We’re just waiting for DC to throw out a tactics game and then we’ll have the trifecta. As it stands right now in the superhero/pop culture world, we have two major ones: a Marvel-based game in Marvel’s Midnight Suns and a Star Wars game in Star Wars: Zero Company. Both of these games are fantastic, but which one is better?
Today, we’ll put both games head-to-head across nine different categories, awarding one point to the winner of each. By the end, we’ll rightfully declare an overall winner. Of course, this is completely based on my personal opinion and experience with both games.
1. Story
In a nutshell, Zero Company took a fair bit of time to become interesting. It wasn’t until Anakin Skywalker showed up that my ears began to perk up. Whereas Midnight Suns was interesting from the very first mission. Zero Company centres around the height of the Clone Wars, so in theory, it has a better canvas to work with because the wider story and setting are already established.
Midnight Suns went a step beyond that, creating an entirely new story centred around a brand-new character, which is always difficult to do within these types of franchises. Midnight Suns smashed it out of the park, and the story only became more interesting as it went on. I’d even argue that Midnight Suns has the best storyline across all of Marvel’s games, including Spider-Man… perhaps a controversial take.
Winner: Midnight Suns
Score: Midnight Suns 1 – 0 Zero Company
2. Characters
I mean, this is an easy one. If you’re a Marvel fan and a Star Wars fan, it’s quite simple here. Marvel has a cascade of hugely popular characters. Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, then you have the DLC characters like Deadpool and Storm. There are, of course, so many more than that, which gives any Marvel fan a headache when deciding which team they’re taking into battle.
Besides Anakin, Rex and a couple of other familiar faces, Zero Company introduces a completely fresh cast. Some characters are more intriguing than others but honestly, besides maybe Hawks, none of them are particularly memorable. They’re great characters, don’t get me wrong, but there’s nobody I’m going to be shouting home about in 12 months’ time.
Then we have the ultimate showdown: Hawks vs Hunter. Hunter wins this battle as well. He’s far more interesting and has much more scope as a main character. His development is arguably better too. This is a character who has been dead for years and is suddenly brought back into a world that’s moved on without him. Watching him adjust to that reality while building relationships with some of Marvel’s biggest heroes gives him a level of development that Hawks never quite reaches.
Winner: Midnight Suns
Score: Midnight Suns 2 – 0 Zero Company
3. Combat
Both of these games are turn-based tactics-style games, and they take inspiration from XCOM in their own ways. Midnight Suns utilises three characters per battle, whereas Zero Company allows you to use four. Midnight Suns requires you to build a deck of cards that cycles throughout each battle, while Zero Company is much more heavily inspired by XCOM in how its combat plays out, including mechanics such as Overwatch and percentage-based shots.
I feel like Zero Company simply offers more with its combat. You have access to a Jedi alongside multiple different classes, which can branch into two specialisations as the story progresses. Each character can feel unique, and it’s entirely up to you how you approach each battle. Midnight Suns’ combat is still fantastic, but the reliance on which cards you draw can occasionally make it feel too RNG-heavy. Zero Company gives you more direct control over your squad and, for me, ultimately has the better combat system.
Winner: Zero Company
Score: Midnight Suns 2 – 1 Zero Company
4. Strategy & Difficulty
This is perhaps one of the more difficult categories to score, as both games offer plenty of options when it comes to difficulty. However, Zero Company offers something similar to XCOM’s Ironman mode with Beskar/Expert. You’re playing on the hardest difficulty with a single save file that’s constantly updating, meaning you can’t manually save or reload when something goes wrong.
This is where Zero Company really separates itself. Every single decision matters. If you lose a key member in battle, it doesn’t matter whether you’re 30 minutes or 20 hours into the campaign — it’s game over. You have to strategise far more carefully because every movement, ability and shot can have consequences.
Midnight Suns can almost be cheesed once you’ve built a strong enough deck, which takes away some of that challenge. I also found the platinum trophy for Midnight Suns relatively easy compared to Zero Company. Zero Company constantly made me think about even the smallest decisions, particularly on Beskar/Expert, and completing that difficulty felt like a genuine achievement.
Winner: Zero Company
Score: Midnight Suns 2 – 2 Zero Company
5. Progression
This is arguably one of the weakest areas of Zero Company. Yes, the bonds are fine, and the Focus Point upgrades are okay, but that’s just it. They’re just… okay. There isn’t really that power fantasy you can sometimes feel in these types of games once you’ve progressed far enough. I think the lack of New Game+ also hurts Zero Company’s ability to provide that feeling.
Midnight Suns handles progression much better. You can change and improve your decks, upgrade cards and add modifiers such as “Quick” to abilities, allowing you to refund card plays and take more actions during a turn. You also unlock ultimate abilities by maximising relationships, and some of these can feel incredibly powerful. By the later stages of the game, you genuinely feel how much stronger your heroes have become, and reaching that level of power is simply fun.
Winner: Midnight Suns
Score: Midnight Suns 3 – 2 Zero Company
6. Relationships & Bonds
Both games treat bonds and relationships differently. Zero Company focuses mainly on bonds as a way to gain additional stats and abilities. You can increase bonds by completing missions together, assisting each other, applying buffs, and more. Each level gives you a choice of three upgrades, ranging from additional health and damage to increased range percentages and other useful bonuses.
Midnight Suns offers a little more. The relationships feel much more personal. Each one can offer something unique, including additional abilities, while the smaller conversations and cutscenes make it feel like you’ve genuinely made progress with that character. The gifting system also helps make the entire experience feel more involved, especially when you’re learning what each character actually likes.
Both games approach the system differently and both do it well, but Midnight Suns made me feel considerably more involved with the characters themselves rather than simply chasing the next upgrade.
Winner: Midnight Suns
Score: Midnight Suns 4 – 2 Zero Company
7. Customisation
Both games offer their own layers of customisation. Midnight Suns gives you the ability to change the suits of all your heroes, including their casual clothes, while also allowing you to customise your room within the Abbey. There’s quite a lot to sink your teeth into.
Where Zero Company is stronger is the sheer amount of control it gives you over your characters. You can change their weapons, add mods and utilities to suit your playstyle, and customise practically every aspect of a custom soldier. I’m not just talking about looks either. You can change their name, biography, outfit and even the type of character you want them to be.
It’s vast, and you can genuinely spend hours changing up your squad and building them exactly how you want. Midnight Suns has plenty to customise, but Zero Company simply offers more freedom here.
Winner: Zero Company
Score: Midnight Suns 4 – 3 Zero Company
8. World & Atmosphere
This one is simply down to preference. On one hand, you have the Star Wars universe, and on the other, the Marvel universe. Personally, I’ve always preferred the world and atmosphere of Star Wars over Marvel. I’m a huge fan of space as it is, so seeing different planets, unique locations and varied maps was always going to win me over more than Midnight Suns does.
Both games have similar environmental factors during combat. You can push enemies off the map, knock them into objects, blow up objects around the battlefield and use the environment to your advantage. They’re very close in that sense, but Zero Company wins this section because its world simply feels more familiar to me.
Winner: Zero Company
Score: Midnight Suns 4 – 4 Zero Company
9. Replayability
This is perhaps the easiest score to give. It goes to Midnight Suns and it’s not even close. This is simply due to the fact that Midnight Suns has a New Game+ option, whereas Zero Company does not. I understand that XCOM also didn’t have a New Game+ option, but that hurt XCOM as well.
Zero Company has a lot to play through, but you’re drastically limited in terms of levelling everything up, meaning you have to be careful with what you choose to focus on. Midnight Suns didn’t have that problem. You could jump into New Game+ and come back already powerful, allowing you to continue building on what you’d already achieved. For me, that added a further layer of replayability that Zero Company simply doesn’t have.
Winner: Midnight Suns
Score: Midnight Suns 5 – 4 Zero Company
Winner: Midnight Suns
The score is close because the games themselves are incredibly close. Both of these games are powerhouses when it comes to turn-based tactics. I feel like Midnight Suns got a bad rap from the moment the card/RNG mechanics were announced for its combat, but they genuinely work incredibly well.
I’m still devastated that we never got a sequel, and likely never will. However, Zero Company now has an opportunity to carry that torch, especially after its strong commercial and critical success. Ultimately, Midnight Suns just edges it for me. Zero Company does certain things better, but when everything is put together, Midnight Suns remains the more complete experience. It wins this battle 5–4, but there’s absolutely no shame in how close Zero Company came.
