Fallen Aces

Play it on: Windows
Buy it from: Steam
Current goal: Wrap up the early access build

I’m fleeing to the woods (Connecticut) for a few days for my monthly decompression, meaning I’ll be away from my consoles, unless I really want to pack them, which I don’t. That means I’ll have my gaming laptop to keep me company, and while I’m sure I will be checking out the likes of Dawntrail throughout the weekend, I also want to wrap up Fallen Aces from the folks over at New Blood before too much time passes and I simply abandon it to the annals of my backlog.

My coworker Zack couldn’t stop singing its praises when it came out about two weeks ago, and I began it soon after and fell hard for it. Its visuals were always impressive, but the notion of a first-person brawler never quite captured my attention. Hearing that it was basically an immersive sim set in the pages of a noir comic book set my brain ablaze though, and I had a blast with the first few levels and how open-ended it was. I’m so used to games ascribing scores based on how well you play, so I was shocked when Fallen Aces refused to judge me for occasionally fudging stealth segments and going loud. That flexibility and encouragement to improv your way through a level is what’s going to usher me through the end of the current early access build. I’ll be sad to have to wait for more, but if its beginnings are any indication, Fallen Aces is going to be a riot of a game when it’s complete. –Moises Taveras