Following up on the reveal trailer released earlier this week, the Creative Director of Star Wars: Squadrons, Ian S. Frazier, has confirmed that PC players will be able to use flight sticks when playing the upcoming space shooter. This includes HOTAS rigs with throttle capabilities.
Star Wars Squadrons was officially revealed earlier this week with a reveal trailer teasing the premise of the game. Focusing on space combat and hinting at potential details, it was noticed by fans that the pilots were throttling up during the encounter in the trailer. In any other flight game this may have gone unnoticed, but Star Wars has a long history with sim-like game play when it comes to battles in space.
While the ability to use joysticks on its own may seem uneventful, players of past Star Wars classics such as X-wing, TIE Fighter and X-wing Alliance will know that managing ships while exploring the galaxy is a must to ensure players make it back to base. It was already confirmed that Star Wars: Squadrons would be a 5v5 mission based game, with pre-planning and communication being a key factor to success. It is not known how detailed the pre-planning may be, but many questions should be answered in a few days with the EA Play Live digital event happening this Thursday.
Star Wars Squadrons could be the potential return to form regarding the franchise's history with space combat. In the early-to-mid 90's flight sims were a huge inspiration to Star Wars games. With games focusing on the Rebellion and the Empire, players were responsible for inspecting, escorting and even disabling other star ships within the game. As consoles became more powerful and popular, Star Wars games found their niche with more arcade-like game play in games like Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter and the ever popular Star Wars: Battlefront.
Flight Simulators have had a return to form in recent years. Popular 90's franchise Elite Dangerous recently returned with a successful Kickstarter and has seen multiple expansions since. Star Citizen has seen a similar venture, though marred with scrutiny regarding the use of funds within the game. Last year's E3 saw the return of Microsoft Flight Simulator which is set to release later this year on Xbox One and PC. In the meantime, Star Wars fans won't have to wait long for more details as a gameplay deep-dive is promised at the EA event.
Star Wars: Squadrons is set to release October 2 on PC, Xbox One and PS4.