EA's time with the Star Wars license has been very tenuous for some fans, largely due to the company's lack of content over the past decade and some controversial business practices that have not been received well. Between all of the fan outcry, however, there have been a couple of EA Star Wars games that have proven to be pleasant surprises. One such game is Star Wars: Squadrons, EA Motive's take on the iconic starship gameplay that was pioneered by the Rogue Squadron series and games like Star Wars: TIE Fighter.
Star Wars: Squadrons surprised a lot of fans and critics when it was released last year, as it managed to create a Star Wars experience that also doubled as an impressive flight simulator game. Motive created a solid foundation for Squadrons, but many fans agree that the game's core content offerings were rather slim. With a short campaign and few multiplayer options, there wasn't much to do in Squadrons once the credits rolled. That being said, a sequel based on Squadrons' immersive mechanics has serious potential, and EA could take the same route it did when approaching Star Wars: Battlefront 2.
Expanding Star Wars: Squadrons To Other Eras
When looking at EA's approach with 2015's Star Wars: Battlefront and Squadrons, essentially the same exact thing happened. To the dismay of many, Star Wars: Battlefront only focused on the original trilogy era of films. While this was a great dose of nostalgia for some fans, for others it quickly got tiring, as there was only so much the game could do when restricted to a fraction of the franchise's characters and locations. When it came time for Star Wars: Battlefront 2, EA listened to fans and included content across all three eras of Star Wars, which satisfied many gamers and provided exponentially more to play through.
Star Wars: Squadrons also only focused on one era of Star Wars, and while this may seem like a more focused approach, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 has shown that EA is more than capable of creating expansive Star Wars experiences. Just as Battlefront 2 introduced prequel and sequel content, a Squadrons sequel could bring in more iconic ships across eras that take advantage of the original's mechanics. With how wide the galaxy of Star Wars is, there really is no need to restrict a game like Squadrons to one corner. Further, with EA at the helm, it's not like a sequel wouldn't have the resources to be bigger and better than the original.
Creating A Deeper Star Wars: Squadrons Experience
If Star Wars: Squadrons did get a sequel, it could also use a general diversification of gameplay, regardless of any era expansions. Looking back to EA's first Battlefront, another common complaint was the fact that there was no story whatsoever, and worthwhile multiplayer offerings were rather slim. Battlefront 2 remedied this by adding a story and more satisfying multiplayer, and it's here where Squadrons could learn a thing or two.
While Squadrons did have a decent campaign, it was surprisingly short compared to what most fans would expect from a Star Wars game. On top of that, multiplayer modes were not all that varied and could get tiring very quickly. If a Squadrons sequel went to other Star Wars eras, it could practically triple the amount of potential story content. Reworking multiplayer modes could be a little more complicated, but just giving players the option to fly in more unique fighters with friends would be a big enough improvement on its own.
Star Wars: Squadrons may not have landed with the same splash as some of EA's other Star Wars creations, but it still had an exceptional foundation for a Star Wars game based in flight simulator mechanics. With all of the work Motive put into refining every aspect of gameplay, it would be unfortunate to not see that followed up with a sequel. Battlefront 2 has shown that EA is capable of making significant improvements based on fan feedback, so hopefully Star Wars: Squadrons will get another chance to shine sometime in the future.
Star Wars: Squadrons is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.