Ace Combat 8 Wings of Theve Review

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve takes to the skies with flashier visuals, bringing its signature dogfight combat to denser battles where the stakes have never been higher. It feels much like a return to form, allowing players more control and immersion into the world of Ace Combat, even if it’s not quite the same feeling as earlier in the series.

Considering Ace Combat 7 was designed to run on last-gen PlayStation 4, while 8 is designed in Unreal Engine 5, the difference is instantly noticeable. The visual beauty extends well past the skies, but with the price of PC parts, it’s still a decent sum to meet the recommended specs. Thankfully, lower settings are much more manageable.

I was running above the recommended specs, on high settings at Ultra Wide Quad HD resolution, and performance was mixed. During gameplay, I had no noticeable lows, and the framerate remained steady, which, considering how much was happening in some missions, is beyond impressive. During cutscenes and mission prep, however, it was considerably slower.

The standard visual noise associated with UE5 was also present, with a film grain-like filter over cutscenes. It’s not enough to detract from the game as it still looks visually impressive, but this, coupled with the frame dips, does leave a sour taste in my mouth. Still, the music does make up for most of those minor visual inconsistencies.

In traditional Ace Combat fashion, there’s banger after banger to please your ears and amp up the action during key missions. Additionally, the camera positions itself perfectly behind you, subtly shaking during engagements, creating an immersive experience. As you maneuver, so does it, placing you at the edge and never leaving you to feel like you’re simply tailgating your jet. Overall, the improved graphics, camera, and sprinkling of musical hits go above and beyond in creating a lifelike, engaging, and fun experience.

In the same way I’ll never play Grand Theft Auto for its driving, I’ll never play an Ace Combat game for its story. Yes, there’s a heap of lore, the characters DO have a story to tell, and first-person cutscenes help deliver it, but I’m just here to blow everything up. I did however, love the chatter during missions, but still I’m here for the tense gunfights and the excitement of destroying everything around me.

Ace Combat 8 also brings back squadron command, giving you more control of some of the game’s most realistic-looking jets yet. You have three options: dispersed, covering, and concentrated fire, along with a special weapons toggle. Commanding your AI squad to do as they please, focus on a critical target, or provide cover is only a single click away.

If you’ve not played an Ace Combat game before, it’s a hard sell if you don’t like flying. Someone new will see jets and think, ‘flying isn’t for me, it’s not exciting’, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The constant chatter in your helmet, along with the high-octane gameplay, really gets your heart pumping – It’s all very full-on and fun.

Ace Combat 8 is less game, and more an experience to strap into. The missions are well designed, offering both complexity and variety, with a difficulty curve that feels just right. Most involve dogfights, but many have broader scopes, such as attacking enemy infrastructure, escorting allies, or disabling superweapons.

The opening feels like a generic movie setup, having you ambushed and then needing to stop a bomber. It does serve as a brilliant introduction to the systems in the game, teaching you how to manoeuvre and how to command your squadron. The second has you take down planes transporting parts, and without a map, you need to follow their contrails. Not only does this mission set up a future enemy you’ll face, but it also teaches you to target weak areas.

Standard and expert flying controls give you some flexibility in how you want to play, along with four difficulties allow you to tailor the challenge. The radar is also essential for making sense of the chaos, showing air and ground/surface hostiles as you try to keep track of everything happening around you. Lock-ons and flares are also fairly forgiving, which helps prevent the game from becoming frustrating even when things get really hectic.

Unlike past entries, damage rules have been somewhat relaxed. You’re now able to attack outside of specific damage points. Further, you can benefit from collateral damage, as defeated enemies (or their parts) can collide with and destroy other enemies. It’s a small change, but it benefits greatly in making Ace Combat 8 feel much more immersive.

The variety of aircraft is equally as impressive. Featuring over 30 unique aircraft, each falling into 1 of 4 categories, and with their own upgrade part slots. There’s one small detail which I love about the aircraft, and that’s when you destroy them. Pilots will eject out, and you can see them parachuting down – It’s unnecessary, but it does a lot for immersion.

Spending points to acquire aircraft, weapons, and upgrade parts gives you plenty to work toward. You can add parts to the body, arms, and miscellaneous slots, improving your aircraft through passive bonuses such as reduced damage or reload time. The animations when acquiring new aircraft are also a nice touch, as is seeing your selected aircraft and equipment reflected in cutscenes.

Wingmen are back, allowing you to give them orders at any time to either cover, help, disperse, or use their special weapons. The ally AI is impressive and they’re able to take down enemies or objectives by themselves, making your squad feel genuinely useful rather than just being there for show. Enemy AI will also manoeuvre around you, dodging rockets and trying to get behind you rather than simply flying into your line of fire.

PvE and PvP are included, but be aware that progress doesn’t carry over between single-player and multiplayer. This will be a love-hate situation, depending on which side of the fence you sit on. Personally, I love that aircraft progression is kept separate between the two, as it gives me something to work toward after I complete the single-player.

It’s hard to capture in words how fun this all was, despite how cliché the missions were. Flying through dense clouds as thunder rumbles in the distance or navigating through high-rise skyscrapers. Sun, rain, or snow, rocket trails and heat haze, water droplets and frost as you fly through clouds, everything comes together brilliantly. There’s so much happening at any one point, yet at no point is it overwhelming.

Momentum builds as you fly, requiring you to maintain your position, making it feel responsive without feeling too arcade-like. Don’t expect flight sim realism, however. I’d genuinely move in my seat as I scraped past buildings, land, or sea. The sound of machine gun and rocket fire also changes depending on whether you’re using the interior or exterior camera, adding another small layer of immersion.

The Annihilation battles were particularly fun, focusing on destroying as much as you can to reach the target score within the allocated time. I loved how you could fly back to the return line to rearm, switch weapons, or repair. My favourite missions relate to the land battleship – as the name suggests, it’s a battleship on land.

My God, this thing was a sight to behold. It’s basically a massive tank with the firepower of a navy fleet, and it’ll take a heap of time and effort to slowly pick away at. Missions 8 and 9 were some of the most fun I’ve had in a game for a long time. I genuinely felt like I was in Top Gun (or N64’s Star Fox).

Working away at the battleship, area by area, as allies assist. The developers perfectly highlight what Ace Combat is through these missions- a fast-paced spectacle that perfectly blends difficulty with fun. It’s dramatic, challenging, and beautiful.

Ace Combat 8 is a must-play, offering a satisfaction I’ve rarely found in other games. As you play, you truly feel like an ace pilot, you feel like you’ve improved. Words don’t do it justice.

I highly recommend the game, even if flying games aren’t your go-to. It’s approachable thanks to different control styles and difficulty levels, so even a rookie can succeed. Combine these with the outstanding visuals and unparalleled action combat and you’ve a winning formula.