I've been a fan of this series ever since Ace Combat 2 on the Playstation. AC is one of those franchises that works best when it stays in its lane: Top Gun meets Dynasty Warriors.

Ace Combat 7 is not new at this point. It's only new to me because I didn't get a PS5 and decided to try it on Steamdeck. It took a few hours to get used to the controls but pretty soon I was back in the saddle. I prefer the feel of the old PS2 flight model from AC 4, 5, and 0, but the gameplay definitely scratches the same itch.

Mission design is classic Ace Combat. The briefings lay on a thick layer of gravitas and then you're off intercepting bombers, running through canyons and tunnels, taking down superweapons and battling enemy aces. Your wingmen will banter with the AWACS and the enemy will loudly rue your appearance in their airspace. They nail the feel that by the late game everyone knows you're a supernatural force of destruction. Again, comparing to other titles, I think the story isn't as good as 0 (what i consider the pinnacle of the series) and I miss the ability to communicate with people we had in 5, but overall it's got just enough depth to justify the major characters' actions and motivations. I enjoyed the callbacks to AC 4 a lot, but sadly we don't get an cameo by Mobius 1 aside from some skins.

I played on Hard first, as I usually do with this franchise. What surprised me was the difficulty. Granted, I'm rusty, but I've never considered these games to be punishing. I've 100% S-ranked each previous title on Ace difficulty and on my first playthrough here I found myself running out out of time, getting mobbed by enemies or not protecting the objective. I still managed to beat it in about 6 hours but I enjoyed actually facing a challenge. Of course, New Game+ means you start with access to the best planes, so unless you impose some limitations on yourself it quickly becomes a cakewalk. The DLC missions from the Season pass are awesome and scaled for late game aircraft.

Sound design and music are top notch as expected from this series. You'll feel like you're dancing with the angels ;)

Overall I really enjoyed playing and i think if you like planes and campy anime-like plot then so will you!