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Bandai Namco Aces Inc. · 2026 · Windows

Steam: 83 % positive of 18,141 reviews, as of Oct 28

Soar through the skies and rise above every challenge to earn your place among the elite. Engage in intense aerial combat to dominate the battlefield with powerful weapons. Experience a breathtaking campaign filled with high-stakes missions, hard choices, and deep squad connections.

24 games that play like ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN, Project Wingman and Ace Combat Assault Horizon - Enhanced Edition.

Player tags

  • Flight
  • Action
  • Shooter
  • Military
  • Vehicular Combat
  • Story Rich
  • Great Soundtrack
  • Cinematic
Map region: Flight & Air Combat
Open on Steam ↗

Steam reviews

What players say

Players overwhelmingly recommend this arcade flight shooter for its campaign, story, soundtrack and sincere tone, though performance, multiplayer monetisation and platform issues draw complaints.

Many players call the single-player campaign the series' best, praising its lengthy missions, dramatic and openly melodramatic story, memorable characters and a soundtrack several describe as among the best in the franchise. Dogfights and boss battles feel like a clear step up from Ace Combat 7. Complaints centre on performance, with crashes, stutters and heavy demands from the Unreal Engine 5 graphics. Multiplayer draws the strongest criticism for its grindy progression, time-limited paid pass and cosmetic purchases, which many find unfair in a full-price game. A few players report that multiplayer does not start on SteamOS or Linux because of the anti-cheat system. Recent reviews lean more critical than the older helpful ones, mostly over monetisation and technical problems.

Praised

  • Campaign length and missions

    Players praise the long, varied campaign, with many missions and set pieces that keep the story feeling fresh.

    Many players
  • Soundtrack

    The orchestral music is one of the most praised aspects, with several calling it the best in the series.

    Many players
  • Story and emotional tone

    The sincere, melodramatic story and its characters move many players, some to tears.

    Many players
  • Dogfights and flight feel

    Players find the flying and combat fun and a clear step up from Ace Combat 7, with a good range of planes and upgrades.

    Many players

Criticised

  • Performance and crashes

    Players report crashes, stutters and demanding ray tracing, though others run it smoothly on low or medium settings.

    Many players
  • Multiplayer monetisation

    Players object to the paid battle pass, time-limited passes and shop items in a fully priced game.

    Some players
  • Grindy multiplayer progression

    Unlocking planes requires very slow experience and currency gains, which players find tedious.

    Some players
  • Linux and SteamOS support

    Players on SteamOS and Linux cannot start multiplayer missions because of the anti-cheat system.

    A few players
Who it suits
Players who enjoy story-driven arcade flight games with big cinematic moments, a strong soundtrack and a long single-player campaign will likely love it.
Who should skip it
Those wanting realistic flight simulation, a multiplayer-focused game, a smooth experience on modest hardware, or a game free of paid multiplayer items should skip it.

Short vs. long playtime: Players with over 20 hours tend to focus more on multiplayer monetisation and grind, while early players are more often impressed by the campaign and performance problems.

Summarised by AI from 60 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.

Best matches

Plays and looks like ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.

By gameplay

Plays like ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.

More matches

  1. Altitude91 % positive of 1,947Shared: Flight · Shooter · Vehicular Combat
  2. Vertical Strike Endless Challenge76 % positive of 235Shared: Flight · Shooter · Military
  3. Dogfight 194280 % positive of 712Shared: Flight · Shooter · Arcade
  4. AFTERBURN86 % positive of 320Shared: Flight · Shooter · Military
  5. Battlefield 4™84 % positive of 69,903Shared: Shooter · Military · Story Rich
  6. Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition85 % positive of 23,399Shared: Flight · Military · Realistic
  7. LUFTRAUSERS90 % positive of 3,409Shared: Flight · Shooter · Arcade
  8. Vector Thrust49 % positive of 575Shared: Flight · Shooter · Arcade
  9. Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders79 % positive of 239Shared: Flight · Arcade · Action
  10. Strike Vector EX86 % positive of 753Shared: Flight · Shooter · Action
  11. Guns of Icarus Online91 % positive of 8,238Shared: Flight · Shooter · Online Co-Op
  12. Thunder Wolves84 % positive of 451Shared: Flight · Shooter · Military

By look

Looks like ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.

More matches

  1. Arma 390 % positive of 229,513
  2. Aviators75 % positive of 1,942
  3. PRAGMATA96 % positive of 34,327
  4. Carrier Deck88 % positive of 1,044
  5. HITMAN World of Assassination87 % positive of 59,988
  6. Korea. IL-2 Series74 % positive of 490
  7. Sky Knights91 % positive of 374
  8. Starfield57 % positive of 115,518
  9. Just Cause 2: Multiplayer Mod91 % positive of 14,559
  10. Microsoft Flight Simulator 202460 % positive of 22,455
  11. Juno: New Origins88 % positive of 3,105
  12. 1943 Berlin Blitz90 % positive of 322

At a glance

What games like ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE have in common

  • The tags they share most often with ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE: Flight (22 of 24), Shooter (18) and Military (13).
  • They came out between 2009 and 2023, none of them after ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE (2026).
  • Best rated by Steam players: VTOL VR (98 % positive of 20,004).

How these matches work

Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.

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