Having played games where you’ve taken flight since pretty well the beginning with the OG Flight Simulator, with memories of the very primitive dogfight that was available with it, the amazing progression over the generations has never been lost on me. Whether it was space-based combat in the classic Wing Commander series, the arcade-style intensity of Afterburner, or quite a number of other titles over the years that have gone in more simplified or complex directions over the years, aerial combat has pretty well always offered up a good time. The shame over the Switch generation though was that there weren’t that many options available, and even the decent ones tended to be on the simpler side, so they made for better snacks than a meal. While I may be late to the Ace Combat 7 party, I’m also very grateful to have had the opportunity to check it out, as there’s no question that it delivers the experience I’d been thirsting for. 

Owing to its AAA pedigree, even on the Switch this is a game that screams for your attention, both in terms of its visuals (which still perform admirably) and its action. Over the course of the game’s campaign you’ll hit the skies in a variety of aircraft, ranging from the more conventional to the more futuristic, charged with completing your mission objectives as a base, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to attack them with a certain degree of flair. Aside from the somewhat dramatic story, and intense missions, the ability to make some upgrades to unlock new aircraft gives you plenty of incentive to tackle “just one more run” to see what comes next. Variety in your objectives will pretty well force you to try out new planes and loaded weapons, which also helps to sustain a healthy level of interest so it all doesn’t start to feel too familiar as well.

Now, if you’d like to be challenged, the good news is that is precisely what you’ll likely get at this point if you tackle the game’s Multiplayer mode. Since I was very late to this party, the availability of matches is likely a bit lower than it would have been at its peak, but in general I was still able to find people to lock horns with. The bad news is that at this point your opponents will tend to be veterans who will leave you feeling extremely overmatched in a hurry between their loaded aircraft and being miles ahead of you in terms of both experience and technique. There isn’t much variety offered, for the most part you’re just going to be trying to blow each other out of the sky, but if you’re looking for a thrill you’ll be able to find it. Of course, if you’re able to match up with some friends that may be a little less brutal, and that’s thankfully an available option as well.

Overall, it would have been difficult to walk away from this game without being impressed. I had some concerns with whether it would hold up as well on my OLED Switch as on the Switch 2 and was pleasantly surprised it performed well on it as well. I’d add this to the list of impressive technical feats I’ve witnessed with the old hardware, working out how to optimize performance while making tweaks strategically to make the end experience feel as uncompromising as possible. If you’re a fan of aerial combat, there’s simply nothing more impressive and engrossing on the system.