The Falconeer

The Falconeer lacks an actual Falconeer protagonist to hang its adventure from and ends up impersonal and fragmented. Odd dis-incentivizing design choices seek to undermine what is an otherwise wonderful lore-filled world and some of the most fun and frenetic aerial combat this generation.

The Falconeer introduces us to the unique world of the Ursee, but while the setting is there to draw you in, the experience fails to provide the variety needed to keep you intrigued and falls into a cycle of repetitive missions.

Despite his pleasant artistic direction and his ambition to tell a complex story with multiple ramifications, The Falconeer lacks a little soul during its ten hours of play. The developed lore struggles to include the player because of a lack attachment to the heroes while the uninspiring missions, even generic, plague the desire to progress. Fortunately, his overall successful dogfights as well as his few flashes make this aerial shoot an experience that deserves attention. The work done by its sole developer is obviously remarkable: his love for an endangered genre shines on every feather of the Fantastic Falcon.

The Falconeer offers up an incredibly crafted world with a deep mythology that is begging to be explored further and gliding over the open sea on the back of a falcon is pure fantasy, but while the game’s dogfights can occasionally be thrilling, they can soon become a bit repetitive. Samey missions and a lack of options in combat ultimately mean that The Falconeer doesn’t quite nail the landing.

It’s a lovely looking game, but The Falconeer just doesn’t entertain like it should. From its repetitive missions to its story that you’ll quickly stop caring about, it fails to capture your attention in the long term, while occasional frustration in combat puts a bit of a downer on the gameplay. Just flying around in its world can be quite a calming experience though. Silver linings and all that.