Truly astonishing air combat sim that delivers on perfect, nail-biting action and a deeply riveting story. Not a moment wasted in delivering effortlessly original feeling and visually bombastic set pieces that I'm still thinking about a full year after playing it. The frankly out of this world Keiki Kobayashi + Co. score helps too. Feels like these characters are going to stick with me forever, and if people's attachment to the rest of the series is anything to go by, AC7 makes me deeply excited to revisit those (Remaster, please?)

Also worth noting? This game has like, stances, and ethos? The story is a military political drama that uses allegory without feeling completely vapid? Feels so refreshing in a big budget story these days. More, please.