Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve starts with a war that is not going according to plan: after a sudden strike from the Republic of Sotoa, the armed forces of the Central Uzea Federation find themselves on the brink of survival. You play as an FCU pilot who joins the remnants of the barely holding army.
After several campaign missions, it becomes clear how Project Aces builds a story about the crew of an aircraft carrier trying to hold the front, and how your character gradually transforms into an ace and a symbol of hope for the surrounded troops.
The story of a "hero" from propaganda
At the center of the plot is a propaganda campaign. On the aircraft carrier Endurance, you are shown the plan to support the FCU: social media hype around the legendary pilot nicknamed Wings of Theve, named after the capital of the federation.
But in reality, Wings of Theve is Rex, an ordinary and friendly pilot who is used as the face of the campaign. His task is to appear in battles and then retreat and survive. After he is shot down in the first mission, and Rex himself dies, the player, who is rescued after the crash, must take on his callsign and continue the role of Wings of Theve.
All of this is presented through intimate first-person narrative inserts—a new approach for the series inspired by the team's work on the VR modes of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. This presentation conveys the tension on the Endurance more strongly and the pressure that falls on you as the commander of Joker Flight, Rex's squadron of four fighters.
Fights, team, and survival missions
After the start, your hero is no longer just staying in the sky, but gradually changes the mood of the team. When enemy fighters appear in the first mission, Wings of Theve proves that this can be not just a legendary story but a real fighting force.
The game itself retains the familiar simplicity of controls for the series: it is easy to master even without simulator experience. Ace Combat 8 brings back familiar feelings from Ace Combat 7, while DualSense adds tactile effects during acceleration, braking, and sharp high-gravity maneuvers. The controls also remain intuitive: you lock onto targets, fire missiles or shoot with the machine gun, switch locks and weapons, and over time you will need to upgrade skills to survive in more challenging sorties.
In missions, there are also team commands for allies and narrative choices. In one of the episodes, for example, you can agree not to kill the pilots of the enemy squadron if requested by a professor—a friend of Rex. The decisions do not seem to radically alter the plot, but according to Kazutoki Kono, they, along with how you protect allied forces, can influence who survives to the next missions and narrative scenes.
Massive battle with Land Battleship
One of the showcased missions revolves around a giant Land Battleship—a land ship that combines features of a destroyer and a tank. The FCU is trying to stop it using trucks with bombs: first, you need to protect a convoy, and then attack its tracks.
Even on normal difficulty, the battle turned out to be challenging. The Land Battleship has powerful railguns, anti-aircraft guns, and drones, and the entire clash takes place in the center of a large city. Therefore, you have to not only dodge fire but also avoid crashing into buildings. To stop the machine, the FCU also destroys skyscrapers in its path, slowing it down and ultimately blocking it.
It is in such scenes that Ace Combat 8 best conveys the feeling of desperate war: radio communications, orders, and the reactions of commanders and pilots sound constantly and emphasize the chaos of battle. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve releases on PlayStation 5 on October 2.
