ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

Get it on a sale, DLCs are not worth it, and multiplayer achievements likely will be near impossible to get for a 100% run, needing to use alternative methods for them. The game plays nice, but it's kind of meh, my controller broke mid way so I'm yet to finish it, was enjoyable for casual gameplay otherwise.

Fun game, love the Jets.

Wish i couldve played on a flight stick for the immersion. Makes me feel like a badass.

Only thing the game kinda lacks in is the story is a tad bit wonky, but aside from that its really great.

controls take some getting used to if you're not familiar with flight games but there's a real gem waiting to be discovered if you take the time to push through the growing pains. the game allows a lot of freedom with plane customization and what you're allowed to bring to missions, and the gameplay itself is fantastic. having a really good time with this one

Gameplay:10/10
Missions:9/10
Story:8/10
Cutscene:10/10
Graphic:9.5/10
Planes:10/10
Realism:7/10
Freedom?:9/10
Overall:Worth it

A good game that was hinting at being an excellent one during its first half or so; before the story devolved into typical, confusing, overwritten anime trash that has been done far better elsewhere (gundam wing endless waltz comes straight to mind), that is mostly conveyed as an annoying radio play that distracts me while i'm trying to have fun and shoot down enemy planes.

The missions alternate from annoying to excellent, and the best ones let you sandbox blasting bogeys out of the sky with it's amazing visual and audio presentation and addicting arcade gameplay. The worst ones cook up the most annoying weather, tactical handicaps, or horrific rubber banding that made me just want to uninstall it and forget about playing it ever again.

As this is a japanese game, the grind is real, you will not unlock all of the planes in one play through, you will probably not unlock your favourite without grinding for a long while (i made a beeline to the F22, and unlocked it at mission 7), so if you're looking to play as one of the cooler planes, get ready to chip away at those skill points for hours to get them.

Get it when it goes on sale for something like 7 bucks, and you'll be able to enjoy the best the game has to offer, it never got old (despite its frustrations) to shoot down an enemy jet and fly through the explosion doing mach turkey.

I have played the earlier iterations of Ace Combat and still is one of the best arcade flying sims around. simple and fun. 9/10

The campaign is quite good. The story isn't amazing, but it's suitable for this type of game. The missions were interesting and fun.

The multiplayer is no longer usable though. Where I played there were exactly two lobbies available neither of which was completely filled. It's also using a player-host networking system where one player is the host of a lobby which means that there can be a lot of lag if the host has a bad internet connection.

I enjoyed the game. If you are old and want a game that you can play an hour or two a nioght and actually beat the game this is for you.

Combat was okay, overall I had fun and that is what games are about. Also the princess should have died

Do you want a realistic plane simulator experience? If yes, don't play this game. If you want to do absolutely crazy stuff, then this is the game for you. The laws of physics do not apply here, you can turn your plane into a UFO if you're a good enough player. It may take some time to learn the controls, especially on PC on advanced mode(don't use simple mode, it's just worse), but it's incredibly fun once you get the hang of it. Don't buy it for full price, wait for it to go on sale.

Really fun combat sim! Already blew 42 hours in just a few weeks. Good thing I am retired!!

If you've played Ace Combat before, this is very much an Ace Combat game. Gameplay systems have barely innovated over previous versions but that's alright. The systems are good.

Definitely an arcade game, not a simulator. Still overall a fun enough of a game to recommend when it is on sale.

If you ain't looking for something too realistic, amazing gameplay and a good story line this is the game for you.

this is probably one of the best fighter plane games of all time, even though its not realistic it really feels right. the story is rich, the DLC's are great, the graphics are amazing, and its very badass. my favorite part about it is the implication of cool concepts like flying aircraft carriers, space elevators, laser weapons; its really something ace combat is known for.

No modern arcade flight sim keeps you on your edge of your seat like Ace Combat 7. Great mission design, flexible flight model, and a bonkers (positive) story all work together to build an unforgettable experience.

Played primarily on PlayStation.

this is not an air combat video game, it's pornographic fantasy about planes

My first time playing an Ace Combat game and what a blast it was. Definitely, a series that I'll be watching closely in the future. From my understanding, it has a lore throughout the whole series, but it's not necessary to play any of the previous games to understand what is happening.

Storywise. It follows the war between two countries and you are just a "simple" pilot. Throughout the game, you'll hit a lot of turnarounds to spice up the story. All in all, it's a big plus for these types of games. The only downside is that when you are piloting/dogfighting, there are a bunch of dialogs happening and sometimes is kinda hard to be concentrated on what they are saying.

Gameplay. It's just fun. The controllers are easy to understand, but there is a nice learning curve. For example, how to dogfight, which maneuvers to make in certain situations, etc...
There are also tons of planes to choose from, but most of them you'll need to unlock while playing. Besides that, there isn't much. Sometimes, the game will tell you to land or take-off, it's very simple but you can skip that if you want (you'll lose some extra credits). Also, there are diversity across missions in terms of objectives, terrain, weather conditions... it definitely takes the boredom away.

Graphics. Another great point in this game. Very beautiful to look at. Like I said before, there is also a lot of diversity in the maps and all of them are great for "sightseeing". The planes are very well constructed, explosions everywhere, clouds, rain hitting the windshield...

Soundtrack. Very fitting, never found that something was kinda off. In the big "events", there is also epic music to make it more intense which is always nice. Also, the voice actors make the game way more alive.

So, basically, if you have the opportunity to play it, just do it.

Absolutely loved the game.
Simulation - 9/10 (there are some aspect of the jet that in any situation you'll probably die). F-35C have a vertical landing feature the game doesn't have.. but I doubt we can simulate that accurately.
Gameplay and difficulty - 10/10. Great level difficulty. Different settings, different tier. All good fun
Storyline - 7/10. Part of the story is a bit mundane, but the characters are likeable and easy to keep up with.
Game progression is good, campaign mode is good. The different jets all have unique feels to them and you definitely can feel the rewarding progression of the game. Overall, 8/10. A great game. I can see the game being not for everyone, but overall, great fun. Definitely a fun game. HIGHLY recommend.

i just finished ace combat 7
i cried through the whole ending scene
best game ive ever played
10/10
10/10
absolute cinema

awesome mechanics, awesome planes, just an amazing game in general and a really good story too

It's... okay. Personally, I prefer Project Wingman as someone who came from there to this. Good planes, neat 'upgrades', story is honestly ehh. English localisation feels odd, could've been better much like the rest of the game.

I do not appreciate having to launch missiles at knife-fighting range.

Great gameplay and incredible music! Fairly beginner friendly too, this was my first game of this genre and I went from playing on easy to S-Ranking every mission on the highest difficulty.

Feels a bit different from previous ace combat series I played before (ace combat zero, ace combat 5) but still fun
This game makes my body tilt as I control the plane (haven't been doing that for so long)
This series will always makes me feel like a pilot

This game got me into aircraft. It is beautiful, flawless, and all in all one of the most influencial games for me, now I have more wisdom on aircraft then I will ever need, however I am happy with this because I love every little tid bit I know. Every piece of information is enjoyable and it makes me want to explore that... Deep Blue one day.

Brilliant

A fantastic and frustrating game, as you would expect with Ace combat, still enough to make you smash up your controller at times, and to bring a grin to your face in others, lots of planes and "parts" to mix and match to fill gaps in your skill or enhance your best attributes, however you wish to do it, they have a "part" for that. If you are a fan of the game, I would say this is quite the edition.

The PVP is still active for those who like that sort of thing. but beware the pilots are fully kitted and are ace pilots.

First Ace Combat game i have touched . Really enjoyed the gameplay and aircraft . Got me hooked fs

Blast from the Past.
It feels like im back in the PS2 Era but with better quality, a true return of the Ace Combat Franchise.

fun game but very mid imo except the last mission , it was spectacular
grab it on sale
6.5/10

I enjoy this game, its combat felt satisfying, campaign was interesting enough,
my only downside with this game is your allied forces are worthless, your essentially in a 1v30 every mission

This game is great, has sort of like Metal Gear Solid vibes to it, I'd say, it is the Metal Gear Solid of the sky!

has a pretty good story line, lots of combat, smack talking, I have the ultimate addition it has a lot of jets to choose from

An amazing simulator, not of reality, but of the feeling of playing with toy planes. With high fidelity and an amazing soundtrack. What's not to like.

For any fan of Ace combat Series this is a must own. Ace combat 4 started my love of the series on ps2 and I wish there was a collectors edition on PC of 4 through 6 i would throw my money at that in a minute. It brought back old times and hours of playtime for me that reignited my love of Ace Combat games. Graphics are great explosions, terrain, planes everything to me is great. The game has amazing responsiveness haven't played multiplayer yet but will once i am finished with all the campaign has to offer.

The core flight mechanics feel exactly as one would expect from an Ace Combat title, and they are well-executed. The multiplayer mode is similarly satisfying, featuring match durations that strike a good balance and offering a fair chance of success for newcomers.

The campaign provides solid gameplay, but it is weighed down by a story about insufferable, blunt characters that have nothing to do with pilots, squadrons, or aerial action. It seems Mihaly is included merely to meet a minimal narrative requirement, and the excessive chatter over the radio undercuts the intensity of the combat.

In my view, Ace Combat 7 delivers stellar aerial combat and enjoyable multiplayer, but the lackluster story and its misplaced drama may leave some players disappointed.

If you are curious at all at what being a jet pilot is like, you won't find any other game close to Ace Combat. Amazing game for people looking for a fighter jet experience bar none.

Progression in this game comes equally from plane upgrades and your fundamental skills of dogfighting. I can't describe the satisfaction of doing a perfect turn putting you right behind an enemy firing missiles then flying off to your next foe all while dodging incoming missiles.This game actually rewards people looking to hone their skills and if you want to chill, there's no shame in playing easy mode.

Story is also surprisingly good... especially for a videogame. I was also surprised at how varied each mission was, each playing into a fantasy of jet fighting (weaving through clouds, speeding through narrow landscapes, etc...). You'd think it's pretty one dimensional but trust me, you can tell the game developers really put some thought into missions.

Yet another great game of the Ace Combat series! this game will bring back memories of the best Ace Combat game ever made and that was Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War. i highly recommend getting the game along with the season pass when they are both on sale. because you get 3 iconic planes from the previous AC games like the ADF-01 with its iconic laser and FAEB special weapon, ADF-11F awesome with the UAV attack drones, and Pixy's plane the ADFX-01. Even the emblem of GALM (The 66th Air Force Unit) is available for your jets to put on to give it an extra touch that you've played The Belkan War. And with the season pass you even get the 3 storyline missions which are also available separately like the planes i mentioned before, but hey ! why paying more when the season pass gives you everything, life is expensive enough 😅

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Brightness set to lowest possible value in game still completely blind. No time or consideration put into this issue?

Unbearably awful game.
If one could even call it that.
I might not be dumb enough to get any enjoyment out of the washed out metal gear plot garbage.

*SPOILER*
Robot bad. People good. Ppl use weapons? Goodd. Robots? Bad.

Love a game that interrupts your flow with cut scenes and useless dialogue. You have to mute it, and redo a mission four or five times at least to have even a meager grasp on what the objective is, or what to do.

Eighty percent of the dialogue is entirely useless; and not conducive to the objective whatsoever. Deciding between what is and isn't helpful in this case is nothing but a headache. And whats more; as soon as you figure out what to do, they decide to toss in another goofy anime cutscene, change the objective, throw another 10mins on the timer you thought was done, swarm you with enemies, and take away your weapons or targeting with some stupid fucking gimmick.

I understand the concept of an arcade flighter. But come on man I've literally lost my voice now screaming at this sorry excuse for a video game.

It's not the controls, or the enemies, or even the objectives. But fundamentally flawed gameplay direction that leaves me underwhelmed and frustrated. A challenge is welcome, I can appreciate the satisfaction earned from a job well done and having to actually try. But the curveballs are ridiculous when you're gonna have to sort through a bunch of slow, clunky menus to change anything, and every time you fuck up there's a 30 second timer and a whole bunch of exposition yapping abt how you failed, before the option to retry even fking appears.

*Press start mission*
The mission doesn't start.
or uhhh

*MISSION COMPLETE*
2:30s of yapping while you stare blank into nothing. No skip.

One can only handle so much.
0/10.
No fun.

So gladd I got this PoS on sale ~90% off

A Thrilling Skybound Symphony

Spoiler-free Story Summary

A history full of hate, misunderstandings, and powerful, selfish politicians who prioritize personal gain over human lives—what happens when all of these collide?
Experience this breathtaking story as an ace pilot and witness the devastating potential of two nations at war.

Gameplay

Ace Combat 7 features solid flight mechanics that cater to both realism and casual playstyles. You can choose to feel the intense pressure of aerial combat or simply enjoy the experience. While the gameplay doesn’t have many extra features beyond jet battles, it doesn’t need to—what it does, it does exceptionally well.

Visuals

When we think of fighter jets, we picture clouds, the sun, the vastness of our planet, and the stars above. Fortunately, this game captures all of that perfectly. The graphics are stunningly realistic, making every mission feel immersive and visually breathtaking.

Audio

I have a personal playlist on YouTube where I collect outstanding game soundtracks, and I have to admit—many of them are from Ace Combat 7. The music is truly artistic, adding another layer of emotion to the game. Huge respect to the composers!

Lowlights

I didn’t encounter any bugs or technical issues. However, there are a couple of downsides:
Low online player base – Multiplayer is still playable, but finding matches at any given time can be tricky.
Short DLCs – The additional content is fantastic, but the playtime is disappointingly brief.

Monetization

Absolutely worth the price! This game often goes on sale for up to 90% off, making it a no-brainer if you love jet combat. Don’t hesitate—just grab it!

Replayability

While the game has a solid playtime, it lacks strong replayability. The main reason to replay missions is to hunt for achievements.

Verdict

⭐ 9/10 ⭐
There aren’t many jet combat games, especially on Steam. Ace Combat 7 delivers an unforgettable experience with engaging gameplay, legendary soundtracks, and breathtaking visuals. However, short DLCs and limited replayability hold it back from a perfect score.

Awesome spectacle with an 11/10 soundtrack. Get it during a sale because it's very cheap and well worth it. I never knew flying a jet through an endless barrage of missiles and getting lost in clouds could be so much fun. The music and corny banter is a big part of it, I think - I don't know why my silent protagonist can hear all of the enemy's radio chatter while they're being blown up, but it does make it feel more rewarding.

That said, the cutscenes between missions drag on for way too long and aren't very interesting. This is the first game ever that made me start skipping cutscenes during a first playthrough and still managed to keep me interested enough to finish the game because the missions were that much fun (there's a menu option to watch cutscenes again so I caught up with the plot after I felt more invested.)

ACE COMBAT 7: How to Feel Like an Anime Protagonist in 3 Easy Steps

By: A Guy Who Missed the "Pull Up" Warning

Step 1: Fly jet.
Step 2: Fire 110 missiles
Step 3: Dodge 500 missiles
Step 4: Forget what gravity is. Crash. Repeat.

This game is an adrenaline shot where logic doesn't exist or matter. You’ll dodge 500 missiles in a sandstorm and listen to a man named “Mihaly” rant about the sky. The plot? Imagine Top Gun fanfiction written by an oiled up sentient missile.

Pros:

✓ Soundtrack so epic your morning coffee feels like a sortie.
✓ Visually stunning
✓ Fighter pilots wet dream

Cons:

✗ Mountains exist.
✗'Missile' beep 'Missile' beep beep 'Missile' beep beep beep 'Missile' beep beep beep beep beep

10/10 – Would trade sanity for one more High-G turn.

Graphics are really good, this flight game really delivers in the intensity and difficulty levels. You will find a little something for everyone in this product which I highly recommend. I would tell you that this is one of the better flight sims I have tried. There are plenty of DLC and it seems to be growing. Give this one a try and you won't be disapointed.

it's fun! i'm playing on easy mode right now with easy controls. i might have to get a cool flight stick and switch to the expert controls as i hear that is even better.

Mixed review. This is a decent game but absolutely not worth the asking price of $60. Very short campaign, less than a dozen hours of gameplay if you know what you're doing. Multiplayer is non-existent as other have said, and although I haven't been able to test myself, knowing how japanese developers typically handle netcode I imagine it's not very reliable. There's no other single-player content other than the campaign, which has only one ending and no diverging story paths. There aren't any other game modes.

The story is quite bland and suffers from amateurish writing. The production value for cutscenes is high but the actual dialogue accompanying it is completely asinine. Almost every character you're partnered with leans into the "overconfident fighter pilot trying to pick a fight with their own teammates" stereotype too often, it gets really repetitive listening to the same dialogue every mission really fast. There were times I wish I could mute the radio because I just wanna focus and shoot-down planes, not babysit a group of NPCs that do nothing except fawn over me or vent their insecurities. Also at several points one of your allies will cry for help and have a protracted mental breakdown before they're shot down by enemy aircraft, long enough for the player to assume they can help them. These events are completely scripted and there's nothing you can do, you can't even see or interact with the aircraft targeting them. That's okay, I didn't really buy the game for the story, but the dialogue mid-mission does annoy me.

Gameplay is great when you actually get to live the fantasy of being an ace fighter pilot hunting down enemy aircraft and blowing up ground units while deftly dodging missles, however there's few missions which have genuine replay value and don't revolve around some pre-requisite dumb chore that needs to be completed beforehand, limiting the amount of time you get to engage with the fun parts. Several missions have large scale dogfighting sections in awesome setpieces which I would like to experience again but are padded by gimmicks which limit my enjoyment, such as a long section at the start with no combat where you must dodge clouds or fail immediately, or a section where you can't fire your weapons for several minutes until a cutscene plays, or a mission where getting hit by lighting makes you lose control of your craft and crash into the cliffs. Not fun! Gimmicks like that are okay in moderation but they happen too often between missions, and the fact you can't skip them when replaying the missions even when they add no gameplay value other than allowing for lore exposition feels like a serious oversight.

I also found the lack of settings for adjusting controls unacceptable for a game of this genre. I'm not a snob that expects every game featuring planes to have realistic flight stick settings to cater to my hardware, but this is a flight sim (although an arcadey one), and you can't even change the stick sensitivity on a regular xbox controller. You can't rebind any buttons. There's two basic settings to change the control scheme and invert the sticks vertical axis, but that's it. In a game that is about nothing besides piloting a plane, there should be more options and better hardware support.

Very minor, but graphics wise, some textures inside the plane are permanently mushy and low-res regardless of texture settings, which I assume to be a bug. Other than that the environments are awesome and it has some of the best looking clouds I've ever seen.

TL;DR recommend on sale. Hard to recommend otherwise.

Neat game with some issues.

The campaign story is basically silly future war/civil war nonsense (even though the jets are old/contemporary/near contemporary/contemporary prototype) juxtaposed with incredibly excessive exposition about an aging pilot, and the missions start to drag out and become really tedious and pretty annoying from missions 14/15 onwards... but man the multiplayer is super addictive.

The multiplayer is honestly where the game really shines, I wasn't even planning on playing the multiplayer but it's so much better than the campaign that I might not even bother finishing those last few extra long, tedious missions.

That being said, the multiplayer does suffer from a few drawbacks. There aren't enough maps, so the maps get tired fairly quick. There aren't enough players, so a lot of times (even during prime times) there aren't enough lobbies/enough players in the lobbies. For some reason most players seem particularly obsessed with Battle Royal mode so Team Death Match lobbies are unfortunately kind of rare. The lobby interface is somewhat janky. Some players seem overly fond of what can only be described as the loop chase. The parts mechanic is annoying and doesn't let you put enough good parts on your jet, especially in the arms category. You don't get enough flares. I could go on.

Also, despite the enormous amount of DLCs, you don't actually get that much in the way of content, like different liveries, different colors/color schemes, different looks/modifications, different special weapons. For example, and I've come to find this especially irritating, you might have a full set of 7 skins for a jet, but what you actually have is 2 ugly, basic skins representing the factions from the campaign, 4 basic grey skins with different names, and 1 skin that has vivid splashes of blue or red, or perhaps black with a little gold detail, or glowing white.

I do recommend this game but mainly for the multiplayer. Definitely a lot of thrills to be had with the multiplayer and the game in general, especially when you're new to it, but it can & does become repetitive. Absolutely worth getting on sale.

Looks and plays great on Steam Deck.

this game is really good, I really like the story, but multiplayer is really dead and the only people playing online are people who have DLC and are tryhards i think the system should put people who have DLC in their own servers or it can show that users have DLC

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The missions are super fun and the multiplayer lobbies keep you on your toes

Great game and a great revive of the ace combat series also the DLCs are worth buying

This was a fun game. It took me a while to work out the controls but once you have them sorted, the game really comes together. From taking out ground defences to UAVs and fast jets, you'll be tested in a range of time critical missions. The story is very Japanese-esque - I'm not entirely sure what the Scrap Queen did for me or the other pilots in my 'team'. I didn't see them contribute much at all but somehow they were pivotal to the mission.... It doesn't really matter as I had fun with this game and would recommend it to anyone that likes flight sims.

The gold standard for arcade dogfighting games. Missions are fun, flight controls feel fantastic, and the fights are exciting and satisfying. To top it all off, the graphics are amazing and it's all framed within an engaging story.

Speaking of, if this is your first Ace Combat game (like it was for me) then be prepared for an insane storyline. Trying to research the lore will lead you down a very deep rabbit hole.