It’s been seven years since the release of Ace Combat 7 , so this new entry has a lot to live up to, and the good news is that it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Set over a decade after the events of the Lighthouse War from Ace Combat 7 , we join the beleaguered and battered forces of the Federation of Central Usea as they fight off an invasion from the extremely militant and decidedly Mongolian-esque Republic of Sotoa .

In the game’s opening prologue (spoiler alert), you fly in the back seat with Jan Cope , the titular Wings of Theve . Only to be shot down, leaving you the sole survivor , and be forced to take on his name to help boost morale. The interesting part here is that Cope remains as a ghostly voice in your ear throughout the campaign after that, which is most certainly an interesting narrative choice.

It goes without saying that Sunao Katabuchi has penned a great story here, but like most of his prior work, be it anime or video games, a lot of the plot is inferred. Even with all the new motion capture in-game cutscenes, which are very well done, there’s a lot left out that you need to piece together from not only the cutscenes but also dialogue in missions.

A great deal has also been done to beef up your interaction with your wingmen, not only in terms of giving them more direct dialogue, but you can also give very handy commands in-game, which brings me to the new parts of how this game plays.

In general, everything feels beefier. From sound effects to pad rumbles, camera shakes, and more complex particle effects. In some ways, Ace Combat 7 was a bit too pristine, and while the core handling of the game remains nigh-on identical, you get a lot more feedback now.

That said, I am not so sure the constant sonic boom effect is entirely necessary to gameplay, but it is definitely fun and is somewhat of a helpful reminder of your current speed.

You also now get two special weapon slots, although their ammunition is much lower than in the previous game. The latter also feeds into how you set up your wingmen, which can be done automatically or manually. The latter allows you to specify each plane for the game’s characters.

The wingmen setup is actually extremely helpful, as you can have them do things like focus attacks on whatever you have targeted or give you cover and use their special weapons on command.

As for the set-piece bosses, there are plenty. You have lots of massive aerial behemoths that can now be damaged more liberally, and also the previously teased Land Battleships . These come in small and extremely large sizes, and play a big part in the campaign’s narrative progression.

You also have lots of story beats from Ace Combat 7 and older Ace Combat games, although I obviously won’t spoil those here.

However, Ace Combat 8 is now quite far along the Strangereal timeline, and is brushing up against the more surreal aspects of Ace Combat 3 . The latter is part of the inspiration for the inclusion of the FA-36 Game fighter, which is a variant of a fighter from Ace Combat 3 .

In total, I’ve played through the campaign three times, and it’s quite a bit longer than the previous game’s campaign, and while the English voice acting is solidly done, especially for the ghostly Cope, the Japanese voices seem far more fitting, which is not overly surprising.

It’s also worth highlighting the music here, as with all Ace Combat games, the soundtrack is one of its most memorable aspects, and Ace Combat 8 is no exception. In fact, I think this may be the best Ace Combat has ever been musically. In addition to the magnificent Everflow , there is also one choral track towards the end of the game that truly stands out as something quite beautiful.

Like with all Ace Combat campaigns, there’s a lot to take in, and as always, there is a nefarious force behind the events that caused this war.

The online multiplayer is also very solid. Due to playing the game before release, we had to jump onto an online playtest, but this was handled across multiple continents and was buttery smooth throughout, which is both impressive and shows the full scope of the netcode, as you will likely have matchmaking with players much closer to you geographically. The additional multi-objective PvE and PvP game modes, in addition to things like deathmatch, will definitely keep me coming back to this game.

Overall, Ace Combat 8 is still the immaculately crafted flight combat game we have all come to enjoy, but there is a more visceral aspect to the game now. From how you feel massive explosions to repeatedly breaking, as well as surpassing, the sound barrier. So I raise a humble hand of hope that this game will find its audience and that they will have a modicum of sympathy for the nomadic Sotoans even after all the carnage they have caused.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

Platform: PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC

Released: 2nd October 2026

Disclosure: Bandai Namco sent me a copy of this game for the purposes of this review.

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