ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

I've never played an Ace Combat game before this, so I can't compare it to others in the series for reference. However, I can say that this is some of the most fun I've ever had in a video game. The sheer rush of some of the dogfights in the campaign is enough for me to give it a positive review, but I'll get into some specifics below.
The story is bad. Not downright awful, but bad. It runs a very bland optimistic, anti-war message throughout, but it's garbled by the story's framing between three different NPCs. I'm not calling for an edgy, gritty war story. We've had a million of those already. But personally I think AC7 simply bores the player with characters preaching about conflict in ways that doesn't really feel natural considering how the plot actually progresses. That doesn't even get to the last act of the campaign, which pushes the goofy meter to 11 as you take down what I can only call the precursor to Skynet. Fun? Absolutely. But don't expect any actual commentary on the military-industrial complex outside of the take that drones are creepy and a war conducted through unmanned technology isn't good. In this way, AC7 ironically glorifies the same wars it's trying to protest.
But who cares about a story? You're buying this because you get to fly wicked jets, right? Right. I'm not a flight simulator guy, but I can say this game feels very arcade-like, at least on Normal difficulty. Play on expert controls for the best control of your aircraft, but don't expect a true simulator. Controlling the pitch, roll and yaw was enough for me to get a ton of fun of doing loops around the jets I was shooting down. I enjoyed just about every mission, although there are some sections of individual missions that caused me some frustration (the end of Mission 20 is just unfair, even for being the very ending.)
Oh, and during each mission, you'll have a ton of NPCs, both allied and enemy, talking about how cool you are. all. the. time. It didn't get on my nerves too much, but I can definitely see how somebody would get utterly sick of it. I assume this is normal for the AC series and it does make for a good power fantasy, but it was grating by the end of the 20 mission run, which will probably be somewhere between 12 and 16 hours for you on normal, if I had to guess.

If you’ve ever wanted to play Top Gun but without Tom Cruise stealing your thunder, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is your game. It’s part fighter jet simulator, part soap opera, and all chaos in the skies. You’ll find yourself pulling Gs while dodging missiles, yelling Fox Two like a wannabe Maverick, and then crashing because you got distracted by the weather. Yes, the WEATHER. It’s gorgeous and will absolutely kill you.
The plot? Something about rival nations, betrayals, and a space elevator. Honestly, it’s like Game of Thrones but with jets instead of dragons. And the voice acting? Chef’s kiss. Every character delivers their lines like they’re auditioning for a Shakespeare play about aerial dogfights.
TL;DR: You’ll either become an ace pilot or eject straight into a thunderstorm, but either way, it’s ridiculously fun. Just don’t fly into the mountains. They don’t move.

We should destroy all drones right now and go back to fighting battles with mute psychopaths in experimental jets like god intended. Also giving felons access to military hardware is the best tactical decision anyone has ever made.

don't hate me for this but this game is for controller or flight stick sim, not on mouse and keyboard. So if you're planning to play this make sure you are planning to buy or have a controller at least. I don't recommend playing this on mouse and keyboard it such a horrible experience, buy Project Wingman instead

I really enjoyed it but now that I'm done the campaign I feel like there's nothing left to do since I don't really enjoy pvp. I wish there was a solo or even co-op arcade mode or wave survival mode. I'd play the heck out of that kind of mode in this type of game.

Does the color of the sky mean anything special to you?
---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10

Great game! Short campaign though. And, unfortunately, almost zero players online as of Jan 2025, so no multiplayer. But still a great game!