Video Game Review - Red Wings: Aces Of The Sky

Rob reviews Red Wings: Aces Of The Sky on Nintendo Switch...

World War 1 isn't a period of human history that we see much adapted into a video game format. Yet it's an incredibly fascinating subject. Back in the early 20th-century combat was mainly fought on the ground. World War 1 saw troops riding armoured plates horses into battle whilst they carried swords and muskets. However come the conclusion of the war in 1918 - four years after it started - warfare had changed. 

The introduction of aerial combat changed the War significantly. Not only did this open up yet another theatre within the skies. It also allowed both sides to comfortably attack each other troops entrenched within the ground below. It's this aerial warfare that Red Wings: Aces Of The Sky takes inspiration from. Set within World War 1 we're tasked with aiding both sides in their battle of the skies - and in short, becoming an "ace of the sky". 

Red Wings: Aces Of The Sky offers quite a lot of content for players. There's a fair few story missions that are split between the two sides - the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy, and Austria) and the Triple Entente (Britain, Russia, and France). Regardless of what side you'll be thrown into plenty of action-packed missions that'll range from dogfights to bombing strategic locations. There's also a semblance of the story as a pretty well constructed comic strip highlights the thoughts and feelings of your player's squadron as the War lumbers on. 

Whilst the story isn't necessarily historically accurate it does feature the notorious Manfred von Richthofen aka 'The Red Baron'. If anything through the various story missions we sees an insight into how both sides deal with the Red Baron. With the Alliance idolising their hero and the Entente attempting to take him out. Even if the story is a little thin on the ground it does borrow from history albeit very lightly. 

As such gameplay reflects this by offering an arcade-like experience rather than a historical simulation. For example, enemy planes have regenerating armour and you're can repair and re-fuel by flying through floating rings. While this style of gameplay most certainly appeals to fan of most modern-day flight titles, if you're after an authentic WW1 experience you won't find that here. 

Combat is fairly fluid with dogfights being a frantic game of cat & mouse. We have various abilities at our disposal such as calling in squadron support and being able to shoot fellow pilots with our sidearm. However the majority of the time you'll be performing aerobatic manoeuvres in an attempt to fire a volley of machine-gun fire into your opponent before they do the same to you. 

Whilst there are various missions they lack variation. You're not given much of a briefing so you never know quite what to expect until your up in the sky. Sadly you'll see everything the game had to offer by the tenth stage. It's a bit of a shame considering the wealth of missions that Red Wings has on offer. The whole game can also be played via couch co-op. This is a somewhat welcomed experience as having another player in your squadron can make some of the missions a lot easier. 

We're also able to acquire new skills or upgrade current ones by spending stars that we've earned during the campaign. Much like other games of the genre these stars represent anything from the overall score, kills, time is taken etc. However in Red Wings: Aces Of The Sky this is all kept a secret until you've either completed or failed the current stage. Any successfully gained stars are then accumulated within a skill book that can then be spent at your leisure. 

Some of these upgrades offer more weight than others. The ability to fire longer, or to have a lower fuel consumption seem more appropriate than having a green arrow point you to the nearest repair ring. Each appropriate upgrade also costs an increasing amount of start too which means there's a high reply value if you wish to unlock everything. There's also the added benefit of being able to refund spent points if you invest in a skill that's ultimately a bit pants. 

Red Wings also features an additional survival mode as well as co-op and adversarial game types. Survival is how you'd expect and the skies can quickly become a flooded chaotic mess. Adversal mode is also a no thrills deathmatch that's as you'd also expect from an arcade flight sim. 

Red Wings also allows the ability to use motion controls. Sadly I was unable to test this due to my Joy Con's suffering from quite a bad drift. But the option is there for those who wish to test their reflexes. 

All in all Red Wings: Aces Of The Sky is a decent arcade dogfights game. Even though the game has its rough points there is a lot here to like. Combat is generally fun albeit a bit repetitive. The game has quite some tight and responsive control scheme that puts a fair few flight sims to shame. Also, the setting of World War 1 is a nice change to both World War 2 and modern aerial combat scenarios. 

Rating 7/10

Red Wings: Aces Of The Sky is available now and can be purchased via the Nintendo Switch eShop by clicking here.

A code was kindly provided for this review.

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev