Ace Combat 7

Like other entries in the Ace Combat series, Ace Combat 7 is a combat flight simulation game in which the player pilots military aircraft to complete various objectives, ranging from dogfighting hostile aircraft, to conducting airstrikes, to battling high-tech superweapons. The game, and its wider series, forgoes a realistic flight model in favor of faster, arcade-like gameplay, with two control settings to accommodate different playstyles: "Normal" for simplified arcadey controls, and "Expert" for semi-realistic controls that allow for more challenging but precise maneuvers. Overall gameplay is similar to its predecessors, but due to Ace Combat 7 being built on a different engine and marking a resumption of the mainline series after over a decade, some changes and alterations were made to update the overall gameplay loop and feel.

During the single-player campaign, players are given a briefing prior to each mission, where they are informed of the situation, their objectives, the expected opposition, and environmental and terrain considerations, using a 3D map display. Players complete missions by destroying various air and surface targets, as well as accomplishing specific mission objectives such as destroying a specific priority target, protecting friendly units, or causing enough destruction. Computer-controlled wingmen accompany the player through each mission, providing exposition and limited combat support. Players can also complete optional aerial refueling or landing minigames before or after certain missions. Like most Ace Combat games, the story is largely progressed through briefings, radio communications during missions, and cutscenes between missions; Ace Combat 7's cutscenes are 3D-animated prerendered cutscenes similar to those in Ace Combat 6 and Infinity.

Ace Combat 7 is set in the series' fictional universe of Strangereal, where Earth has entirely different nations, geography, and history. The game's story details the 2019 Lighthouse War, fought between the Osean Federation and the Kingdom of Erusea in the continent of Usea. Following the Continental War, Osea brokered a peace treaty between the Federal Republic of Erusea and the rest of Usea, while the International Union (IUN) formed a Peacekeeping Force (IUN-PKF) for the continent. In 2011, Erusea restored its monarchy ruled by the D'Elise royal family, while former Osean President Vincent Harling ordered the construction of the International Space Elevator (ISEV), a space elevator and communications tower used to harness atmospheric energy, off the coast of western Usea near Erusea.

The ISEV is protected by two massive Osean flying-wing airborne aircraft carrier drones, Arsenal Birds Liberty and Justice, carrying a large number of combat drones, advanced weaponry, and force fields, powered by microwave transmission from the ISEV. Though Harling framed the ISEV as promoting a lasting peace, Erusea perceived it as a symbol of Osean imperialism that infringed on Erusean sovereignty, with these resentments ultimately sparking the Lighthouse War.

Despite lackluster reviews, Ace Combat Infinity for the PlayStation 3 was a surprise hit for veteran fans, and commercial interest in the series by Bandai Namco was renewed, prompting internal development team Project Aces to develop a true sequel, the first mainline Ace Combat game since 2007's Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation for the Xbox 360.

Due to the original Ace Combat engine being in a state of limbo since the release of Infinity, Bandai Namco decided that rather than incur the costs of building a new Ace Combat engine from the ground up, Skies Unknown would be the first game in the franchise to be built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4. "trueSky", an Unreal Engine plugin that generates realistic clouds, played a notable role in the game's development, being one of the first additions to the game.

Ace Combat 7 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 79% of critics.

Famitsu magazine gave Ace Combat 7 a rating of 35/40, the highest of those reviewed in issue 1571. Digital Foundry's John Linneman recommended the game as a return to form of the Ace Combat series, and praised its gameplay, graphics, music, plot, and VR mode, deeming it an "absolute must-play". Forbes contributor Ollie Barder gave the game a 9/10, saying "while it can be a demanding game at times, it is definitely a rewarding one", though he lamented the limited scope of the VR compatibility and opined that the inclusion of only three VR missions did not justify buying PlayStation VR.