Welcome to our review of The Falconeer, our very first Xbox series X review!
Generations of poisonous decisions and treason swirl in the deep, as factions collide.
Become the Falconeer and soar through the skies aboard a devastatingly powerful Warbird. Uncover secrets lost to the sea as you join or oppose different factions and clans scattered throughout the mysterious world of The Great Ursee. Take advantage of multiple Falconeer classes with individual stats, weapons and warbirds that can be upgraded through winning battles, completing quests, discovering secrets, or applying Mutagens or Chants. Use ocean thermals and energy to dive, dodge, barrel-roll, and twist to gain an advantage.
The Falconeer is an open-world air combat game, featuring fast, brutal aerial dogfights and deep exploration of an incredible fantasy open-world set not only above the clouds, but also amongst the waves and down through the sunken, ocean depths.
My interest in Fhe Falconeer was actually sparked right after I saw its trailer. A game presenting itself like that, I knew it had to be great. The fact that I was able to play this on the Xbox Series X is an added bonus and I’m thrilled to share my impressions with you all today. It might come as no surprise that games like this have a higher learning curve and The Falconeer is no exception. The full 3D motion that is available takes some time to really get used to and admittedly I had to change the way the controls worked so I could really get a hang of things.
As I had previously downloaded the game on my Xbox One, I used network transfer to get it ready on my Series X. After trying to start the game, I got greeted by a notification saying that updated graphics were available and a short download later I was ready to soar and head into battle.
Right upon starting the game, the first thing that you can see, are the impressive graphics of this game. The clouds, the islands, the Falconeer itself, … It all looked really sharp and its graphics are probably its most appealing feature. Because sadly the game itself is on the harder side of the spectrum.
At first, I really struggled with the game mechanics and how to properly control the falcon. Even messing up the tutorial twice no less, sadly proving my point. In all honesty, the more I played the more I got used to the maneuverability of the Falcon, yet I could not get used to the lack of not being able to control the speed of the Falcon. Yes, you can gain speed by diving, as a falcon would in real life, but when you have to go from one side of the map to the other, the natural drift is not just allowing you to pick up a drink or a snack, no, it’s forcing you to keep the controller in hand.
More than once did this irritate me, yet fully aware this was a natural and actually excellent approach to normal physics, yet I am a lazy gamer that needs his energy drink from time to time. Maybe in a way, games have spoiled me, that I had to keep actively playing rather than just sit back and enjoy the view.
Now the game itself is actually quite interesting, a lot of missions that will further the storyline and further the game. I remember one specific moment in the game where I had to get more money just so I would be able to land the Falcon.
While I do enjoy the game, there are some of those aforementioned annoyances that may be too much for some of us. Not really sure how they would be able to improve upon though. Maybe, and this is really just a small maybe, make the Falcon a little less maneuverable. Even after getting used to how he had to be handled, I still found the speed of everything to be overwhelming in the midst of a serious battle.
Talking about the battles, those are freaking amazing. Going head to head with another Falcon or an airship, surrounded by many other enemies and foes alike … You just get dragged into the action. The game even guides you to become a better falconeer and gives subtle hints in order to improve your fighting skills. The example is to aim in front of the enemy rather than directly at it.
In conclusion, The Falconeer started off roughly in my gameplay and I was less than impressed the more I played. Luckily it started clicking and before I knew it, I was pretending to be skilled at this game. I still don’t think this game is for me personally but I can see it is a decent game. My score would have been slightly lower if it hadn’t been such a graphical marvel.
