Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 299 sampled Steam reviews (271 positive / 28 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing23% mention it
- Combat20% mention it
- Music & audio10% mention it
- Visuals & art7% mention it
- Controls & UI5% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing29% mention it
- Visuals & art18% mention it
- Combat14% mention it
- Grind & repetition11% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
71%
34 reviews
5-15h
88%
93 reviews
15-40h
95%
105 reviews
40-100h
96%
49 reviews
100h+
100%
18 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 44 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 88 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 88% | 82 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 91% | 85 | 120 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 344 total reviews in window · weighted 222.2 up / 22.1 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (126)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“As the first mainline game on PC, Ace Combat 7 does a pretty good job. The graphics and soundtrack are excellent, the mission design is diverse, and the controls are very responsive. However, the game is not perfect, bringing with it a rather forgetful storyline and several problems when it comes to control configuration.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Gameplay-wise Ace Combat 7 is the best game in the series. with an excellent set of unique and really interesting missions, nice difficulty balance, great graphics and a beautiful soundtrack. Story-wise, sadly, long-awaited game dissapointed us.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Ace Combat is not one of the best known titles in our country, yet it has always offered an excellent story, and even better gameplay in the form of beautiful air battles with a shrapnel of Japanese gunfire. Although it may not seem at first glance, the game offers substantial depth in just a few pages, and it is so engaging that it will attract people unaffected by the series.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A great comeback for the series which is really fun to play, until you discover some problems that are typical for this type of games.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“At its best, the game leaves you by your lonesome to get to know the “deep blue” sky as intimately as possible.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is exactly what fans expected from this installment in the series. Once again, you’ll get your hands on a well-crafted aerial arcade action game that will delight longtime fans. Thanks to the selection of control difficulty levels, the game is also accessible to absolute beginners, though they might not enjoy the same repetitive missions that have been a hallmark of this series for years. For the PC version, it would be good to work on optimizing keyboard and mouse controls in the future. Even so, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a great title that earns a seven out of ten from us.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“If you're looking for something out of the ordinary and have immense patience for an inconsistent checkpoint system, it's well worth a look in.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is the absolute pinnacle of the series and despite being over five years old this 'impossible' Switch conversion does very little to degrade the experience. Long-time franchise players and military aviation enthusiasts will be overwhelmed by the fan service at every turn, from craters on the ground to airplanes, liveries, callsigns, and emblems shouting out to previous entries - all ready to play all on the physical cartridge (strangely exclusive to Europe) with nothing to download if you take that route. We understand the genre is uniquely niche, but if this is your first foray into the franchise, this conversion is a perfect gateway into this rich, revered series. You get tons of content and an epic single-player campaign wrapped up in triple-A presentation that now delivers the most comprehensive portable experience ever delivered by Project Aces.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“While it doesn’t do a lot to change its formula, and its story could most certainly be better paced, Ace Combat 7 brings the series back to its roots.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“I am left in awe of some of the moments you get to zip through, and it has created a new fan out of me, not just for Ace Combat games, but flight sims in general.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Absolutely scratches the long-standing itch I’ve had for a Switch game with some decent aerial dogfighting, and it does so impressively”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Ultimately, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a valued successor in the series and brings the franchise right back to its roots. Graphically, the game is stunning. It pops with glistening detail and lighting, and lots of delicate touches, such as the raindrops on the windows. This is matched by the bombastic sound quality which delivers pounding thrust and thundering cannons through the clouds. Whilst the campaign could be a touch longer, and it is regrettable that the VR mode is not yet present in the PC version, overall the package on offer here is well worth it for any flight combat fans.”
read full review ↗
cublikefoot
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Gadgets 360
Nintendo Life
Hu3br
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3…and 114 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch Note UpdateNov 15, 2022
- Patch Note UpdateOct 18, 2022
- Patch Note UpdateSep 13, 2022
- Patch Note UpdateJul 5, 2022
- Patch Note UpdateApr 14, 2022
- Patch Note UpdateJan 20, 2022
- Access the Free Update now ✈️Aug 31, 2021
- 2nd Anniversary Free UpdateJan 18, 2021
- 25th Anniversary DLC Original Aircraft Series & Free Update 1.50Oct 27, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- 25th Anniversary Free UpdateApr 2, 2020
- Update 1.2.2.5 Patch NotesNov 13, 2019
- Announcement for Steam Patch v1.1.4.2Aug 28, 2019
- Patch v1.1.3.1 releasedJul 18, 2019
- ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN Patch 1.12 now liveJun 11, 2019
- ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN Multiplayer patchMay 29, 2019
- ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN Patch 1.10May 21, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN Patch 1.02 now live!Mar 12, 2019