Game Review: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve – Game Review

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is one of the best games that I’ve played in 2026. It’s a thrilling, arcadey fighting flight sim whose design team seems to have had a ton of fun playing with their game’s form. Its level design, barring one inordinately frustrating late-game chokepoint, interlinks a rewarding level of challenge with creative mission parameters. Its aesthetics are impeccable, from its loving recreations of real life fighter jets to its sweeping, gorgeous top-of-the-year score. Its story is solid on a macro-level and excellent on a micro-level, particularly when it comes to its antagonists. It’s a blast—and between the joys of its gameplay and the care with which its makers tell their story, it’s one with plenty of replayability in single-player. While I was unable to participate in Wings of Theve‘s multiplayer test for timing reasons, playing its campaign to completion has made me excited to give multiplayer a spin when the game launches.

Gameplay-wise, Wings of Theve‘s campaign gives players a set of tools, teaches them how to use them (along with the context in which they will be using them), and then delights in throwing curveball after curveball. Missions can begin with one type of challenge (say, attacking a fortified position, or protecting a vulnerable target), only for things to go sideways (unexpected enemies arrive, or the wheels come off a carefully laid plan, for instance). Wings of Theve‘s missions demand the player juggle multiple key elements; the amount of armaments they have left, the time left on the mission clock, the role they’re having the rest of Joker flight play. The mid-mission twists in turn demand that the player be flexible and able to adapt on the fly.

It’s intense and exciting, but, provided the player flies with care, never merciless. On “Pilot” difficulty, Wings of Theve‘s normal difficulty, the game is challenging but fair. If you fail a mission, you will know how and why you failed, and what you need to do to succeed. Wings of Theve‘s levels are, with one exception, rewarding to complete. There is one in particular about two-thirds of the way through that was so satisfying it made me stand up and cheer. As for the exception, while it is a mercifully brief moment late in the game, it offers so little margin for error that it is possible to fail repeatedly in rapid succession. Overcoming it is not so much satisfying as it is a relief to be done with. It’s a rare sour note in an otherwise marvellously crafted game—but it is so out of step with Wings of Theve‘s otherwise skilful balance that it stands out.

Wings of Theve‘s gameplay partners well with its narrative. Structurally, the game keeps the majority of its story personal, focusing on Joker Flight’s travails. The flight is a well-realized crew, both as a group and as individuals. Ellington “Professor” Baxter, Rex’s wingman, is a college-level teacher turned fighter pilot. He’s content with himself, but worries for Joker Flight’s younger pilots. The music-loving William “Noise” Coster tries to be professional and reliable, but he struggles with taking on too much responsibility. The energetic Tasha Severskaya is Joker Flight’s best technical pilot by a mile, and she’s a civilian flyer who doesn’t want to take a life if she can help it. While Rex is primarily a cipher for players to project themselves onto, he does get to affect Wings of Theve‘s story via player choice and certain yes/no questions.

As individuals, the members of Joker Flight are working their way through fighting a massive, horrible war. It’s a stressful, soul-grinding experience at the best of times. Surviving, not only in body but in spirit, will take care. Wings of Theve‘s creative team runs with this, giving each pilot space to struggle and to triumph. This in turns gives the voice cast space to do good work. I played Wings of Theve in English, and was consistently impressed with William C. Stephens‘ Baxter, Emi Lo‘s Tasha, and Ray Chase‘s Noise. They play off each other well, and their chemistry sells the flight’s bond. Joker Flight’s development across the game is rewarding. They are, you might say, a winning hand.

Where Wings of Theve‘s writing excels, though, is with its antagonists. Mission-specific foes get just enough space to make themselves memorable. Their superiors, Wings of Theve‘s primary antagonists, are particularly compelling. Shadow 22, the greatest ace of the Shadows and Rex’s chief rival, is a skilled commander. His pilots revere him, and his direct superior respects his abilities. Shadow 22 lives for a good fight and he is more than willing to be ruthless in pursuit of one. His valor and viciousness are inextricably wrapped together.

Shadow 22’s superior officer, meanwhile, is a wonderfully thorny character. To speak personally, her arc is the single most compelling one in the game. Wings of Theve‘s creative team uses their lead villain sparingly. The game’s core focus is on Joker Flight. The audience learns about their foes when our heroes do. Quite a bit about them goes unexplored. When Shadow 22 and his commander do take center stage, they command both Joker Flight and the players’ attention. It’s effective character work, and it uses the confines of Wings of Theve‘s narrative well.

“It uses its shape well” is a good sentence-long review of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. It gives its players their tools and carefully teaches them how and when to use them. It then bends those circumstances in a host of ways to create consistently exciting (minus that one frustrating one), challenging levels. It keeps its narrative focus tight, which lets its leads blossom and play off of each other, and gives its antagonists space to shine when they cut in. It’s a blast, one I count myself fortunate to have played.