Star Wars Zero Company Surpasses Jedi Survivor to Become the Franchise’s Highest-Rated Game on Metacritic in Decades

Star Wars has struggled to please longtime fans and win over new audiences with some of its more recent film and television productions. On the other hand, George Lucas’ franchise has enjoyed several successes in video games over the past few years. The latest is Star Wars Zero Company.

The title from Bit Reactor and Electronic Arts launches today on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, bringing the franchise back into the strategy genre. Critics have already delivered their verdict, and the game has received widespread praise, becoming the Star Wars title with the highest Metacritic score in decades.

Star Wars Zero Company scores big on Metacritic after earning critical acclaim

The turn-based strategy game puts players in the shoes of Hawks, a former Republic officer who is destined to lead Zero Company, an organization tasked with confronting a major threat that puts the entire galaxy in danger. Star Wars Zero Company immediately caught the attention of strategy fans thanks to its similarities to XCOM.

Star Wars Zero Company moves away from the franchise’s traditional action-adventure games and shooters to offer a fresh experience within the popular universe, now owned by Disney. Bit Reactor has struck the right balance with a challenging and rewarding experience where every decision matters.

The result is that Star Wars Zero Company has already become the highest-rated game in the franchise on Metacritic in recent years. Critics have awarded it an 86 out of 100, considering it one of the standout Star Wars titles of the modern era.

That is quite an achievement, considering the IP has enjoyed several excellent games in recent years, starting with Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Cal Kestis’ adventure, which earned an 85 on Metacritic. The strategy game also surpassed the score of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, another critically acclaimed title that received an 82.

Star Wars Zero Company demonstrates how well the franchise’s universe fits the strategy genre and highlights the potential that still exists to explore new concepts in Star Wars video games. The title joins the IP’s list of successes following several missteps and controversies, including Star Wars Outlaws and the infamous Star Wars: Battlefront II controversy.

Players who have already experienced the game agree that it captures the essence of the franchise, with a gameplay system that should appeal to strategy enthusiasts while remaining accessible to those who are new to the genre.

The highest-rated Star Wars games on Metacritic

Star Wars has an enormous library of video games, but only a handful have gone down in history as true classics. Star Wars Zero Company could join that prestigious list, which includes titles such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the franchise’s highest-rated game on Metacritic with a score of 94.

Other standout titles include Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II, which earned scores of 91 and 90, respectively. These games make up the historical top three, while Star Wars Zero Company is currently the franchise’s highest-rated game of the past two decades.

A fairer comparison would be with the original Star Wars Battlefront (73), Star Wars: Squadrons (79), and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (79). The strategy game’s success is a pleasant surprise following the poor reception of titles such as Star Wars: Hunters (56) and the infamous Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection (58), which are among the lowest-rated games in the franchise.