Synopsis:
The Falconeer is an open-world air combat game, featuring frenetic aerial dogfights and deep exploration of the mysterious open-world of The Great Ursee.

Publisher: Wired Productions
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Also available for: Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC

Developer: Tomas Sala

Amidst the more significant launch titles for the Xbox Series X|S lies The Falconeer from solo developer Tomas Sala. You take the pilot seat atop a Falcon in this aerial dogfighter above massive vasts of blue oceans and fierce electrical storms. At times The Falconeer is a beautiful and well-oiled machine that runs at both 4K/60 or 120fps, but repetitive gameplay and a terrifyingly boring narrative weight the wings of this Falcon down.

Somewhere between Game of Thrones and Waterworld is the plot for The Falconeer. Different factions in ‘The Great Ursee’ strike deals or war with another. Each clan lives on small island masses as the world of The Great Ursee is mostly made up of water. It’s a world that looks like it could have been Earth, but only following a mass flooding (possible, by the way). Across several different campaigns, you’ll play as an unnamed pilot and do jobs for the specific clan that the campaign focuses on. A narrator introduces the world at the start of each act, and then you’re fed story between missions from a talking head on-screen. Although I found the world of The Great Ursee to be interesting, beautiful and intriguing enough to want to explore, I couldn’t get into the story at all. A lot of this comes down to the fact you play as multiple clans and never have a lead character. None of the companions that come on missions with you was exciting or memorable at all either. I was unable to get invested in any part of the narrative or characters. 

Playing The Falconeer is a mixture of both positively thrilling air combat and horrible frustration at the controls. Moving your Falcon through the air is as simple as pointing its nose in the direction you want to head, but they’re devilishly slow. Performing a boost, 180-turn or barrel roll will use a high amount of energy, and the energy can only be regained by performing dives. When you’re exploring the open blue-waves and sky of The Great Ursee in search of communities to shop with, or finding old ruins (collectables) this system is fine. It’s somewhat cathartic to explore The Great Ursee dipping and diving between the clouds and rocking waves. When you enter combat, however, it can become a giant pain, and that’s before attempting to land a shot on an enemy craft. 

You’ll battle several different types of air and sea crafts across each of The Falconeers campaigns. From nimble rival Falconeers to airships, battle-ships and even flying manta-rays. You have one gun — although you can upgrade it to either a faster or harder-hitting model further in the game — and it’s a pain to aim. Like classic dogfighters, you can only shoot directly forward, and you need to allow for the distance to your target when lining up your shot. Quickly things cane become painful as you can run out of ammo; the only way to recharge is to fly into a storm. Pair the energy bar with tight controls, a lack of weapon variety and the need to keep an eye on your ammo supply, and you can quickly be in a sticky position. Enemy aircraft don’t seem to have the same issues as you either. They’ll chase you with a passion and seemingly never need to recharge their batteries or ammo supply while you’re often left with several crafts on your ass and finding yourself diving for the water. 

Between missions, you can shop at your clans’ islands or other locations around the world. You’ll be spending most of your splinters (money) on Mutagents which you apply to your Falcon for either constant or short term effects. An increase in firepower is always a welcome addition to your Falcons stats and at times a one-time-use potion that restores your HP when low can be just what you need to glide through a mission you’re struggling to complete.