What series is stuffed with more iconic moments than Star Wars? From Qui-Gon Jin’s defeat to Luke blowing up the Death Star, Star Wars is full of classic scenes ranging from tragic to triumphant. One of the prequel trilogy’s most memorable sequences is when Emperor Palpatine orders the clone army to “execute Order 66” in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.
A montage then plays out showing clone commanders and their troops murdering several Jedi. Order 66 and the Great Jedi Purge have been depicted in various Star Wars media, like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Bit Reactor’s beloved strategy game Star Wars Zero Company has its own huge Order 66 moment.
Polygon recently spoke with several Zero Company cast members — Jonathan Freeman (male Hawks), Dee Bradley Baker (Trick), and Vic Michaelis (Runa) — about their reactions to that Order 66 moment. We also chatted with creative director Greg Foertsch about how Bit Reactor brought Order 66 to life. Republic intelligence officer Bennic also tries to arrest Zero Company, further adding to the betrayal.
Fans have experienced Order 66 and the Great Jedi Purge across various mediums and Star Wars stories, but Zero Company does something different. Players are forced to control Trick in actually carrying out the attack. Star Wars Zero Company is an excellent game, and it’s surprising and innovative moments like this that could propel it into the end-of-year awards conversations.
From the outset, Bit Reactor wanted to “straddle” Order 66 with the game’s setting, according to Foertsch, because Zero Company takes place during The Clone Wars and into the early days of the Empire. Still, it presented a challenge, as the developers needed to ensure players cared about Trick prior to his forced betrayal. By the time the mission comes around, Trick (one of your strongest companions) has likely become an integral part of your squad, seeing as how he’s been there since the beginning.
That reliability was intentionally baked into canon between him and the main character too. The player will also care for the Padawan Tel-Rea (if she’s still alive), and will be made to attack her as Trick. Baker called Order 66 “the heartbreak of the clones,” and nothing is more heartbreaking than the player being forced into a position where they have to harm a squadmate.
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