Indie Highlight Series 006: Ace Combat Adjacent
Riding the hype of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve? Here are indie game suggestions to capitalize on your heightened interest
To state it simply: Ace Combat 8 is so absolutely GOATED it sold over 1 million copies within the first month it came out. Between the extensive international promotional campaign and the quality of the game itself, it has seemingly reached entirely new demographics. All over social media and video streaming sites there are players who have either never played a game like this before or have limited previous experience that are wholeheartedly jumping into this genre of games.
As mentioned in my last piece about Aggressors Fantasy Air Combat, the launch month of Ace Combat 8 is the perfect time to highlight other in development and slightly older indie flight games that someone who enjoys Ace Combat 8 would also be interested in. Some of these are unofficially coined as "Ace Likes", games designed in the similar vein to the Ace Combat Series or that specific flavor of flight shooter genre. Others are slightly different, but we still think they would appeal to the same type of person.
Let's check them out!
Play Today
The following games have demos or early access releases you can try today to get in on the action as soon as possible.
Nova Squadron by Clara Gale
Nova Squadron by Clara Gale is a PC only still in development high speed flight shooter roguelite set in the clouds and hovering cities of Jupiter during a sci-fi war. This game was designed for gamepads, but can be played with keyboard and mouse as well. Since January 2023 it has a publicly accessible demo that gets updated over time. It is one of a few upcoming games that has a consistent demo available.
In December 2026 update 0.5.0 "The Ice Cream Update" will greatly change the way this game looks and plays. We strongly suggest reading the post about it to keep informed. We have written about this game in the past if you would like to know more about it.
Notable Points
Roguelite: Whether you win or lose, your aircraft can receive permanent and temporary upgrades. The more you play the more capable they become.
Wingmates: the four wingmates the player commands can have their aircraft customized at the start of each mission. In upcoming update 0.5.0 they will have dialogue, personalities, pixel character art, private interactions and more.
Strategic Play: choose missions at will to take on. Success or failure will effect other battles that are raging. A victory in a place where the players are can still result in a loss by allied forces elsewhere. Such is the tide of war.
Allied Support: during battles over hovering cities and against flying fleets players can call in support actions like Orbital Laser Bombardments.
Nuclear Option by Shockfront Studios
Nuclear Option by Shockfront Studios is a deceptively detailed PC only flight game that visually appears like it is a rather arcadey, but beneath it is more like a flight sim lite. It feels great to play with a gamepad or keyboard and mouse, but it is advanced enough to support head tracking, rudder pedals and HOTAS controllers. It feels like an easy to access game that gives full fidelity combat flight simulator style action.
This game has been in development for quite some time with it being in early access for three years now. But it has so much content, it makes you wonder what else the developers are trying to fit in here with the game still officially being at 0.34 version update. We have written about it somewhat frequently as well.
Notable Points
Massive Battles: Its best known for army vs army scale battles between dozens of units at a time. AI units capture bases, run logistics and frequently use nuclear weapons to combat one another. Players are just another unit on the frontline. Though their actions can change the flow of battle.
Detailed Aircraft: the growing list of 13 aircraft represent all types of aircraft you'd expect in a combat sim. Utility helicopter, strategic bomber, VTOL fighters, etc. Each has 30 to 50 detachable parts with flight physics being calculated over every surface. As aircraft take damage or lose weight their flight characteristics change.
Mission Variety: This is not a single player story driven game, but it does have missions specific to each aircraft and base game large scale missions that can be flown solo offline or in PVE / PVPVE with up to 32 people. This game also has Steam Workshop support for a large variety of user made content that often surpasses base game content.
Mindset: We recommend that players treat this game a bit more like it is a combat flight simulator. While combat is quick to get into and the penalty for getting shot down is rather low, this game emulates enough factors (damage model, anti-air threats, scale of maps, electronic warfare, radar guided missiles, etc) that flying a bit more reserved could be beneficial for new players to adjust to this game style.
Carrier Wing Ypsilon by Quackpond Games
This still in development flight game is a story driven single player experience that challenges players to fly multiple futuristic aircraft to save a distant planet from space pirates attempting to invade it. The game was designed with gamepads in mind. There are many familiar features within this game that would make any fan of the flight shooter genre feel right at home quickly.
This game mainly sees development blogs posted on its Itch.io page, but its public demo is also available on Steam as of August 8th, 2026. It is currently being showcased as a part of Finnish Games Week 2026.
Notable Points
Branching Story: as players progress through the story they are presented with options to choose sides and mission paths leading to multiple game endings.
Mercenary Vibes: true to mercenary style operations players will not only be able upgrade their aircraft with multiple parts, new weapons and custom presets, but they will also have to pay for any ammunition expended and damage that needs to be repaired.
Air and Space: missions take place in the atmosphere of alien planets and in deep space. From canyon flying ground attack missions to deep space fleet vs fleet battles.
Dogfighter Delights: there are some minor but important details for experienced dogfighters . When an aircraft is at the right speed for High G maneuvers the wingtips will draw contrails. High G maneuvers can be used freely in space. Standard missiles will have boosted homing guidance if players effectively lead their target before firing.
At Skies' Edge by Mackerel Sky
A currently in development flight game with an unexpectedly long history behind it. Unlike many of its peers, it is set in a fictional world with an era of technology somewhere between the 1960s and 1980s after a nuclear war changed the world. It is under development by a team that is highly familiar with this genre of games. There are many game design cues that feel familiar with some new innovations that are more impactful than you would expect. Its current alpha demo supports keyboard mouse, gamepads and an experimental HOTAS setting.
Since the Alpha 0.11a demo released on March 28th, 2026, there have been new videos released discussing the next big demo update planned for Steam sometime in the future. Development continues at a steady pace.
Notable Points
Flight Model: while this is firmly an arcade game it is notable for having a unique speed gauge system in its heads up display. The game informs players of the ideal speed ranges for different types of flying. For example, ACM range being the best for turning dogfights. This is a simulator like system that is unexpected in an arcade game.
Aircraft Loadouts: semi-realistic loadouts are used on aircraft. Per aircraft certain weapons are only available in specific positions they were designed to be mounted on. While it is possible to have up to three special weapons on an aircraft finding the right mix of weapons is important.
Multi-Mission System: this game has demonstrated that it can have large scale multi objective missions where completing one phase in a designated area unlocks a new phase. Missions so large that it feels as though there are multiple single player missions happening at the same time.
Audio: the music and voice acting in this game have been notable so far. With various passionate new voice actors and a new musical composer to this genre in tow, a full fledged release of this game seems to be shaping up interestingly.
Indies You Can Follow
While all the titles below do not have a demos that can be played now, they are also upcoming games that are on track to be well known names within the flight shooter genre that Ace Combat helped define all the way back in 1995:
Delivery Must Complete
About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
