Free from Epic Games between July 4th and July 11th 2024
Title: The Falconeer
Summary: Generations of poisonous decisions and treason swirl in the deep, as factions collide. Become the Falconeer and soar through the skies aboard a devastatingly powerful Warbird. Uncover secrets lost to the sea as you join or oppose different factions and clans scattered throughout The Great Ursee. Take advantage of multiple Falconeer classes with individual stats, weapons and warbirds that can be upgraded through winning battles, completing quests, discovering secrets, or applying Mutagens or Chants. Use ocean thermals and energy to dive, dodge, barrel-roll, and twist to gain an advantage. The Falconeer is an open-world air combat game, featuring fast, brutal aerial dogfights and deep exploration of an incredible fantasy open-world set not only above the clouds, but also amongst the waves and down through the sunken, ocean depths.
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Rating: Rated T for Teen
Developer: Tomas Sala
Publisher: Wired Productions
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Series S/X, PS4, PS5, Switch
Genres: Aircraft Combat Sim
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The Falconeer is an arcade-style aerial dog-fight game, where players fly around an open world map on a massive warbird. The game offers a 9 hour campaign that unfolds through the perspectives of different clans, contributing to a gripping multifaceted plot. Although the story starts weak, it builds into a compelling war narrative, with good characters and full voice acting! However, the story ends abruptly, and the ending will not leave you satisfied.
The flying mechanics lack complexity and precision, but do a good job of feeling organic. The combat; while solid, relies heavily on aim assist, and strategy revolves around picking and switching between targets. Build customizations don’t provide significantly different experiences, and there are only three real categories of enemy, leading to a repetitive combat experience. This is exacerbated by the majority of quests falling into a "go-here, shoot-this" gameplay-loop, which becomes monotonous.
Additionally, the large world necessitates slow and prolonged travel for many missions. This exacerbates the frustration of having to restart from the beginning of a mission if you fail, and having to return to base after every single mission. Fast travel is an option, but the game still feels poorly paced.
There's also a lot of smaller issues that will irk you, such as a poorly implemented landing system, and the finicky reuse of buttons. Many mechanics too are poorly explained or not addressed at all, and the game becomes substantially easier once you fully understand the shop and upgrade systems. It's also INCREDIBLY frustrating when elements you encounter in the game are locked behind DLC.
Despite these issues, The Falconeer clearly reflects the developer’s love for fun large-scale aerial battles with AI allies. The gameplay itself however feels unpolished, and occasionally monotonous. I did have fun with the game, but don't grind the side-quests too hard, as you may burn out before you complete the story.