Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theves brings fans back to the war-torn skies of Strangereal for one more awesome bout of aerial warfare—but it’s not the only game in town. Another great combat flight simulator is already out there, waiting to be discovered by more Ace Combat fans: Project Wingman.
Project Wingman is the Ace Combat clone every Ace Combat fan needs to play
Created by a talented team of developers led by a lifelong Ace Combat enthusiast, Project Wingman is both a worthy homage and an innovator that may have inspired the very franchise it emulates.
Set on a post-post-apocalyptic Earth undone by a globe-spanning seismic chain reaction, Project Wingman casts players as a mercenary ace hired by Cascadia, a country waging a bitter war of independence against the authoritarian Pacific Federation.
To most Ace Combat veterans, Project Wingman‘s world and plot will feel very familiar, and that’s not a bad thing. If there’s one thing Ace Combat games are known for (besides their gameplay), it’s how shockingly good many of their stories are. These games regularly explore plotlines and tackle themes pulled straight out of Metal Gear, and Project Wingman follows this tradition with enthusiasm.
Across its eleven-hour campaign, Project Wingman weaves a narrative that explores the justifications behind imperialism, the danger of unchecked scientific advancement, and the cruel reality that history eventually claims everything. But thanks to its characters, especially your snarky-yet-steadfastly-loyal weapons officer Robin “Prez” Kuo, the story somehow manages to feel light-hearted and incredibly sincere at once.
Of course, the story can only take a flight combat sim so far, so I’m happy to report that Project Wingman‘s gameplay soars just as high as its narrative. Every aircraft in the game controls like a dream, striking that mysterious but essential balance between smooth maneuverability and grounded weightiness. In terms of combat, the game puts itself ahead of every Ace Combat game before it by letting players slap more than one weapon system onto their plane. The results are as limitless as the sky.
While there’s no multiplayer mode, Project Wingman more than makes up for it with Conquest, a rogue-like mode that challenges players to capture territories by completing various missions. Using currency earned from completing objectives, players can upgrade their planes and hire backup, but just one death sends you all the way back to the start of the campaign. It’s as addictive as some of the best rogue-lites out there, and a fantastic challenge for flight combat veterans
Even Ace Combat loves what Project Wingman brought to the skies
If you need further proof that Project Wingman is a great game for Ace Combat fans, just look at every Ace Combat game that came out after it. Ace Combat fans begged Project Aces to let them stack weapons for a long time, but when Project Wingman beat them to it, it suddenly became a major selling point in Ace Combat 8. And isn’t it strange that your co-pilot suddenly became a more fleshed-out character after Project Wingman did it?
If you’re an Ace Combat fan, you owe it to yourself to try Project Wingman if you haven’t already. The game achieves the rare feat of respecting its roots while standing on its own as an exciting experience that pushed its inspiration to step up its game.
