Bandai Namco’s long-running flight series can slip out of mind in the years between releases. This time, the critics aren’t letting anyone forget it.
The reviews for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve are in, and they agree almost across the board. The dogfighting works, the soundtrack works, and even the soap-opera plot works. A reviewer who dislikes it is hard to find, and the acclaim is strong enough to place it among the year’s best-reviewed games.
Critics keep coming back to the quiet moments
You might assume the praise would focus on the missiles. Much of it focuses on the dialogue.
Reviewers repeatedly highlight the audio design and sound mix, and above all the cockpit chatter between pilots. Those radio exchanges drive the story and make your wingmen feel worth defending. The smallest moments land hardest, like Tasha confronting the price of her pacifism, or Coster meeting his musical heroes in the middle of a flight.
Nobody pretends the story isn’t melodramatic. Critics say it still stirs real emotion, though, and the game keeps reminding you how terrible the surrounding war is. (That’s an odd fit for a series that makes fighter jets look this cool, and at least one reviewer pointed that out directly.)
Newcomers were won over too
One reviewer arrived without ever having played an Ace Combat game and left surprised, close to shocked, by how good the series is. The visuals made the biggest impression. Graphical fidelity, animation and art direction were each praised, and the reviewer called it one of the best-looking games they had ever seen.
The storytelling works on the same scale. Wings of Theve thinks big, with sprawling open environments and a story to match.
The weather does more than you’d expect
The dynamic weather system appears to be what sets this entry apart from earlier ones. One critic recalled being pursued into dense cloud cover, flying blind, jamming the throttle forward and committing to a nose-down dive at Mach 3. They said they lost track of how many times they leaned in toward their ultrawide monitor, fully focused, tracking enemy contrails the way you’d follow the guide lines in a racing game.
That reviewer went on to call it one of the best games they had played in years. That’s bold praise for a series with this much history.
Where it slows down
It has flaws. Lengthy cutscenes sometimes drag the pace, and a couple of late-game missions become repetitive.
Even so, critics say the 25 to 30-hour campaign holds its momentum, helped by varied objectives and quick mission pacing. Several reviewers described a real feeling of progression, from anxious rookie to the ace the game tells you that you are. The closing missions, where the gameplay and story twists converge, were called some of the loudest in the series, and one reviewer said they top Top Gun: Maverick.
That balance is part of the draw. Critics put it right between hardcore simulation and pick-up-and-play arcade action.
A war game with faith in people
The story deals with the dangers of blind nationalism, and it can get a bit earnest. Reviewers still seem happy to let it be sincere.
One critic acknowledged that many players will reasonably question whether a series built on making dogfights look awesome has anything wise to say. They embraced the game’s optimism anyway, noting that despair is everywhere at the moment.
The soundtrack also earns its own applause. Sweeping orchestral pieces back the tense battles, and more than one reviewer ranked it among the year’s best.
Ace Combat 8 launches Oct. 2 on PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. A big monitor is recommended, because you’ll probably find yourself leaning into it.