

The game gives you a decent amount of control in combat, rewards aggressive play, and even more team dynamics. With the right roster, you can clear out a ton of enemies quickly. Overall difficulty is low compared to other games, so unless you’re playing on a higher difficulty, you won’t need to heal or replace roster. In fact, in most cases it’s cheaper to fire & hire a new person than to heal them (main roster aside).

Which brings me to general balance bits. Tactics games are about maximizing the math. Characters that can replenish their action points are deadly. Characters that can quickly move around are essential. Any character that struggles to use their action points is a hindrance. The good news here is that for almost every character, you can swap their weapon AND their class, so if you like the look, you have a ton of flexibility. The less good news is that a lot of the math is not explained, requiring experimentation to figure out. For example, at no time should you ever use a pistol.

Bonds are a prime example of this. Use characters in a mission, increase their relationship, and get the opportunity to add stat boosts to both. In nearly every case you’ll select +1 damage or +movement, as this continually adds to your power. It’s easy to see how you can end up with +20 damage on your main character as a result, and you can see some of those stats in one specific area in the main base. Not all of it though.

In terms of classes and characters, this is where things get spicy. Some classes just plain suck because the game drastically rewards damage-per-action-point. The heavy is meant to taunt and attract damage, but that’s a defensive move that is only of value against 1 target per mission. Medics are there to heal, not damage. There are many such cases. A repeater blaster uses all your action points, which is wildly inefficient! Pay attention to the skill descriptions.

Eventually you get to unlock a second class, and I would recommend you look at the passives (either ignore 4 defence or add 2 damage) as the first option, and maybe invest in move distance if you need it (assault).

In terms of the main roster:

• Hawks – You always have to use them, they can be any class. Their unique ability increases assist and defence, super useful at the start, much less at the end.
• Kabb. Their uppercut, if it executes and enemy, restores AP, but can’t be reused that turn. You can change their class.
• Trick. Auto-revives in combat, and at max level (21 points!) won’t require healing after battle. You can change their class. Trick as a character is amazing. As a combatant, ugh.
• Jae. Right, OP much here. They automatically execute, and 100% hit chance, a target below a certain HP, up to twice per round. Pretty much mandatory in every battle.
• Droid. This is all about utility, not about damage. I can think of no case where you would want to use this character, which is unfortunate.
• Tel-Rea. The only Jedi character, and with a completely unique kit. Extremely weak until you max their Padawan Training, and then they start to shine. Their second class is wildly strong. They do not shoot, they are a strong melee character and can push enemies from a distance… this means their boost from bonds are often less useful.
• Cly. A unique kit as well, though the wild thing here is Combat Jump. It’s dirt cheap to use, can cross half the map, knocks back enemies (often 1 shotting them into an open pit), and has an AE damage attack too. You can clear out fields of enemies with her. Her second class should be Gunslinger, trust me.
• Luco. Their unique is practically identical to a regular sniper skill, but feels worse as you lose the buff when you hit targets, and can’t re-apply it. You gain this character later in your playthrough.

If you recruit someone, you can customize their talent + class, so there’s a ton of flexibility here if you want it – making them arguably better than Trick and Luco right out of the gate. That said, Jae and Cly are so incredibly useful that it’s hard to not use them. Tel-Rea starts very weak, so you’re likely to avoid her, but I will say by her 2nd class unlock she is a damn monster – just remember to invest in movement speed.

Which brings me to the final early thought here and that it relates more to balance. Tactics games are notoriously hard to balance, impressively so when you think of all the possible combinations there are! XCOM2 was a buggy unbalanced mess at launch, we only really remember War of the Chosen being the real masterpiece. Pheonix Point took nearly 2 years of patching to get to a decent place. Zero Company starts off in a much, much better place than either of those but there are still some significant tuning pieces to go. There are a few bugs, sure, but nothing game breaking I’ve seen. But balance… there are some rather wild swings here if you’re not paying attention – like Coil Upgrades (resonance chains are death).

With that, my initial thoughts are very positive. The tactics portion works quite well. The story is a solid Star Wars romp. The art and characters are very well done. And you always want to take on another mission (or another turn), which is truly the right spot for praise.