Star Wars Squadrons: Leia gives a post-Alderaan pep talk in new gameplay trailer

The Rebels might have destroyed the Death Star (twice), but the fragile peace after the Battle of Endor needs something for the Rebellion to hang its hopes on. And in the new game trailer for Star Wars: Squadrons, nothing’s more motivating for Princess Leia than remembering the Empire’s destruction of her home planet.

Keeping the Rebel Fleet from getting complacent after their Return of the Jedi victory is what fuels Leia’s pep talk to pilots in the clip, setting the stage for Squadrons, a Star Wars dogfighting sim that looks as out of this world as ever in the new single-player trailer EA showed off today at Gamescom.

Take a look:

There’s more propelling Squadrons’ story than a just post-victory lull. “Though shattered after the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire closes in on the Bormea Sector, determined to crush the recently-formed New Republic,” teases EA. “The Republic’s classified Project Starhawk represents a tipping point in the Galactic Civil War, and ace pilots on each side will be instrumental in its outcome.”

That last bit is especially cool, since Squadrons lets you suit up as a pilot on either side. You’ll be able to experience the game’s “authentic Star Wars story” inside the cockpits of eight separate classes of starfighter from both the New Republic and the Empire, and the game will feature full VR support  for both its campaign and multiplayer modes.

Due out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Oct. 2, Star Wars: Squadrons has already impressed Gamescom fans enough to be named the best action game at this year’s show (via THR) — and the four-day event has only just blasted off.

Not to be outdone, LEGO debuted a new trailer for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga that threads the needle between cuteness (just check out Palpatine’s first try at zapping Luke with lightning!) and lore-appropriate.

Check it out:

The new clip marked the world premiere for early gameplay snippets, though in between, there’s LEGO-ized cinematic footage that drops in on just about every film in the nine-movie series. The game’s official title was only revealed this week, coming as the 6th (and, from what we’ve seen here, the biggest) installment in WB Games and developer TT Games’ enormously popular blocky spin on the Star Wars franchise.

Early predictions that the game will be out this year were dashed at the trailer’s end, which teases a “2021” release date with no mention of when in the year it might land. Fire up the tractor beam all the same, and get ready to hop on board: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is headed our way as a cross-generation release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.