The Ace Combat games never really appealed to me—many of these classic airplane-combat titles always came across as too technical, motion-sickness-inducing, and impersonal for my taste. Revisiting some older titles over the past few weeks, I think some of those beliefs hold true, but I’ll say this: they most certainly do not apply to Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, which might very well be one of the most glorious and thrill-inducing games I’ve ever played.
Ace Combat has always been relatively niche, but Ace Combat 8 could be the entry that changes that. It’s not without flaws, which mostly come down to story presentation and pacing, but given how nearly flawless the game’s encounter design, controls, and setpieces are, I’m left wondering how much these flaws really matter. Because when it comes down to fundamental, hands-on-sticks quality, Ace Combat 8 is about as good as it gets, and a gripping reminder of what AAA gaming can accomplish when done right.
At the same time, this is most definitely an Ace Combat game, top to bottom. Ace Combat 8 doesn’t feature any out-of-airplane gameplay, strongly punishes ignoring build-crafting and mission briefs, and often places excessive emphasis on story details like battle tactics, technological specifications, and miscellaneous aero-minutiae. The whole package may not appeal to every fan of action games or military shooters, but if you can fully embrace the pilot’s seat, you’ll be in for an exceptionally captivating ride.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Goes Full-Throttle and Doesn’t Let Up
Mission and encounter design are what have stuck with me the most since rolling credits on Ace Combat 8. The game features over two-dozen story missions (I don’t want to spoil the exact count), and not a single one could be reasonably called filler. Most missions take place on unique maps, and when maps are reused, it’s always with the addition of one or more quirks that meaningfully alter the gameplay, and augment what it demands of the player. Even seemingly small tweaks, like the time of day, can completely change how you engage with a given map.
Ace Combat 8‘s mission design is complemented by its fantastic controls and mechanics. With the default controls, which I personally recommend, flying is supremely intuitive, and an admirable translation of traditional car-driving mechanics to 3D space. The various planes you collect all feel meaningfully different from each other in every moment, in ways that make sense. For instance, a hefty bomber plane will struggle with hairpin turns and deceleration, whereas a nimble jet can pull off incredible maneuvers, like near-90-degree pull-ups, barrel rolls, and inversions.
I played Ace Combat 8 on PlayStation 5, so I can’t speak to other platforms, but I did not experience a single crash, performance hiccup, or noticeable glitch over the course of dozens of gameplay hours.
These qualities are constantly and purposely recontextualized for each campaign mission. You might want to choose the cumbersome, bomb-equipped Thunderbolt II for an assault on a land base, while the agile F-35 is better for dogfighting. Regardless of which plane you choose, you’ll have to manage your position relative to obstacles and other enemies, for which you’ll need to juggle various different pieces of numerical and visual data, including different radar types, altitude levels, and speed. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but over the course of the campaign, you’ll gain greater mastery of these skills than you could have imagined, pulling off breakneck stunts left and right.
Ace Combat 8‘s gameplay is surprisingly deep and deceptively nuanced, considering how easy it is to get the hang of the fundamentals. I was learning new tricks and techniques up until the game’s final mission, and I expect that I’ll continue to unfurl Wings of Theve‘s multilayered combat and traversal systems over the coming months, and perhaps even years; I certainly don’t plan to uninstall Ace Combat 8 any time soon.
A Brief Word on Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve’s Multiplayer
As is often the case when reviewing games, I only got a small taste of Ace Combat 8‘s multiplayer. Bandai Namco hosted a closed, one-day multiplayer event during the review window, during which I was able to play a few hours of Ace Combat 8‘s co-op missions, as well as several rounds of deathmatch and team deathmatch.
My opinions on multiplayer generally echo my opinions on the rest of the game: tight combat mechanics and flight controls make every moment fun. Multiplayer proved to be more pleasantly chaotic than single-player, as individual players could pull off interesting or unexpected feats not necessarily attempted by the game’s AI. But how many players will ultimately enjoy this comes down to the game’s multiplayer community and longevity, which will hinge on factors like stability under load, progression, customization, and support, all of which remain untested at this stage. So, my hopes are high for multiplayer in Ace Combat 8, but it’s hard to offer a full evaluation.
Ace Combat 8’s Story Soars, then Stalls, then Soars Again
I’ve avoided talking about Ace Combat 8‘s story for a few reasons, not the least of which being its frustrating inconsistency. To start with the positive, the game introduces a fairly likable cast, which winds up paying dividends over the course of the story, as protagonist Rex bonds with them on the battlefield. They are all fighting for the Federation of Central Usea (FCU), a country looking to retake its country from an occupying force; Rex and his squad, collectively called the Wings of Theve, are initially meant to serve as little more than propaganda actors for the FCU military, but they eventually become true heroes, together.
This Top Gun-esque fraternity is a little hard to buy at times thanks to Rex being a silent protagonist. I can understand the desire to have a blank slate for the player in this sort of game, but there are times when Rex’s muteness undermines my immersion rather than enhances it. Real-life friendships generally involve two-way communication, after all. It’s not terrible, but it feels like a missed opportunity.
More problematic than this is the story’s pacing, which regularly grinds to a halt for the purposes of lengthy exposition, granular exposition of technical details, and explanations of battle plans. These mind-numbing scenes are usually, but not always, limited to pre-mission briefings, which makes them somewhat helpful. For example, you might get insight into an enemy weapon’s shortcomings, if you pay attention. But this doesn’t make up for how dull these sections can be, especially when they’re juxtaposed by Ace Combat 8‘s more traditional cutscenes, which are often quite beautiful.
It says a lot about Ace Combat 8‘s setpiece design that, even when I felt disillusioned by the game’s inconsistently paced, exposition-heavy story, I still regularly got goosebumps during missions. Indeed, Ace Combat 8 has some of the most hype moments I’ve ever seen in gaming, with last-minute upsets, shocking twists, and glorious victory laps being rolled out with such precision and panache that I would often find myself whooping triumphantly at my TV screen, so engaged with the interactive spectacle in front of me that I felt, for a moment, like I was in the cockpit myself.
Ace Combat 8 could have reached even greater heights had its story undergone an additional edit or two, but it’s hard to complain too much about this when the rest of the package is so aggressively high-quality. Here is a game that will blow your hair back, rewarding you for peeling back the layers of its flight and combat mechanics while still giving you enough room to breathe, and the result of this dynamic is one of the most elegantly designed interactive blockbusters I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying.
- Released
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October 2, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
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Bandai Namco Aces
- Diverse, thrilling mission design
- Fantastic performance on console
- Blockbuster-level action setpieces
- Fine-tuned flight and combat mechanics
- Moderate narrative pacing issues
