Rogue Aces (Nintendo Switch) Review

Rogue Aces takes the form of a Roguelike game, with 2D aerial plane warfare. The game utilises a large degree of variety within its missions, with no two enemy bases or rival aircraft flight patterns ever being the same. With that said, campaign progression, depending on the mode, tends to follow a set path. Rogue Aces makes use of a clear and colourful palette. It opts for the jollier side of dogfight combat, with energetic music and fun British voiceovers, backed by a silky-smooth framerate and responsive controls, whether playing in TV mode or on the go.

The regular campaign mode showcases the game's Roguelike influence the most. Starting off with three ships for the entirety of the run, players are tasked with liberating small groups of islands from the evil Baron and his armies. This is achieved by destroying numerous strongholds and vehicles like trains and submarines, as well as the biggest threat of all, from rival aircraft. Each objective within a mission is destruction-orientated in one manner or another, whether its enemy bases or the jets currently in the air. However, a decent amount of variety is given with other tasks, too, like safe landings and item collection. Additionally, limited ammunition and fuel requires an occasional glance at the meters for each onscreen, and a periodic return to the starting base to recharge.

The game rewards skilful play, as take-off and landing can be done manually or automatically. The former awards more points than the latter. A well-timed ejection from a damaged plane onto an enemy's ship can hijack it, retaining the current number of tries, which is dubbed an Aerial Steal. By default, flying a fighter-jet takes some adjustment, as the movement input is very sensitive, but the control scheme is fully customisable, and once in the skies it is very simple and enjoyable to keep track of enemy craft and aim weaponry in a full 360-degree radius. Destroyed foes often yield ammunition crates, vital for upgrading craft in later levels, as the enemy jets follow the same enhancements.

Rogue Aces primarily targets the single player, and offers an array of modes and features for that purpose. The Training Ground is ideal for new pilots taking to the air for the first time, and it provides simple instruction on easy and difficult techniques alike. The Frontline Campaign offers a grid map of island levels, to emancipate in any chosen order, whilst Veteran takes no prisoners with harder enemies and disabled automatic landing controls.

Outside of those three Campaign offerings, there are other modes too, with a more Arcade-like structure. Survival is a pure last-man standing dogfighting mode, while Bomber Defence demands safeguarding the home-base with bombing weaponry. Then there's Hot Potato, that only allows the Aerial Steal technique as a means of gaining more lives, and Rogue Ace gives full customised stats for the starter craft for an all-out assault on the enemy. The Roguelike structure of Aces greatly complements the instant play-appeal of the Switch, and for fans of the genre this is not one to be missed.