Ace Combat has long kept its pilots inside the cockpit, treating war as something seen through glass and heard through a radio. With Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, arriving seven years after its predecessor, the series steps out of that seat and turns toward the people flying beside the player. The reviewer's verdict of 8.7 suggests that this closeness, carried by a campaign of thirty missions, is the real achievement, even as the familiar weight of ground assaults and repeated spectacle tests how much the old machinery can still bear.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Delivers a Series-Best Campaign of Cinematic Scale and Squadron Bonds
War, once viewed only from the cockpit, is now experienced outside it
Mark
The headline number is 30 missions. Why does that matter beyond being bigger?
Mimi
Because the missions aren't just more of the same. The review says the variety covers dogfights, superweapons, ground support, stealth and tunnels, and the order is arranged so frustration rarely lingers.
Mark
And the cutscenes change what the missions mean?
Mimi
Yes. Wingmen are shown eating, celebrating and grieving, so when Coster breaks off to help a flight with a pilot from his favorite band, it reads as him rather than as a script event.
Luke
Before we get carried away, this is one reviewer's experience, scored 8.7. The pacing being nearly mind-reading precise is his impression, not something measured.
Mark
Fair. What about the ground missions?
Mimi
That's the main criticism. Target selection in the Megafloat mission was a chore, and the land battleships felt like railgun-equipped ground targets once the novelty faded.
Luke
Worth noting the review ties the ground emphasis to the story, since the FCU starts with almost no territory. But whether other players find it repetitive is something this one review can't tell us.
Mark
And the online mode?
Luke
Only partly tested. The review had a limited demo, so claims about long-term appeal are unknown. We know the lobby setup and the shop, not how the game holds up over months.
Mimi
Right, that verdict is still open.
Le Pouls
- A faction falling apart, its territory slipping to the Republic of Sotoa, leaves the player's squadron fighting to hold back the tide.
- Ground-attack sorties and land battleships grow heavier with each return, drawing irritation where the spectacle was meant to awe.
- Wingmen respond to D-pad commands, but their stubborn personalities turn every order into a small negotiation with loyalty.
- Shadow 22 and the elite Lux Lunae strike in formation, forcing the player to isolate them one by one before the finale's catharsis lands.
- Ace Combat Online arrives only partly revealed, its long-term pull still waiting to be measured against its airshow-style lobby and purchase shop.
Ace Combat has long kept its pilots inside the cockpit, treating war as something seen through glass and heard through a radio. With Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, arriving seven years after its predecessor, the series steps out of that seat and turns toward the people flying beside the player. The reviewer's verdict of 8.7 suggests that this closeness, carried by a campaign of thirty missions, is the real achievement, even as the familiar weight of ground assaults and repeated spectacle tests how much the old machinery can still bear.
For most of its history, Ace Combat has let players see war from one place: the cockpit. Squadmates were voices on a radio, enemies were shapes in the sky, and orders came in briefings. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, seven years after its predecessor, is built to pull players out of that seat and closer to the people flying beside them. InvenGlobal's reviewer scored it 8.7, praising a campaign of thirty main missions, ten more than Ace Combat 7, which makes it the largest in the series.
The biggest change is how the story is told. Squadmates now appear as 3D characters, and the cutscenes unfold in real time from the protagonist's own eyes, so players can look around. Wingmen are seen eating, celebrating and grieving together. Dialogue is limited to yes or no, yet the squadmates seem to understand what the player meant regardless. The Federation of Central Usea is losing nearly all its territory to the Republic of Sotoa, and the pilot is sent to help retake it.
The reviewer had feared the game would lean on ground targets as its predecessor did. The land battleships and megafloats do grow in scale, but they feel more like moving targets with railguns, and their repeated appearances bring more irritation than awe. The pacing offers relief, though: after a run of ground missions, the next one puts the reviewer against enemy aces in the air. The finale, set to the track "everflow," wipes out much of that frustration.
The squadron command system, revived from Ace Combat 5, lets the player order the whole squad onto one target, let wingmen fight on their own, call for cover, or time special weapons, all through the PS5 D-pad. The personalities complicate the orders. Joker Squadron is a ragtag group of a former schoolteacher, a rock fan, and a young civilian who stayed after an aerobatics show. Tasha, who had never fired a missile in midair, struggles well into the middle of the game.
The strongest enemies are Sotoa's elite Lux Lunae. Shadow 22 leads a formation that fires missiles even with the player on its tail, and the answer is to work with wingmen and take them down one at a time. Ace Combat Online was only partly available for review. It has its own progression, separate from the campaign, and a lobby modeled on an airshow at Suwon's 10th Fighter Wing. How it holds up over time remains to be seen.
For most of its history, the Ace Combat series has let players experience war from one place: the cockpit. Squadmates were voices on a radio, enemies were shapes in the sky, and orders arrived in briefings. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, which arrives seven years after its predecessor, is built around getting players out of that seat and closer to the people flying beside them. InvenGlobal's review scores it 8.7.
The campaign holds 30 main missions, not counting the prologue. That is 10 more than the 20 in Ace Combat 7. Between sorties come detailed cutscenes and briefings, and the reviewer found the playtime large enough that at one point he wondered whether the end was near. Kazutoki Kono, the series' brand director, had said before launch that the aim was a densely packed linear campaign with the largest playtime in series history. The review concludes the game delivers on that.
The biggest change is presentation. Squadron members once known only through voices or portraits are now 3D characters, and the cutscenes are real-time, first-person from the protagonist's point of view, so players can move their gaze. Story moments happen on aircraft carriers before launch and at ground bases, and one sequence follows a crash-landing in enemy-held territory. Wingmen are shown eating, celebrating and grieving together. Dialogue choices are limited to yes or no, but the reviewer found the squadmates remarkably good at understanding what you meant regardless.
The mission variety covers the series' familiar types: blue-sky dogfights, giant superweapons, ground support, radar-evading stealth runs and flights through narrow tunnels. The reviewer feared the game would lean on ground targets as Ace Combat 7 did, and the ground missions do grow in scale, with land battleships and megafloats. The story explains some of it: the protagonist's faction, the Federation of Central Usea, begins having lost nearly all its territory to the Republic of Sotoa, and protecting forces retaking it falls to the pilot. Still, the pacing relieves the strain. After a run of ground-attack and stealth missions, the next mission put the reviewer against enemy aces in the air.
There are complaints. In the Megafloat mission, cycling through targets with the Triangle button often meant overshooting the one he wanted. The land battleships, heavily promoted before launch, feel like moving ground targets with railguns. Their debut mission has presence, but repeated appearances bring more irritation than awe. The reviewer adds that the finale, set to the theme track "everflow," wipes out that frustration in a burst of catharsis.
The squadron command system, revived from Ace Combat 5, uses the D-pad on a PS5 controller. As flight lead, the player can send the whole squad at one target, have wingmen engage nearby enemies on their own, call for cover, or time special weapon use. Personalities complicate the orders. The player's Joker Squadron is a ragtag group meant to mirror a collapsing FCU: a former schoolteacher, a rock music fan, and a young civilian who stayed after an aerobatics show. Coster peels off to help an allied flight that includes a pilot from his favorite band. Tasha, who had never fired a missile in midair, struggles with combat well into the mid-game.
Some missions test loyalty. Enemy ace flights may harass allied squadrons, yet destroying them is not required when the objective is ground support. When the reviewer chose to help struggling allies and tear through hostiles, the mission failed quickly because ground forces were wiped out.
The strongest opposition is Sotoa's elite unit, Lux Lunae. Pilots are numbered by skill, lower being better, and double-digit numbers like 22 and 33 mark the elite. Shadow 22 leads Shadow Flight, which was formidable even on Normal. Flying aircraft like the Su-57, they strike in formation and fire missiles during Kulbit maneuvers even with a player on their tail. The answer is to work with wingmen to isolate and kill them one at a time. The reviewer called the early broadcast of their theme song over open radio a bit tacky.
Only part of Ace Combat Online was available during the review period. It has progression separate from the campaign, character creation, and a design the review compares to GTA Online and Red Dead Online. Its lobby is an airshow-style apron at Suwon's 10th Fighter Wing, with Season Pass aircraft in the hangar and NPCs nearby. A shop sells Season Passes, aircraft and emotes, and in the tested scope everything but the Season Pass could be bought with in-game currency. How well it holds up over time remains to be judged.
Citations marquantes
The aim was a densely packed linear campaign with the largest playtime in series history.— Kazutoki Kono, Ace Combat Brand Director (paraphrased)
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War & Conflict