Star Wars Zero Company, also known as ZCOM, understands one of its genre’s commandments: a good tactics game isn’t just about playing chess. It’s about playing chess with characters you actually care about.
I’ve been playing Zero Company the past few weeks, and am pretty sure I’m at the end; I’m at the “let’s go beat this final boss but for REAL this time” mission. When I went into the game, I fully expected to enjoy its turn-based tactical depth, based on a raft of intriguing previews and glowing reviews. I did not, however, expect to be just as enthralled by its cast of characters, whom I have gone to extreme lengths (read: restarting entire hour-long missions from scratch) to protect. I am genuinely going to miss this motley crew.
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Below, see our the definitive ranking of every major Star Wars Zero Company character. (Note: This list only covers playable heroes, meaning Runa doesn’t count, though we all know she’d be #1 if she did.)
8
Hawks
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
It makes sense that Hawks is the least interesting hero in Star Wars Zero Company. As the player character, Hawks to some extent has to be a blank slate. You have a wide range of customization options for Hawks, including choosing from six Star Wars species, but are ultimately corralled into playing the classic sci-fi RPG protagonist: an even-keeled leader who’s often ready with a quip and withholds any genuine emotion until the game’s final act. Erica Luttrell does turn in some exceptional vocal work here, though. (Yes, as with FemShep, we hail FemHawks in this house.)
7
Kabb
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
Enough time has passed that we can all admit Kabb’s rhyming thing got old well before the 35-hour mark.
6
Cly Kullervo
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
A brooding and mysterious Mandalorian who seems to harbor deep regret at living a life anchored by decades of violence? Tell me something I haven’t heard! The brutal truth of it, though, is that Cly is really, really good at violence. One of her abilities allows you to fire a dart gun at anyone in her line of sight, then shock everyone who’s been stuck with a dart — and anyone who’s in their vicinity. If you’re patient and stack it right, you can clear the entire battlefield in one turn. Cly has helped me escape more sticky situations in Zero Company than I can count. Too bad she doesn’t come with a Baby Yoda.
5
Jae Mordant
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
Jae has also saved my ass more times than I can count. Her unique ability lets her take a free shot at any enemy who isn’t quite finished off by one of your other squad members; level this up all the way, and Jae basically takes out any enemy who’s not automatically killed in the first turn, thereby preventing them from striking back. Jae is an incredible asset in combat, but I’m more partial to her for the aspirational altruism she embodies: Jae is a wealthy heiress who gives up guaranteed generational wealth to strike a serious blow against a fascistic regime. It’s nice to see Star Wars has still held onto some of its whimsy.
4
Tel-Rea Vokoss
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
I love that Tel-Rea…kinda sucks as a Jedi? Star Wars Zero Company highlights this by letting you play as Anakin Skywalker for one mission. He, go figure, absolutely wrecks house as an effectively invincible murder machine. By contrast, Tel-Rea feels fragile yet kinetically powerful — a hero who’s just as likely to get seriously hurt in a turn as she is to wipe out an entire squadron of battle droids by herself. Zero Company so easily could’ve given you a party member who deflects blaster bolts from all angles and carves through armies with ease. But as a relatively unskilled Padawan, Tel-Rea is far more interesting to play.
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3
Luco Bronc
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
Luco Bronc is a bit of a dick. When he joins your party, he starts fights for little reason, prances around like he owns the place, and can’t shoot for shit. At one point, you are even given the chance to dismiss him. But if you stick with him (and, in my experience, spec him as a medic sniper), he softens up and becomes a critical team member on the battlefield. His relationship with Trick — two soldiers used by their countries, who start as rivals but bond over their animosities — is one of Zero Company‘s emotional centerpieces.
2
Trick
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
Of all the characters in Star Wars Zero Company, Trick has the closest thing to a full three-act narrative arc. A clone soldier who was dishonorably discharged after serving the Republic for years, what Trick wants most is to rejoin his brothers in arms — but would never betray his family to do so. Trick eventually is an integral part of what is arguably the best-executed twist in Star Wars history (besides that whole “I am your father” thing).
1
BR-1 (Your Astromech)
Image: Bit Reactor/EA
This little droid can tank hits, boost your defense, let you perform multiple actions in a turn, use items twice as often as anyone else, and even throw grenades, making it a viable combatant in its own right. And it does it all without so much as a beep-boop. There’s pretty much a maxim in modern Star Wars that every new entry has to introduce an iconic droid to canon (BD-1, K-2SO, B2EMO!!!). BR-1 has more than earned its place.
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