So, let's talk about the cockpit. Not the flashy, polished cinematic ones you see in the movies, but the cramped, dial-heavy, slightly terrifying interior of a TIE Interceptor in Star Wars Squadrons. Honestly, most flight games try to make you feel like a god. This game makes you feel like a pilot. There’s a massive difference there. When Motive Studios dropped this back in 2020, people weren't sure if it was a niche hobbyist project or a flagship title. It turned out to be a bit of both, a love letter to the 90s X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter era that somehow survived the modern EA era without being choked by microtransactions.
It's 2026. The hype has cooled. But the servers are still kicking, and the VR community is still obsessed. Why? Because Star Wars Squadrons did something most modern games are too scared to do: it gave us a steep learning curve.
The Reality of Power Management in Star Wars Squadrons
If you go into this thinking it’s Battlefront II's starfighter assault, you're going to crash. Hard. You’ve got to manage your power levels constantly. It's the core loop. Divert power to engines to get out of a tailspin, then instantly shove it all into weapons the second you get a lock.
It's frantic.
It's actually kind of exhausting until your muscle memory takes over. On a controller, it's a thumb dance. On a HOTAS (Hands On Throttle-and-Stick) setup, it’s pure immersion. Ian Frazier, the creative director, was very vocal about making the cockpits "diegetic." That’s a fancy way of saying everything you need to know—your shields, your ammo, your hull integrity—is a physical light or gauge inside the ship. No floating HUD icons if you don't want them. You’re literally looking at a tiny screen in an A-Wing to see where the enemy is.
That design choice alone sets the Star Wars Squadrons game apart from every other space combat sim in the franchise history. It forces you to look at the world, not at a UI.
Why the TIE Fighter is a Death Trap (and Why We Love It)
Playing as the Empire is a totally different beast. No shields. You heard that right. While the Rebels are busy adjusting their front and back shield bias, TIE pilots are just... fast. You have to "shunt" power. It’s a mechanic where you instantly sacrifice engine speed for overcharged lasers or vice versa.
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It feels desperate.
You’re in a glass ball with twin engines, and one good burst from an X-Wing will turn you into stardust. But the maneuverability? It’s unmatched. A skilled TIE pilot can drift—yes, drifting in space—around an asteroid and come up behind a Y-Wing before the Rebel pilot even realizes their sensors are being jammed.
The Story Nobody Seems to Remember
The campaign is often treated as a tutorial for the 5v5 Fleet Battles. That's a mistake. It’s a dual-narrative that takes place after the Battle of Endor. You switch between Vanguard Squadron (New Republic) and Titan Squadron (Empire).
It isn't some grand "save the galaxy" epic. It’s a gritty, tactical look at the leftovers of a war. You see the Empire fracturing. You see the New Republic trying to build something out of the chaos. Characters like Lindon Javes and Terisa Kerrill provide a personal face to the faceless pilots. It’s not Shakespeare, but it’s solid. The real gold, though, is the mission variety. One minute you’re escorting a convoy through a nebula that messes with your sensors, and the next you’re trying to take down a Star Destroyer’s shield generators while dodging heavy turbolaser fire.
The VR Factor
If you haven't played this in VR, you haven't really played it. Period.
I’m serious.
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Leaning forward in your chair to look through the top of the TIE cockpit canopy to track a target is a gaming core memory. It changes the scale. A Star Destroyer isn't just a big ship; it's a mountain of metal that takes minutes to fly across. The sense of speed when you're skimming the surface of a flagship is nauseating in the best way possible.
Competitive Meta: Fleet Battles and Beyond
The meat of the game is Fleet Battles. It’s a multi-stage tug-of-war. You start with a dogfight in the middle. You win that, you move up to attack two medium-sized frigates. You take those down, and you get a crack at the flagship.
It’s about roles.
- Interceptors (A-Wing/TIE Interceptor) for hunting players.
- Fighters (X-Wing/TIE Fighter) for versatility.
- Bombers (Y-Wing/TIE Bomber) for the heavy lifting against capital ships.
- Support (U-Wing/TIE Reaper) for shields and resupply.
Most people fail because they try to be lone wolves. You can't. If you're a Bomber without a Support ship feeding you masks and shields, you're just a slow-moving target. The community that remains is incredibly tight-knit because the game demands that level of coordination.
Common Misconceptions About Star Wars Squadrons
People think the game is dead because EA stopped adding content shortly after launch. It’s not dead; it’s finished. In an era of "live service" nightmares where games are broken for three years before they’re good, Squadrons was a complete package. They added the B-Wing and the TIE Defender as a "thank you," and that was it.
The flight model is also misunderstood. It’s not "Newtonian" like Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen. It’s "WWII in space," which is exactly what George Lucas intended for Star Wars. It's about banking, pitching, and rolling. It’s cinematic flight, not a physics simulation of a vacuum.
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Technical Performance and Requirements
Even in 2026, the Frostbite engine holds up. The lighting in the Nadiri Dockyards map is still some of the best in gaming. If you’re playing on PC, a mid-range card from the last few years will absolutely crush this at 440p or high refresh rates.
For the console players, the PS5 and Xbox Series X patches made a huge difference. We’re talking 4K resolution and 120Hz support. It’s buttery smooth, which is vital when you’re doing a 180-degree drift in the middle of a debris field.
The Barrier to Entry
Let's be honest: the controls are a nightmare for the first two hours. You will accidentally boost into a wall. You will forget to put power into your engines and wonder why you're moving like a snail. You will get frustrated with the "deadzone" settings on your joystick.
But once it clicks?
There is no other feeling like it. When you finally pull off a "micro-drift" to snap your nose around and melt an enemy's engines, you feel like Poe Dameron.
Actionable Steps for New (and Returning) Pilots
If you're looking to jump back in or try it for the first time, don't just jump into multiplayer. You'll get eaten alive by the veterans who have 2,000 hours in the cockpit.
- Finish the Campaign. It’s the only way to learn the different ship systems without the pressure of a 12-year-old screaming in your ear.
- Customize Your Controls Immediately. The default "roll" and "yaw" settings are usually inverted from what most people expect. Spend twenty minutes in the practice range just flying through rings.
- Join a Discord. Look for groups like the Gray Squadron or the Tie Fighter Alliance. They run "Flight Schools" for new players.
- Learn Power Shunting. If you're playing Empire, this is the difference between life and death. Map it to a button you can hit without thinking.
- Invest in a Cheap HOTAS. Even a budget T.Flight Hotas 4 or One makes the game feel 10x better than a standard gamepad.
The Star Wars Squadrons game isn't just a spin-off. It’s a realization of a childhood dream for anyone who grew up watching the trench run. It’s difficult, it’s specific, and it’s unapologetically focused on one thing: the art of the dogfight.
Fire up the engines. Clear the hangar. Watch your six. The New Republic isn't going to defeat itself, and the Empire isn't going to retreat without a fight.