Cloud Imperium, the developer of the space simulator game Squadron 42, has released a 25-minute gameplay trailer for the long-awaited game. From the looks of it, it appears capable of giving Bethesda’s Starfield a run for its money.
The video, which is titled “I Held the Line,” contains a short sequence of two space fighters of the United Earth Empire rendezvousing with the capital ship UEES Gauntlet and a male character corresponding with a female counterpart via a hologram of an email service that accepts voice dictation.
The walkthrough trailer is stylized as a documentary featuring the senior members of the development team. Game director Chris Roberts announced through the video that, after 11 years, Squadron 42 has now entered the “polishing” phase.
Senior Game Director Robert Tyrer explains that this phase is where the team puts “extra emphasis” on ensuring everything works as they intended. In other words, they are confirming that the game is free of bugs or as close to being bug-free as possible.
Tyrer also added that this is the last step the development team needs to understand before the game is fully released.
The video, however, falls short of specifying a release date for the space simulator.
Squadron 42 is the single-player campaign of Star Citizen, the online multiplayer version that was first announced in 2012. It was initially slated for release in 2014, but it was spun off Star Citizen and became a standalone title.
Development encountered roadblocks when Cloud Imperium became entangled in a legal battle with Crytek over the CryEngine license in 2018. This lawsuit was eventually settled in 2020, allowing the development team to resume work on Squadron 42.
The walkthrough video also previewed the game’s dogfighting feature, a functionality that it shares with Starfield. If it looks like your cup of tea, perhaps it’s time to practice with Starfield while waiting for Cloud Imperium to release Squadron 42.