What is Star Wars Squadrons about?
Star wars squadrons Is a first-person team-based starfighter combat game that follows the story after the destruction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. As a player, you can experience how the war continued throughout the galaxy after the death of the Emperor. The tale that unfolds tells the story from the perspective of both the New Republic and the Imperial Navy and with each mission you alternate between pilots on either side. The Empire and New republic are both evenly matched which makes for plenty of head-to-head combat in a variety of uniquely customisable starfighters.
What is the gameplay like in Star Wars Squadrons?
The game takes place in one of six evolving battlefields in both known and completely unseen locations across the galaxy. Each one has it’s own aesthetic, story and challenges that are sure to affect how each battle concludes.
One of the standout features of Squadrons is the capability to equip your pilot helmet and experience the game in Virtual Reality on PS4 and PC. This is sure to create an incredibly immersive experience as you take full control of different starfighter classes from both the New Republic and Imperial fleets, such as the X-wing and TIE fighter. The New Republic hanger consists of X-wing starfighters, Y-wing bombers, A-wing interceptors and U-wing support craft all with various abilities and disadvantages. The Imperial Starfleet is made up of TIE fighters, TIE bombers, TIE interceptors and TIE reapers.
EA has clearly learnt from its past mistakes and you must climb the ranks to unlock new components like weapons, hulls, engines, shields, and cosmetic items in order to progress. No pay to win! There’s the option to then modify your ships with the items you’ve unlocked which will help to keep gameplay exciting and fresh. To succeed in battles you will need to plan skirmishes with your squadron in the briefing room before taking off and adjust the composition of your fighters to suit varying playstyles.
Working together as a team on the battlefield is required to complete tactical objectives and defeat the opposition. There’s also the unique single-player Star Wars story if flying solo is more your thing.
What game modes are there?
When the game launches there are three different game modes to choose from that suit either solo or multi-player gameplay.
- Story – Learn what it means to be a pilot in the exciting single-player story mode. You switch perspectives throughout between the New Republic and the Empire and witness iconic and emerging leaders on both sides as they battle for the galaxy. The storyline is set near the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War, and it’s a time when talented pilots will make all the difference.
- Dogfight – Challenge the galaxy’s finest in 5v5 dogfights. The mission is simple, but the execution requires skill. You can finetune your loadouts for speed and accuracy, compose your squadron with different starfighter classes, and eliminate the enemy to claim your glory.
- Fleet Battles – Unite with your squadron online or play against bots to tip the scales in monumental fleet battles. Each battle is a multi-stage, objective-based contest between two squadrons of five. You can advance the frontline by dominating the enemy in intense dogfights and carry out bombing runs to take out capital ships protecting your ultimate goal which is the destruction of the massive, enemy flagship.
Each one of these game modes sounds like a lot of fun and there is something for everyone. You can jump into a quick deathmatch style Dogfight with friends, take things at your own pace in story mode or put all your practise to the test in the ultimate large scale fleet battle.
When is Star Wars Squadrons available?
Star wars Squadrons is available on PC, Xbox One and Playstation 4 from the 2nd of October 2020. On PC there is plenty of choice and you can preorder it on either Origin, Steam or Epic games. It’s priced at £34.99 which is very reasonable for a new title and any pre-orders get cosmetic items for the New Republic and Imperial pilots and starfighters such as flight suits, starfighter skins and Decals.
What are the specifications required for Star Wars Squadrons on PC?
Unsurprisingly hurtling through space in your own kitted out starfighter requires some decent hardware and to meet the minimum requirements you will need the following. Windows 10, a graphics card like a Radeon HD 7850, GeForce GTX 660, or equivalent, 8GB of RAM, and an Intel I5-7600, Ryzen 3 1300X, or equivalent processor. In the table below you will see the recommended specifications for non-VR and the recommended specifications while using VR.
Star Wars Squadrons Requirements
| Recommended non-VR or Minimum VR Requirements | Recommended VR Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit | |
| Processor (CPU) | Ryzen 7 2700X or Intel i7-7700 or better | Ryzen 7 2700X or Intel i7-7700 or better | |
| Graphics Card (GPU) | Radeon RX 480 or Equivalent/GeForce GTX 1060 or Equivalent | Radeon RX 570 or Equivalent/GeForce GTX 1070 or Equivalent | |
| Hard Drive (Storage Requirements) | 40 GB available space | 40 GB available space | |
| Memory (RAM) | 16GB RAM | 16GB RAM | |
| DirectX | Version 11.1 | Version 11.1 | |
| Multiplayer Online connection | 512 Kbps or faster Internet connection | 512 Kbps or faster Internet connection |
Will my PC run Star Wars squadrons?
The Minimum specifications reveal that if you built a good gaming PC around 5 years ago then you will able to load Star Wars squadrons. However, the resolution is not mentioned or what FPS you’re likely to get and I imagine it would be unpleasant for most PC gamers. The fast-paced immersive gameplay is designed to be played in VR and to get the best experience you should aim for at least the recommended specifications which can easily be achieved by a modern mid-tier gaming PC.
The CPU specifications are quite a bit higher than most games with the recommended specs listing a 4 core/8 thread Intel processor or even the 8 core/16 thread AMD chip. Both CPU’s also have a high 4.2Ghz boost clock speed. The recommended GPU specifications for playing without a VR headset are reasonably modest with graphics cards from 2016 listed. It’s not mentioned what VRAM is required and your guess is as good as mine as the RX 480 is available in 4GB and 8GB configurations, while the GTX 1060 is available with either 3GB or 6GB. As a general rule more VRAM is needed for higher resolutions. As expected playing with a VR headset requires a beefier GPU and more powerful graphics cards are listed, however, we are once again left in the dark when it comes to VRAM requirements.
RAM requirements are as expected for a new title and 16GB is the norm for most modern games with 8GB being a reasonable minimum requirement. The 40GB of hard drive space is lower than I would have guessed as storage requirements have risen dramatically over recent years. It’s likely patches and updates will add to this but you won’t have to delete half your Steam library to install Squadrons. The best way to play Star wars Squadrons is going to be with a VR headset and you can check out the full range available on the Overclockers website HERE.
What is a good PC to play Star Wars Squadron?
Star Wars Squadron requires decent hardware to get a good experience and it’s safe to say you have to invest a decent amount of cash if you want to experience any game or simulator in VR. Thankfully Overclockers UK specialise in systems for the gaming enthusiast and there’s plenty of choices when it comes to the best PC’s to play Star wars Squadron. The Katana is a powerful system that will give you an incredible experience and is capable of running high resolution, high refresh rate VR headsets like the impressive Valve Index or HTC Vive. The Machete is my budget-friendly pick and meets the recommended requirements for playing without a VR headset. To play in VR upgrade to an RTX 2060 for only £71.
OCUK Raider Gaming PC
- Latest 10th Gen i510400F Hyperthreaded 6 core processor with 4.3Ghz boost clock
- Excellent Nvidia GTX 1660 Super 6GB GDDR6 Graphics Card
- Select up to 32GB of DDR4 3000MHz dual-channel memory
- Fast loading times with the WD 250GB M.2 NVMe SSD
- Seagate 1TB SATA Hard Drive to store your favourite games
- Change the case, upgrade the GPU and make it yours with the configurator
- Get the recommended spec for Squadrons from only £917.99
OCUK Katana Gaming PC
- High-end i7 10700K Hyperthreaded 8 Core processor with 5.1Ghz boost clock speed
- Powerful Nvidia RTX 2070 Super 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card
- High speed 16GB DDR4 3200MHz Corsair Vengeance memory kit
- Fast loading times with the WD 250GB M.2 NVMe SSD
- Comes with the free Intel Galactic games bundle
- Each part can be customised and upgraded to meet your requirements
- Available from £1,879.99
Ask the Experts
With years of experience in the industry, Overclockers UK is widely known for building some of the finest custom gaming machines on the market. If you want more information on building the best PC for Star Wars why not contact our team of friendly experts on 01782 444455 and they will be happy to help. You can also ask us a question HERE.
- 8 min read
Overclockers UK
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