Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
You’d be forgiven for never having played an Ace Combat game. But while it may not have the instant name recognition of a Call Of Duty, Namco’s aerial combat franchise has been going since the ‘90s, spanning more than 18 entries that have taken its dogfights from traditional military skirmishes to futuristic warfare (even venturing into outer space). From a distance, it might look like the kind of franchise where you need to know your F-16s from your F-22s in order to fully appreciate, but it in reality, Ace Combat is the closest videogames get to Top Gun. Its latest entry, Wings Of Theve, is also the most accomplished instalment yet, delivering exhilarating aerial combat and a melodramatic story that should prompt even the most aviation-averse players to take to the skies.
The series has never been about perfect runway landings or accurately reading instrumentation — Microsoft Flight Simulator, this is not. Rather, Ace Combat is exactly what it sounds like: a game with its head in the clouds and its finger on the trigger, delivering on the fantasy of being an ace fighter pilot. Wings Of Theve fulfils that promise and then some. Intuitive, beginner-friendly controls make you feel like a master of the sky right from the off, striking a satisfying balance between arcade-style action and aircraft that still feel weighty, without ever becoming cumbersome. After blazing through the thoughtful tutorials, you’ll find yourself pulling high-G turns, weaving between incoming missiles and chasing enemy pilots through the clouds with hardly a second thought.
No two dogfights play out the same, making every sortie feel ripped directly from an action movie.
It’s when the skies get crowded that Wings Of Theve really comes into its own. Missiles thunder past your wings, bullets light up the sky and mid-flight wrecks become real obstacles to dodge. Unlike the carefully choreographed set pieces of Uncharted or Call of Duty, the blockbuster moments here unfold organically from the chaos of combat. One minute, you’re chasing an enemy through the clouds, the next, you’re weaving through debris as half a dozen aircraft battle it out around you. No two dogfights play out the same, making every sortie feel ripped directly from an action movie (one specific action movie). There’s a real knack to getting on an opponent’s tail, and a fist-pumping satisfaction in finally lining up a shot after a prolonged exchange of bullets.
However, as dramatic as things get up in the air, there’s even more drama waiting to unfold on the ground. Set in the series’ fictional world of Strangereal, Wings Of Theve follows a federation fighting to survive an invasion. With their forces struggling, they need a hero to rally behind, and that’s where you come in. When Jan Cope, the original Wings Of Theve, is killed, you assume his identity, becoming an instant legend that you’re expected to live up to.
It’s an engaging set-up, and while the story reaches for bigger ideas than those explored in the series’ other entries, it never quite digs beneath the surface of its central themes, particularly the wartime propaganda. The game is far more comfortable with pilots trading dramatic one-liners over the radio, and military briefings delivered with the sort of seriousness usually reserved for end-of-the-world scenarios. But that’s all part of the fantasy, and the first-person cutscenes certainly help sell it. By placing you among the flight crew and letting conversations unfold between missions, the game builds a real sense of camaraderie among your wingmen, and gives you a feel for life as part of the team.
The missions themselves rarely allow you time to get comfortable. One sortie might have you locked in a dogfight, while the next asks you to take down weapons installations or protect your fleet. Rather than throwing wave after wave of enemy aircraft at you, Wings Of Theve keeps finding new ways to mix things up, introducing fresh objectives before any one task has time to outstay its welcome. In a genre where plane-to-plane combat can quickly become repetitive, Ace Combat 8 goes out of its way to ensure the campaign never feels like it’s running on autopilot.
Those wanting to tinker with their aircraft can also do so to their heart’s content, with new jets and upgrades allowing you to tailor your loadout. Towards the endgame, though, being spoilt for choice can start to feel more like homework than preparation for the next dogfight. It’s a minor gripe in an otherwise breezy experience, but one that occasionally becomes a source of frustration.
If the Ace Combat games have always stayed off your radar until now, Wings Of Theve makes a convincing case for locking on and discovering the rush this series has to offer. Its explosive dogfights make for one heck of a ride. Just don’t expect your next Flight Simulator session to feel anywhere near this exciting.