Ace Combat 8 hands-on: first-person POV, DualSense haptics

Project Aces’ Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve uses first-person cinematics and PlayStation 5 DualSense haptics. The developer frames the campaign around the Federation of Central Usea’s (FCU) fight after a lightning strike by the Republic of Sotoa. The game is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5 on Oct. 2.

Players join the aircraft carrier Endurance as a navigator to a pilot known as Rex, the figurehead called the Wings of Theve. Rex is killed early in the campaign and the player is ordered to take his callsign to preserve public morale. The story is delivered through close, cockpit-focused cinematics and scenes on the carrier deck.

Project Aces linked the first-person camera choice to its prior virtual reality work. Brand Manager Kazutoki Kono described the perspective as “inspired by the team’s work on the PlayStation VR modes in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.” The camera places the viewpoint inside the cockpit during cutscenes and in-ship interactions.

Gameplay keeps the series’ lock-on and face-button weapon mapping, with missiles and special weapons assigned to face buttons and the machine gun mapped to X. The DualSense adaptive triggers add resistance for acceleration and braking and provide force feedback during sustained high-G turns when both triggers are held. Players can swap lock-ons with Triangle and change weapons with Square.

Players command Joker Flight, a four-aircraft wing, and can issue squad orders with the controller. Some missions include limited narrative choices, such as whether to spare certain pilots. Project Aces indicated those choices and the player’s performance defending allies can affect which characters survive in later missions, while the main plot remains intact.

A preview mission centers on a large mobile target called a Land Battleship, a heavily armed tracked vessel with rail guns, anti-aircraft batteries and deployable drones. FCU forces escort bomb-laden trucks intended to damage the vehicle’s treads while ground teams destroy skyscrapers to slow the ship. The mission requires simultaneous air-to-air combat, ground strafing and careful navigation through a dense city environment.

Radio transmissions provide mission cues and status updates from commanders, wingmen and ground units. Those communications deliver tactical information in real time and convey changes in troop morale during engagements.

Ace Combat 8 combines the series’ established control model with console-specific haptic feedback and a first-person cinematic approach. The PlayStation 5 release is set for Oct. 2.