Debuting in 1995 on the PlayStation, Ace Combat has been one of the most enduring arcade-style flight sim franchises on the market. While other titles have focused more heavily on the realistic portrayal of aircraft or leaned fully into the bombastic potential of the premise, Ace Combat has found its best results when it threads the needle. That’s very much the mission operandi for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, which Bandai Namco has put together with terrific visuals and solid gameplay.
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The follow-up to 2019’s Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Wings of Theve puts players into the middle of an international conflict and surrounds them with a loyal band of allied pilots, who join you in assignments that range from bombing runs and escort missions to straight-up dogfights against impossible odds. The game’s easy-to-learn mechanics streamline the experience in the best of ways, delivering a game that might not be the most realistic approach to the premise ever seen but may be among the most fun. ComicBook got to attend a preview event for the game, stepping into the cockpit and seeing the action first-hand — and can attest to just how much fun it can be.
Take To The Skies For Theve
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is a gorgeously rendered flight sim that finds the right balance between fun arcade-style gameplay and a clear love for real-world aviation. Building on the advancements made to the series in recent entries, Ace Combat 8 focuses on a massive national conflict that’s been pushed into overdrive between the Federation of Central Usea and Sotoa. The player steps into the role of “Rex,” a mysterious pilot who is tasked with taking over the role of the “Wings of Theve,” a legendary pilot feared across the skies.
A mix of character-heavy cinematics and mid-mission radio chatter fleshes out the story and the game’s supporting cast, adding a good deal of personality to the gameplay. As the Wings of Theve, players will find themselves carrying the load pretty directly in missions, whether that be engaging in dogfights, bombing enemy ships, or escorting an invasion through a seaborne assault. The game’s focus on a specific roster of pilots helps the game work as a standalone title for those who haven’t invested in the longer-running plot, with their personal narratives serving as the thematic throughline of the game.
The narrative lends itself well to the episodic nature of the game’s missions, with each story beat told through complicated mission parameters or new threats. It’s a story that genuinely feels fueled by the player’s performance in the sky, which puts emphasis on just how important the gameplay is to the success of the execution. Luckily, the team at Bandai Namco Aces has done more than create a gorgeous-looking game.
Eye In The Sky And Wind Beneath Your Wings
Ace Combat 8 is building off years of lessons from game development, with an emphasis on being adaptable to the player’s preferences as a pilot. There are several aircraft that players can unlock as they play through the story, along with unique weaponry choices that are more effective in some missions than others. Across the multi-hour demo session that ComicBook got to take part in, the action was open-ended enough that players could choose their aircraft and still likely be able to adapt to their situations. The gameplay is fairly easy to pick up, with the focus on playability allowing even novice fliers to quickly adjust to the threats in the sky and on the ground. Actually defeating those challenges can be a bit trickier, however.
The massive open-air battlegrounds are perfect for tense confrontations and fast-paced battles, but they also offer enough room for players to maneuver freely and adopt different strategies — at least until the action moves to an urban environment, where the chaos of drone swarms and the dangers posed by local skyscrapers make the dogfights far more hectic. Still, the tight controls, responsive camera, and changeable radar keep players moving forward throughout the action. Trying out different planes is inherently fun, all while figuring out the right approach that fits your play style.
The game’s action is streamlined enough to be easy to learn, even if the intricacies of dogfighting speak to the underlying depth of the game design. It helps that the mechanics provide a consistently engaging gameplay loop. There’s enough mission variety and tension in every mission to keep players engaged while remaining consistent enough to rarely become overwhelming.
Even the most frustrating levels and threats — like a battle with a massive landbound battleship — are still fun, even if the challenge of actually landing all the right hits in the correct amount of time can be frustrating. It’s not annoying in a gameplay sense, ensuring that every failed mission just drives the player to take another swing at it. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is a great addition to the series that also serves as a solid entry point for anyone who enjoys a good airborne action game. Far more Star Fox than Microsoft Flight Simulator, the sheer scope and underlying fun of getting caught in a dogfight make this a solid pick for gamers looking to fulfill their Top Gun dreams.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on October 2nd.
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Courtesy of Kadokawa / Shosetsuka ni Naro
