I hate to admit it, but before this review, I’ve never played an Ace Combat game. I had certainly seen snippets of gameplay and had come to know how beloved the franchise was, but it was something I had never come across prior to Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. And now that I’m here, I can’t exactly figure out why it took me so long.
I’m a sucker for cinematic storytelling, and fused with the occasionally chaotic and consistently stunning aerial action on offer here, I must say, I caught the series at a high point. For what it’s worth, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has provided some of the most fun I’ve had with a game all year, blending emotional and poignant storytelling with engaging gameplay.
It’s All On You, Rex
Ace Combat 8 is set 10 years after the events of Ace Combat 7, but the story is largely self-contained, only occasionally dropping subtle references to the larger Strangereal universe. Taking place in 2029 in the fictional Sotoa-Usea War, you play as an unnamed pilot who begins his journey in the back seat with Commander Jan “Rex” Cope, a legendary pilot also known as the titular “Wings of Theve”. But your fighter jet is soon shot down by the deadly Sotoan ace Shadow 22, with your pilot narrowly escaping the wreckage.
Rex is unfortunately killed; his legacy is far from over, as you are now tasked with taking on the mantle.
While this unnamed pilot spends most of the story doubting his own abilities, we soon find out that Rex himself was not exactly who he was cut out to be. His kill count was essentially fabricated, and his identity as a legendary pilot was largely manufactured to bring hope to his squadron, otherwise known as Joker Flight. In many ways, your squadron is just as capable, but as their validity is questioned, they are thrown into a new conflict and expected to produce results to preserve their unit.
The themes of identity, belonging and living up to expectations are all incredibly strong, and they’re only bolstered by the chemistry of Joker Flight. Your fellow pilot Baxter (also known as “Professor”), Coster (also known as “Noise”) and Tasha all add a unique sense of levity and humour to the situation as they bounce off each other.
Baxter serves as the group’s main mentor, while backing you up as your wingman. Coaster is the most humorous, smashing out his fair share of rock tunes as you fly, while Tasha, the youngest of the group, feels like the odd one out until she jumps into the cockpit. What might initially come across as a little silly soon becomes incredibly charming, as their support throughout the narrative feels remarkably genuine.
The only real gripe I had with the story is not so much with the generous amount of cutscenes or the first-person perspective within those cutscenes, but more so the silly button prompts that occur within them. They hardly detract from the overall experience, but why do I have to press the X button to shake someone’s hand? Even then, if you choose not to press the button, or miss the prompt if you’re looking down at your phone for a quick second like I was, the character opposite you just waits there awkwardly with their hand out.
The cutscenes are simply engaging enough that they don’t really need these prompts to generate any sort of challenge or particular reaction times, as a traditional quick-time event would.
That being said, for a game about jet fighters and dogfights, the broader conflict involving the invasion of the Federation of Central Usea (FCU) by the militant Republic of Sotoa does hang over most of the narrative and keeps things incredibly tight and focused over its 30 campaign missions. It’s a surprisingly heartfelt and memorable story that kept me intrigued and engaged until the very end.
Take to the Skies
As you can guess, Ace Combat 8 sees you behind the stick of a fighter jet for the entire game. Most of the 30 main campaign missions see you taking out waves of enemies both in the sky and on the land, with each mission playing out as a developing set piece of sorts, which sees you taking on specific enemies and situations of varying intensity. The first few missions, however, are dedicated to getting you to learn about the game’s controls and mechanics, which can feel a little intimidating at first.
The game isn’t necessarily difficult to play, but there’s a fair challenge here, no matter your difficulty setting of choice. The hardest part in the early hours is getting your bearings with the actual fighter jet. While you do get to pick from a generous range of 34 playable jets down the line, each with their own statistical advantages, there’s a fantastic balance between weight and speed, allowing you to tear through the skies at the cost of manoeuvrability. If you choose to pump the air brakes and whip around quickly, you risk losing control altogether.
Flying is easy enough, with the R2 or right trigger acting as your throttle and L2 or the left trigger acting as your air brakes. The L1 and R1 buttons, or right and left bumpers, then act as your left and right rudders, respectively. Ace Combat 8 does let you choose your jet and loadouts before each mission, but you’re usually equipped with two missile types, which you can switch between at the touch of a button, and a dedicated machine gun, which, unlike the missiles, never runs out of ammunition.
You’re also able to pick the jets and loadouts of each of your teammates, which can help with various tactics within each mission. If that wasn’t enough, you’re also able to get your wingmates involved with the D-pad, tapping each of the directions to administer a range of basic commands to protect you, disperse, use special weapons, and even focus their efforts on one particular target. While it’s all incredibly intuitive, it’s worth noting that your teammates get involved in the fight no matter what, as you can see in the detailed replay footage after each mission.
But once you’ve mastered high-G turns, learn to pop flares to avoid missile locks and weave through jet planes while flying low to the ground, snapping between targets and dropping missiles in between; there is so much fun to be had with Ace Combat 8. The learning curve might take a couple of hours, but I promise you’ll spend the next 15-or-so hours after that feeling like Maverick in Top Gun.
Flying With Friends
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve also includes a dedicated multiplayer portion, split across two distinct modes: Co-Op Assault and Co-Op Warfare. Co-Op Assault is the more traditional cooperative mode of the two, which sees two teams of up to four players taking on a range of enemies to compete for the highest score. Baxter, Coaster or Tasha won’t be with you, though. Instead, you’ll be able to customise your own character and team up with any of the 100 players who can hang out in the airbase, which serves as a main hub for each mode.
It’s a fine mode that essentially remixes elements from the main campaign, but it’s still a bunch of fun to coordinate with friends and teammates alike.
The second of the two modes is the Co-Op Warfare mode, which feels a little more intense. As the dedicated PvP mode, you’ll go head-to-head against another team of four players, with waves of NPC land, sea and air units in the mix to make things a little chaotic.
While skill is required across the board, you’ll need to bring your A game here, as the main objective is not only to take each other down, but to build your Threat Level, which essentially paints a larger target on your back as you take enemies down, making you a more valuable target and giving the opposing team additional points to take you down. If you raise your Threat Level high enough, you’ll earn the rank of Ace, offering such a massive amount of points that your demise can basically turn the tide of the match.
It’s certainly the more engaging mode of the two, but that Ace mechanic spearheads the entire mode into a handful of real risk/reward moments that are hard not to enjoy once you’re in the thick of it all.
Look the Part
Ace Combat 8 allows you to prioritise quality at 30 FPS, or the frame rate at 60 FPS, and as always, I recommend the latter option. While Ace Combat 8 runs incredibly well, that 60 FPS boost makes the gameplay feel much more responsive, and it already looks so good visually that I think the trade-off is worth it.
The way you sift through the clouds to reveal the sunset, or the condensation beads off the windshield or screen, depending on your camera settings, is a real treat. The skies look incredible, and some of the land maps bear quite a bit of detail when you fly close enough to the ground. Even during cutscenes, I feel as though most character models look great, and there’s some incredible lighting and textures across the board.
Final Thoughts
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve might be one of the biggest surprises of the year for me personally, but if this is part of a larger franchise with the same themes, storytelling and pacing, then I’ve got some work to do.
Even if you’re not a fan of the franchise or simply haven’t jumped on board yet, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve serves up some incredible gameplay, wedged in between stunning visuals and a memorable story.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Engaging gameplay; Emotional story; Gorgeous visuals
Lowlights: Gameplay has a decent learning curve; Cutscene button prompts are largely pointless
Developer: Bandai Namco Aces
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 with a code provided by the publisher.
Featured header image also provided by the publisher.
