After a long seven-year wait, Bandai Namco has finally released Ace Combat 8: Skies of Deception. Based on reviews, it stands as an excellent sequel to Ace Combat 7, not only captivating numerous media outlets with its thrilling aerial combat but also arguably achieving narrative excellence for the first time in the series.
The developers didn't limit combat to the skies; instead, they crafted a new narrative experience for Skies of Deception. Through interactive first-person perspectives, players become fully immersed in the story of the core pilot squadron, "Joker Flight." While some reviewers felt this new narrative approach occasionally slowed down the combat pace, they also noted that once the battles began, the experience was exhilarating.
Selected Media Review Excerpts:
Anime News Network
The gameplay and narrative in Skies of Deception fit together perfectly. Structurally, the game focuses primarily on the adventures of Joker Flight, emphasizing the personal stories of its team members. The characters in Joker Flight are vividly portrayed, both as a team and as individuals.
Push Square
Ace Combat 8 might be the best-handling entry in the series to date. It polishes the action experience to perfection, offering incredibly smooth controls, while enhanced visual presentation makes Everythinggj more赏心悦目 (pleasing to the eye). Although the gameplay revolves almost entirely around aerial combat and bombing, I never grew tired of the campaign mode, impressed by the variety offered across its 30 missions.
Respec
Although much of the game's storyline still unfolds in the air, the richer aspects revolve around the reactions of the player and crew before, during, and after missions (presented through a new first-person perspective). This installment features significantly more cutscenes than previous entries. As the story progresses, you'll get to know characters like Tasha, Kostes, and Dexter—and naturally, once you've built such deep connections with them, all key narrative moments become even more touching.
Shacknews
Each map in Ace Combat 8 is a vast sandbox world featuring skies, oceans, and various terrains, complete with rich day-night cycles and weather conditions. The fighter jets you pilot are equally detailed, even more so, as they remain the core focus of the game. With approximately 30 aircraft, each serving different roles, having a diverse fleet is crucial for completing missions efficiently. Furthermore, the intricate interior and exterior details of these jets are so beautifully rendered that, even though the game is easier to handle in third-person view, I often found myself switching to the first-person cockpit perspective.
But Why Tho
Surprisingly, the best part of Ace Combat 8 is the clouds. Bandai Namco's Aces studio developed its own cloud engine, Cloudly, replacing the third-party cloud engine used in Ace Combat 7. Cloudly layers the sky, with clouds at different altitudes exhibiting distinct appearances and dynamic effects. These clouds are not only visually pleasing but also surprisingly impact gameplay. If you're being pursued by missiles, diving into the clouds can help you shake them off; conversely, if enemy aircraft hide within the clouds, your lock-on range shrinks, or the lock may break entirely, causing you to waste a missile on a blind shot.
The Guardian
The stunning camera composition and cinematography, emotionally charged motion capture and voice acting, the series' signature stirring soundtrack, and a satisfyingly concluded story all moved me in unexpected ways. This is not an experience typical of arcade flight combat simulators.
PSU
The pacing of early cutscenes feels somewhat sluggish, sometimes clashing with the rhythm of pre- and post-mission briefings, which is debatable. Additionally, the introduction of interactive elements feels slightly outdated, relying on brief QTE button prompts. These prompts appear frequently but often merely confirm actions characters should take based on the context, such as moving or shaking hands.
Day One
All of this feels somewhat clichéd, yet carries a certain endearing sincerity. I can't help but admire the developers' ambition, even if the plot twists lose their impact by the time the end credits roll. If you're a fan of the Ace Combat series, you'll likely enjoy this story, although personally, I found the ending slightly lackluster. Fortunately, the flight and combat mechanics offer a more exciting experience, so even if you're not invested in the plot, you can still derive plenty of enjoyment from the game.
Selected Media Scores:
10 - PSX Brasil
10 - MonsterVine
9.5 - Dualshockers
9 - Voxel
9 - Shacknews
9 - GamesRadar
9 - GamingBolt
9 - Destructoid
9 - Hardcore Gamer
8.5 - PSU
8.5 - DayOne
8 - PCGamesN
8 - Screen Rant
8 - Press Start
8 - Push Square
MC: 88
OC: 89