Ace Combat 8 review roundup: what critics say

Critics call it the series at its best in the air, with its longest campaign yet, but the cutscene-heavy story divides opinion. Scores, praise, gripes.

Review · By getcheapgames · · · 5 min read

Watch: Ace Combat 8 review roundup: what critics say

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, the first mainline entry in the series in seven years, launched in Europe on 2 October 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam lists the release as 1 October). Deluxe Edition owners had early access from 29 September. We have not played it for this piece: this is a summary of what the major outlets reported, plus what it costs today.

The scores

  • OpenCritic: a Top Critic Average of 87, with 99% of critics recommending it, from 105 reviews on 11 October. That places it in OpenCritic's 98th percentile.
  • Metacritic: 87 on PS5 (65 critic reviews), 87 on PC (38) and 88 on Xbox Series X (8).
  • Steam players: "Very Positive", with 84% of 8,225 English-language user reviews positive on 11 October.

Among individual reviews, TrueAchievements gave it 10/10, DualShockers 9.5/10, PC Gamer 92/100, Forbes, Shacknews and TheSixthAxis 9/10, GameSpot, Push Square and Screen Rant 8/10, and TechRadar 4/5. GameSpot's verdict sums up the mood: "the series is well and truly back to its best".

What critics liked

  • The flying. Push Square thinks it may be the best Ace Combat has ever felt. TheSixthAxis says a reworked gun hitbox makes machine guns more reliable without feeling unfair, and PC Gamer says dynamic weather and dense cloud now matter tactically, with dogfights that lean less on spamming high-G turns than Ace Combat 6 and 7 did.
  • A bigger, more varied campaign. There are 30 missions. TechRadar finished in about 18 hours; Polygon took 25 and calls it the series' longest campaign by far. PC Gamer singles out the superweapon battles and a two-hour finale.
  • Presentation. TechRadar says it has the best-looking clouds it has seen in any game, and Push Square praises the sound design and heavy use of the DualSense's haptics and triggers on PS5.
  • Easy to get into. Polygon found the beginner controls easy to pick up, TheSixthAxis notes you can change difficulty mission by mission, and TheGamer called it one of the strongest entry points for newcomers.

What critics didn't

  • The story and cutscenes. This is where opinion splits. TechRadar found the cutscenes long, the melodrama heavy and the ending flat, and both it and TheSixthAxis disliked button prompts that simply ask you to stand up or shake hands. Push Square found the plot hard to follow at times. PC Gamer, by contrast, calls it the series' strongest writing yet.
  • Late-game repetition. Polygon says the final stretch leans on timed high-score missions and that wingmen often seem to ignore your orders; TechRadar also felt wingman commands made little difference. Push Square found them more capable than in earlier games.
  • Multiplayer is unproven. Most reviewers had little or no online time before launch. Push Square could not yet tell how grindy unlocking planes with multiplayer currency will be, and Polygon reserved judgement on the online cosmetic shop.

PC and console performance

  • Requirements: Steam lists a ray-tracing-capable graphics card, an SSD and 150 GB of space. The minimum spec (RTX 2060 or RX 6600 XT) is rated for upscaled 1080p at 30fps on Low; the recommended spec (RTX 3070 or RX 6800) for upscaled 1080p at 60fps on Medium.
  • Reviewers' PCs: PC Gamer, on a Radeon RX 6600 and Ryzen 7 7700X, saw mostly stable performance at 1440p, with occasional hitching in first-person cutscenes and dips below 60fps in big explosions; it also missed a field-of-view slider. TechRadar, on an RTX 4070 at high settings, reports a generally solid 60fps that dipped in hectic moments.
  • Early Steam feedback: during early access, Notebookcheck reported mixed Steam reviews citing performance, ray tracing that cannot be switched off and limited controller and HOTAS support, and noted Bandai Namco had posted advice on crashes. The Steam rating has since climbed to Very Positive.
  • Steam Deck: PC Gamer listed it as not Verified at the time of its review.
  • PS5: TheSixthAxis describes a 60fps Performance mode and a 30fps Graphics mode, with some slowdown in the busiest fights on a base PS5.

Should you buy it?

If you enjoy arcade flight combat, the reviews make a strong case, and several critics say newcomers are well served. Story-averse players should know the cutscenes are long; TechRadar says what is left once you are willing to skip them is brisk and fun. HOTAS users and owners of older graphics cards may want to wait for patches. TechRadar also asks why you would pick it over Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, which costs far less: on 12 October we track it from €19.22 for a Steam key at Kinguin (Europe region), against €59.99 on Steam.

In Ireland, on 12 October 2026, the lowest price we track for the standard PC edition of Ace Combat 8 is €53.49 for a Steam key at Kinguin (Europe region); Steam and JoyBuggy both list it at €69.99. The Deluxe Edition is €89.99 on Steam. Its early access has passed, so what remains is a Premium Ace Pass Plus voucher and a cosmetic set. Kinguin's prices exclude the service fee the marketplace adds at checkout. Prices change daily: see Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve for live offers, and how we rank offers.

Sources

More from News

All news