Star Wars: Hunters Review – This is Not the Arena Shooter You’re Looking For

First-person shooter games with an emphasis on unique characters have grown in popularity over the last few years, with many copycats that have emerged as well. Games like Overwatch 2 and Apex Legends utilize the personality of original characters tied to their gameplay, which is somewhat similar to games like Team Fortress. But not all games execute this approach to online competitive FPS titles to the same level of quality, let alone the same reception from players. But does implementing a well-known franchise like Star Wars help make up the difference for that? Unfortunately, it does not.

Game Name: Star Wars: Hunters
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Mobile (Android, iOS)
Developer(s): Zynga
Publisher(s): Zynga, Lucasfilm Games
Release Date: June 4th, 2024
Price: Free-to-Play (in-game purchases)

Star Wars: Hunters is a game that has been plagued with ongoing delays for an official release on both Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, Android and iOS. The game was developed and published by Zynga in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games but has lingered behind an early access period for a long time. Glimpses of early gameplay for Hunters were shown in trailers and early access footage in other territories outside North America, giving some insight into the 4 vs. 4 arena combat. In premise, this seems like an interesting idea for gamers who have played other titles recently with a similar setup. However, the poor execution and lack of anything new or interesting is what will make Star Wars: Hunters feel like a forgettable experience to many who play it.

The presentation of the game is colorful and stylized in a very similar way to how Overwatch 2 is. The game leans on the cartoonish presentation, rather than taking a more realistic approach than most other Star Wars games have done in the past. The maps you battle on have many details that get lost in the shuffle of the action but are also hampered by texture pop-ins and other visual hiccups. The issue persists whether you’re playing in docked or handheld mode on the Nintendo Switch. It can happen even when you’re moving around on a map and turning a corner while looking for opponents, which can look jarring and get in the way when you’re trying to quickly spot something of interest. The sounds you hear in matches can also appear to be bugged out, with some animations or actions from characters having no audio cue play out, even when you’re nearby. You might often get caught by surprise by characters who appear from behind using their abilities but with little to no sound indicating they are nearby. In a competitive environment, this can be a major issue when you need to know who and what is happening around you.

Matches in Star Wars: Hunters have you choosing between a collection of original characters from within the Star Wars galaxy. Don’t expect anyone you know from the movies or comics, but there are familiar design choices and affiliations that are true to Star Wars lore. There are 12 playable characters to pick from, each with their attacks and abilities to use within the arena. Unfortunately, none of them are that different from anything you may have already seen in other hero shooters, including similar abilities that are just lightly renamed. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it does lack any substantive appeal for those who are looking for anything different from another game within the genre.

But does it feel good to control and use these characters in a match? Depending on your play style, not really. There’s a very cheap feel to the movement and clashes during skirmishes. Matches will have you tasked with defeating the opposing team to score points, utilizing all of your abilities and weapons available. Most matches will end up becoming a messy hodgepodge of players converging into one spot on the map, with everyone wildly throwing out attacks. Getting around a map can feel sluggish at times, even with characters that are faster than others or have abilities to help them cover ground faster than normal. In some cases, by the time you reach the spot where everyone is fighting, you might find yourself needing to move around again with no sense of direction.

Most of these issues are compounded by the need for balancing of attacks and abilities for various characters. This includes the health of each character and their reactions, like staggering or other effects that happen from abilities. Some attacks that should be devastating in most cases often don’t feel powerful and appear to get shrugged off by most opponents. Taking a grenade launched head-on into someone definitely should not be something that feels like a tap on the shoulder. The same criticism could be said for some of the melee-based characters that rely on getting in close to be a real threat and who also struggle with taking hits from incoming attacks as well. While aiming attacks with precision and being accurate with wide-hitting abilities can work out well, they become almost irrelevant if they don’t have the results to back up their use. This is hopefully something that can change drastically as more updates and patches are released for the game.

On the outside of battles, Star Wars: Hunters is also a shallow package, at least for now. There is a battle pass-like progression system that also includes leveling up each character’s abilities. They gain EXP by playing through matches, with more being awarded for winning. But the majority of bonuses and rewards will come from improving your player rank and completing challenges. When playing the game for free, you are limited to using just a few characters but can unlock more by finishing matches and gaining enough tokens to unlock more. The option to purchase instant access to everybody is constantly thrown at you, with many splash screens and highlights reminding you about it. It gets overwhelming and annoying to the point where you might accidentally hit a button and instantly be taken to the eShop store to purchase crystals, trying to rush through them.

There are also a lot of cosmetic and profile rewards, which for some players will be enough to keep playing. But everyone else will find it to be very meager since there’s not much else you can gain throughout the game. At the same time, some playlists are locked until you can achieve a high enough player level. This can take time to get around and gain access to them. So, if you want to mix up the kinds of games you get into, you’ll be forced to deal with one game type until you increase your player level enough to open them up. You also don’t have access to any social features, like friend lists and making parties, until you complete several full matches beforehand, which may be annoying to some players who might feel a bit too restricted for how they want to explore and play the game.

It might take some time for players to warm up to Star Wars: Hunters, but there doesn’t seem to be enough reason to entice them to do so. The Star Wars license is appealing to fans of Star Wars already, but it does little to make this style of game any different or unique. A lot of what Star Wars: Hunters has to offer is done much better elsewhere and with a far more established foundation. The options that arena to pick over this, especially for those who want to enjoy an online game with similar characteristics to the likes of Overwatch and Apex Legends. For some open-minded players, this will provide a moment of fun before moving on to something else.

Star Wars: Hunters is available now, free-to-play, for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices with Android and iOS.

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