Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Review — The Best Air Combat Game of the Year

Score: 9.0/10 — Proof that a perfectly executed arcade formula can still fly high.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (Project Aces/Bandai Namco, out October 1–2, 2026 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S) arrived without much fanfare — then landed with 87 on OpenCritic and 92/100 from PC Gamer, making it one of the best-reviewed games of the month.

Dogfighting is king

Ace Combat's core has always been one thing: the feeling of throwing a fighter jet through impossible maneuvers in a storm of missiles. Wings of Theve perfects it. Responsive controls, forgiving-but-demanding arcade physics, and mission design that knows when to give you room to breathe and when to hurl a superweapon at your face.

The standout is Ace Combat Online — up to 8-player co-op against giant superweapons, plus a virtual air base to hang out in. It's Project Aces' answer for players who always wanted to dogfight with friends without ranked PvP drama.

The visuals are a major leap too: volumetric clouds, weather effects, and cockpit light reflections make every sortie feel like a film cutscene.

Not perfect

Ace Combat stories remain Ace Combat stories — military melodrama with dialogue that occasionally makes you wince. Newcomers need patience: the first 2–3 missions are a learning wall before everything clicks. And the single-player campaign, while dense, ends sooner than you'd like.

Verdict

If you're a longtime fan, this is the best entry since the PS2 era. If you've never played Ace Combat, there's no better entry point. 9.0 — and a strong contender for action game of the year.