Ace Combat 8: The Anticipation Proves Worthwhile in Our Hands-On Experience

Navigating through game demos at events like Summer Game Fest is usually a breeze for me.

This year, I got my hands on around two dozen titles during the three-day Play Days event. Each demo typically starts with a quick adjustment period to get a feel for the controls, but that phase is meant to be short-lived.

However, during my final appointment at SGF on Monday afternoon, I found myself in the dimly lit cockpit of a makeshift fighter jet that Bandai Namco had set up for players to experience Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. I was having a tough time grasping what the demo required of me.

Maybe it was the fatigue from a long weekend packed with appointments and trailers, or perhaps it was because my experience with Ace Combat mostly dates back to the PS1 and PS2 era. Whatever the reason, I wasn’t exactly impressing the Bandai Namco rep guiding me through the demo, but I was still having a blast.

The demo for Ace Combat 8 featured the first five missions from the main game, complete with cutscenes. I didn’t have time to watch every moment, but I caught enough to understand the story. Wings of Theve picks up after Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, following an officer in the fictional Federation of Central Usea (FCU) air force who steps into the role of a star pilot, callsign Rex, after the original pilot is killed in an attack.

These initial missions focus on Rex as he learns to fly alongside his squad, which felt oddly relatable to my own experience. I practiced flying the plane, locking onto enemies, and firing missiles. I was introduced to my plane’s special weapon, which allows for multiple target locks and a barrage of missiles, and I got to put that to the test.

The action soon shifted to the open skies, where I found myself in a high-speed dogfight against enemy fighters, bombers, and recon drones while defending my aircraft carrier. Initially, I held my own, zipping through the air and taking down enemies in my sights. But then a second wave of fighters appeared, and I was ready to unleash my special weapon.

In a rare moment of triumph during the demo, I managed to take out all four fighters in that wave with a single shot of my special weapon. It felt amazing, and I was on top of the world… until I realized another wave was approaching from a different direction. That’s when things started to unravel.

I struggled to line up my special shot again, and half of my missiles went astray. Targeting individual planes became a challenge as they dodged my missiles at the last second. Sharp turns were tricky, and I finally figured out the timing just as it was too late; I lost the mission and had to restart.

My second attempt went much smoother, thanks to my prior knowledge of what to expect. I successfully saved my cruiser and moved on to the next mission just as my demo time was running out.

Let me be clear: all my struggles were due to user error. Other players I spoke with afterward didn’t face the same issues and completed the challenge with ease. The demo itself was solid; it was my performance that faltered.

Despite my challenges, Ace Combat 8 left me grinning. Flying those jets felt fantastic, and the visual quality of the planes was impressive. The banter among squad members flowed seamlessly between lighthearted and urgent, and I could sense the camaraderie building as I played. I may have struggled, but I enjoyed the challenge and wanted to improve, which is a sign of a great game.

My experience with Ace Combat 8 has motivated me to invest more time in the franchise, hoping that when Wings of Theve launches in October, I’ll be ready to jump back into the cockpit. For now, despite my fatigue and setbacks during the demo, I can see the ambitious vision behind this new Ace Combat, and the sky truly is the limit.