For the Empire!
It’s fun playing the bad guy.
It’s nice to exercise the lizard part of your brain, side with the evil faction in a game, and just go hog wild. There’s a certain catharsis to it all.
Which is why I’m glad that Star Wars Squadrons finally let me play a proper bad guy.
Sure, Battlefront multiplayer lets me play as a nameless stormtrooper. And the story campaign of Battlefront 2 let me play as an Imperial Special Forces agent. But neither of those really scratched my evil itch.
Fighting as a nameless cog in the Imperial war machine didn’t feel very meaningful, and the Special Forces agent predictably defected to the Rebellion in the first third of the game.
But Star Wars Squadrons not only let me play as an Imperial, they let me play a loyal Imperial. I can finally stick with the Empire through the entire game without eventually having to switch sides.
(Yes I know one POV character does defect from the Empire to the Rebellion, but no game is perfect.)
It’s an interesting take on the Star Wars IP, as we finally get a chance to look at why someone would support the Empire in the first place.
I always wondered why Imperials put up with suicidal orders, superiors who murder one another, and with the ridiculous obsession with planet killing weapons that never seem to last very long.
If you bother to read the backstory of the Imperial characters in Squadrons, you begin to understand why.
Varko Grey, the badass TIE pilot from this cgi short, used to be a police officer on his home planet of Parkella. He wanted to stamp out corruption and justice in his chaotic corner of the Galaxy, and believes that the Empire is the only organization capable of doing that.
Terisa Kerrill, the Captain you report to, was once an orphan on the streets of Coruscant. The Imperial military gave her a chance for a better life for herself and for others in her position.
Neither of these people are inherently evil, they’re simply doing what they think is best for the Galaxy. In some ways, their way kind of is best for the Galaxy.
Well…their way is the best so long as you’re a human, you’re ok with trading freedom for security, and you’re ok with extremely harsh punishments for people who don’t obey the law.
If not? You’re not exactly welcome in the Empire.
For this reason, I can’t defend the Empire. I won’t even try. It’s an indefensible and tyrannical government that is responsible for the deaths of trillions of sentient beings. It does benefit some of its citizens, but only at the expense of countless others.
Regardless, I’m glad that I can play a game that can competently portray villains as three-dimensional people who believe in the righteousness of their cause. Playing as a mindless, brainwashed drone that fights for the sake of evil just isn’t interesting.
It’s also much more compelling to play a game as a villain who stays true to their beliefs instead of “seeing the light” and becoming a conventional good guy after only a single mission.
It’s nice to be able to empathize with villains, even though you know that they’re wrong. It makes the Galaxy far, far away feel much more meaningful.
Also, TIE fighters are cooler than X-Wings.