I received Ace Combat 7 from a friend who saw it on my wishlist. I’d been casually interested in the series for some time, helped greatly by videos such as these Ace Combat 7 Free Bird

The series places you as the silent ace pilot named Trigger, who gets promptly bombarded with around 50+ new Nouns for the world you now inhabit. Erusea, Osea, Usea, ISEV, Arsenal Birds, Mage Squadron; the words fly by like the missiles I barely dodge in my first missions. My growth as a pilot synchronizes with my understanding of the world and the war I’ve been embroiled in.

At the end of mission 3 I realized I needed to play this game in VR ASAP. After some configuring, I was placed in the cockpit flying through the cloud layer with an eye glued to my radar - one of about a dozen indicators now in my field of view. My first dogfight in VR became a battle of wits & adrenaline, physically craning my head to check for approaching missiles. My reflexes get better than ever as I estimate trajectories I couldn’t perceive before. Best of all is the moments I can’t plan for. Lightning striking my metal chassis, shorting my electronics & forcing me to rely on line of sight to chase an agile enemy through the storm. A sandstorm completely obscuring my vision & forcing me to narrowly pass a mountain peak.

Ace Combat 7 does a great job of providing you with varied missions, but the clear standout for me is mission 16 (spoilers ahead).

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This mission takes place after mutual attacks on satellite networks between the warring nations lead to what amounts to a global information blackout. Your ordinary mission briefing is silent, in a dark room. Your targeting software you’ve relied on the whole game can’t tell friend from foe. In the midst of a city descending into chaos overnight, you think you spot an enemy pilot. Your missiles lock and you fire, same as always. When you get closer, it’s too late before you realize you fired upon an ally and their plane explodes in a fiery inferno, same as always.

The normal radio chatter has been replaced by ground-level civilians and media. Their fear compounds with your fear. Paranoia seeps in as you are fired upon by allies, unable to identify your craft. An approaching civilian plane registers as an enemy craft, and no one is certain what to do with it. Shots ring out, the craft is hit. But it seems it was fired upon by their own allies.

The way this mission crafts an atmosphere of silence & paranoia from the menus to the targeting computer to the radio chatter is incredible. I’m just glad I was there to see it.

The VR mod made for an incredible experience, but sadly some missions requiring eyesight to the target would not work properly. However I highly recommend it to anyone who has a headset & is looking for an immersive action-packed experience. It’s a game I’ll keep coming back to when I feel the need to traverse the deep blue skies once again.