Mixed Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Steam reviews warn of release date regrets

Bandai Namco’s latest arcade flight action title enjoys one of the highest Metacritic scores in the series. However, since early access began on September 29th, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Steam reviews are less enthusiastic. It currently has a mixed rating, with performance and controller options as the main complaints.

Buyers who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition took to the skies ahead of the October 2nd Ace Combat 8 release date. Opinions on Valve’s marketplace border on mostly positive, but they raise the same concerns.

Restrictive graphical tweaks

With hefty recommended PC specs, fans feared reaching 60 fps would be a challenge on many rigs. Frame rate drops occur during intense dogfights, though more flexible settings could smooth out the visuals. The streamlined performance options seem better suited to Xbox and PS5 consoles.

Frustratingly, pilots with less powerful graphics cards can’t disable ray tracing. The enhanced lighting, reflections, and shadows make flying feel more realistic at the expense of memory usage. Upscaling counters some of that impact, but users are unable to fine-tune it like in other PC games.

Early access Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Steam reviews have also exposed lackluster controller support. Even though it’s not a sim-oriented experience, a HOTAS can improve targeting precision. Only specific throttle and joystick combos are compatible, and input remapping is limited.

Help on the way?

Offering hope for a patch by the release date, Bandai Namco has responded to the performance hitches. In a message posted on Valve’s platform, the publisher focuses on crash reports. While investigating, it recommends updating GPU drivers and ensuring enough storage space and virtual memory is free.

The many positive Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve reviews suggest that technical fixes could win back discouraged players. Gamers find the battles enthralling, and the visuals dramatically improved. Bandai Namco is also likely thrilled with pre-order sales boosted by a high average Metacritic score. Right now, it’s in the number one spot for Steam top sellers.