With many people referring to this as a spiritual successor to Ace Combat, Project Wingman is a game I have been interested in for quite some time. This is not some kind of complicated, stuffy flight sim! This is an action-packed, fast-paced, and awesome arcade-style flight game!
How to Download Project Wingman
To download the game (it is available on Steam), click on the Download button at the end of the review.
The Game Review
The setting of the game is that the world has been changed due to a cataclysmic event. Now the world is fractured and you playing as the ultimate ariel mercenary are called in to protect your nation. The game is not very story-driven and most of the dialogue in the game is your radio chatter, but there at least is enough here to give you a reason for doing what you are doing.
The campaign is split into different missions and at the start, you are told what the mission is, the objective, and so on. You can then select from over 20 different fighter jets and also select your loadout. There are over 40 different weapons that you can select from so finding the right balance for the mission at hand or one that suits your playstyle is a lot of fun.
While playing through the campaign is a lot of fun, Conquest Mode was my favorite thing about this game. Conquest Mode has you fighting waves of enemies, a boss, and powerful squadrons as you try to take control of the territory. Each wave offers you a different challenge to deal with.
That alone is cool, but after each wave, you can change your loadout and so on. You can also add in different modifiers to make things easier or more challenging for yourself too. This is one very fun mode and something that I hope gets expanded on if they ever decide to make a sequel.
The core gameplay is a lot of fun. It has a very arcade feel where it is easy to pick up and play, fast-paced, and just a ton of fun. I know many people (myself included) find flight sims far too intimidating. There is none of that here, you can play this with a controller and the controls are tight, easy to understand, and very responsive.
Project Wingman is a great-looking game. While all of the action takes place in the sky, the areas you fight over have a lot of variety. My personal favorite is the one over the sea as the water looks great. However, mountains, cities, fields, and more are also here. Plus, the levels can change the way you play, watching out for mountains and losing your target in the clouds for example.
My preferred way of playing the game was where I could actually see the jet. You can also play the game in the first person and there is a VR option if you like. It is all personal preference at the end of the day for what style of viewpoint you want when you are playing the game.
I had an absolute blast with Project Wingman and will flat out say it is a million times better than the last Ace Combat game we got. If you love arcade-style fighter jet games, you are going to have an awesome time with this game.
