The Toyetic Wonder of Star Wars: Squadrons in VR


I'm a life-long fan of the Star Wars franchise for many reasons. One of those reasons is that George Lucas and his creative team not only created a cool selection of iconic space vehicles, but they also provided many opportunities for fans to step inside of the vehicles to enrich their entertainment experience. They've done this through toys, model kits, video games and theme park rides, but it reached a completely new level with the 2020 release of Star Wars: Squadrons, which can be played in virtual reality (VR).

I know I'm late to the figurative party for Squadrons, but I avoided getting this game at first because it looked very intimidating. However, don't let the outward appearance of this game fool you--it's a fantastic game to play in VR because it puts you right into the pilot seats of ten different Star Wars vehicles. You can upgrade your controller scheme to enhance the immersion experience, but you'll do fine with an Xbox controller. 


Star Wars has no shortage of flight simulator games, the earliest being X-Wing and TIE Fighter from the '90s. Likewise, Kenner's made sure that its original Star Wars toy line included action figures that could be put in toy vehicles, thus increasing their play value. In the VR version of Squadrons, players become the action figures put into virtual toy vehicles, playing in a virtual world that's fully stocked with other Star Wars toys. However, unlike the toys that had to be purchased separately from each other, Squadrons enables fans to sit inside of life-sized simulations of ten different vehicles in a single video game. Progress! 

My first Star Wars flight simulation experience:
Kenner's X-Wing Fighter vehicle toy
(batteries and figures sold separately).

Honestly, Squadrons goes the great lengths to provide an amazing vehicle simulation experience. The interiors of each ship are incredibly detailed, expanding greatly upon what has been seen in the movies, TV shows and animated series. The game features cockpit customization options, but I'm still amazed that I can look around the interiors of Empire and Rebel ships to see all the flashing buttons, electronic displays, and scratches and chipped surfaces that resulted from intense space combat.

The immersion experience doesn't end with the vehicles. In the story campaign, players have face-to-face interactions with Empire and Rebel characters, sit through holographic mission profiles in briefing rooms, and look around vehicle hangars. In the hangars, players can around life-sized exteriors of the vehicles they will pilot in the missions. Of course, this is another Star Wars fan dream--seeing these vehicles right in front of you in their actual, in-universe sizes. 


Squadrons isn't a perfect game. It has crashed on me a few times, and some fans have complained that the flight missions don't include anything from the original trilogy. Nevertheless, the VR version of this title is one of the best Star Wars experiences I've had because it captures so many things that this franchise offers and puts it into an immersive, interactive environment. I hope that Squadrons will get a sequel that includes fighter vehicles from the other two Star Wars trilogies, as well as missions based on popular locations from the franchise. 

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