{"id":768204,"date":"2026-09-12T09:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T09:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/768204\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T09:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T09:38:11","slug":"zero-company-made-an-old-star-wars-fan-feel-young-again-readers-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/768204\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero Company made an old Star Wars fan feel young again &#8211; Reader&#8217;s Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SEI_308605085-6602.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29393005\" alt=\"Star Wars Zero Company key art of various characters\" decoding=\"sync\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tStar Wars Zero Company \u2013 definitely better than the last movie (EA)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/star-wars\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Star Wars<\/a> strategy game Zero Company has reignited a reader\u2019s love of the franchise, not just through its gameplay but its surprisingly good storytelling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I finished <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/26\/star-wars-zero-company-review-xcom-wins-clone-wars-29466222\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Star Wars Zero Company<\/a> in three days. I can\u2019t remember the last time that happened. Yes, I adored <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2016\/09\/30\/xcom-2-ps4-review-defenders-of-the-earth-6161608\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">XCOM<\/a> and I\u2019m a huge Star Wars fan, but it wasn\u2019t the sheer fun of playing that made me race through it, this time it was the story. I felt invested in what was going on and, crucially, I wanted to know what happened next. And that hasn\u2019t happened in a game since a long time ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I grew up as a devoted Star Wars kid in the 1980s. I played out intense battles in my Star Destroyer playset, featuring a central mediation chamber that my characters would often call \u2018Darth\u2019s Toilet\u2019. I wrote to my local <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/itv\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ITV<\/a> station demanding to know when The Empire Strikes Back would be on terrestrial TV and included drawings of Imperial walkers, where they looked like malnourished horses. And I made a lightsaber out of a snooker cue and attacked my cousin with it \u2013 he\u2019s fine and hardly limps these days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve played so many of the games over the years \u2013 many of them with great action set pieces, from the wireframes of the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/31\/spectrum-white-edition-interview-it-smells-christmas-day-1984-29252880\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Spectrum<\/a> through the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/nintendo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nintendo<\/a> Rogue Squadrons and most recently the two <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/04\/26\/star-wars-jedi-survivor-review-best-lightsaber-game-ever-18678694\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jedi games<\/a> with the bloke who appeared in the last Tron film for 12 seconds. They had some half-decent stories, but nothing ever really got me like Zero Company has \u2013 it has real heart, I cared about how it would end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s the opposite of the recent Mandalorian and Grogu film, which felt less like a movie and more like watching someone play a game: \u2018We must go to planet X, have a mid-boss fight and get the item. Then we can go to planet Y, have a slightly harder mid-boss fight, and get a bigger item.\u2019 The cinematic equivalent of watching your mum write an unnecessarily complicated shopping list and then having to silently accompany her to Sainsbury\u2019s, Lidl, Morrisons, Aldi, and Tesco in two hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zero Company\u2019s story is genuinely engaging. It\u2019s not <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/andor\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Andor<\/a> levels of groundbreaking, but it has proper progression, a beginning, middle, and end that naturally comes together. It\u2019s funny, it\u2019s sad, it\u2019s surprising, and Star Wars games (and games in general) need more of that.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sign up to the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/newsletters\/game-central\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GameCentral newsletter<\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, it helps to have a set of really good characters: the world-weary rogue with a heart of gold, sarcastic droids, a cool Mandalorian, and a sniper bloke with a <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/comedy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">comedy<\/a> Russian accent.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be fair, the voice cast are uniformly excellent; each gives proper life to their character and chatting with the team after a mission is a nice little pause rather than the grind it is in so many other games. I\u2019ll always think fondly of characters like Hawks, Tel-Rea, Jae, Bennic, astromech IM-8008-IES, Fathom, and Typhon, even if one of those names I completely made up just to see it regularly displayed on screen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the final scene finished, I found myself giving the game an actual real-life round of applause for a great story well told. And that\u2019s when I realised it, that childhood wonder, that being a kid again and just loving Star Wars as a brilliant, exciting world had come back. Even if Darth\u2019s Toilet didn\u2019t make an appearance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019d love a sequel, although the fact the development team appear to have been sent to the spice mines of Kessel doesn\u2019t bode well. I hope their story continues, it really deserves to and also because I really, really want to find out what happens next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By reader Tim Colman<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"410\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SEI_307985549-49b9.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29352177\" alt=\"Clone trooper and jedi in Star Wars Zero Company\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tA surprisingly great cast (EA)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reader\u2019s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just contact us at <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/09\/12\/zero-company-made-old-star-wars-fan-feel-young-readers-feature-29589586\/mailto:gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a> or use our <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Submit Stuff page<\/a> and you won\u2019t need to send an email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/09\/12\/playstation-worst-week-ever-deserves-readers-feature-29589127\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">PlayStation has had its worst week ever and it deserves it &#8211; Reader&#8217;s Feature<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/09\/06\/2026-best-year-ever-video-games-gta-6-isnt-even-yet-readers-feature-29539504\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2026 is the best year ever for video games and GTA 6 isn\u2019t even out yet \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/09\/06\/think-know-ps6-xbox-planning-next-gen-readers-feature-29539462\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">I think I know what PS6 and Xbox is planning for the next gen &#8211; Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tComment now<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tComments<br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tAdd as preferred source<br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tGameCentral<\/p>\n<p>Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Star Wars Zero Company \u2013 definitely better than the last movie (EA) Star Wars strategy game Zero Company&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":768205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,205,2839,37682,2591,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-768204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-gaming","tag-movies","tag-readers-feature","tag-star-wars","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/768205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}