“The idea of flying freely through these vast skies. I think that’s a universal desire. It doesn’t matter what country or culture you come from. I think it’s an itch that everyone around the world wants to scratch.”

When I got to ask Kazutoki Kono, the brand director of Ace Combat, about the series’ enduring appeal, that was his answer. And it’s one that certainly resonates with me after some hands-on time with his team’s latest, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, ahead of its launch on October 2. After all, games are often exercises in wish fulfillment, as well as the packaging and delivery of exuberant fantasies.

For as much as this space often bandies about the word “immersive” in our assessment of games, few titles actually go all-in on that promise. I’m talking about games that transcend the borders of my screen and become a full-body experience that I feel in my bones. Maybe even my stomach. Something that quickens my heart rate and even forces me to sweat a little. Something that takes my breath away.

I can perhaps count on one hand the number of games that have given me even a taste of that level of immersion, and I guess I now have to throw Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve near the top of that remarkably short list.

In about an hour, I went from an Ace Combat novice—one who’s always known of the series but never engaged with or played it—to a high-flying maverick of the skies.

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