Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol

About

Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is a turn-based strategy game that puts you in the cockpit of World War I fighter planes. Command a squadron of pilots, engage in thrilling aerial combat, and upgrade your planes and pilots as you progress. With multiple campaigns and multiplayer modes, Ace Patrol offers a rich and immersive experience for strategy and war game enthusiasts.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 534 reviews

story19 positive mentions

stability11 negative mentions

Simple, quick, and cheap fun with a satisfying amount of depth.
Gameplay is fast, furious, and surprisingly tactical, making it addictive.
The game captures the feeling and aesthetic of WW1 aerial combat well.

Choppy gameplay, often capped at 30fps, leading to a frustrating experience.
Frequent crashes after missions, causing loss of progress and frustration.
Poor game rules explanation and limited game modes reduce overall enjoyment.

story
224 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
86%
6%
The story aspect of "Ace Patrol" is largely absent, as the game focuses on a series of repetitive, mission-based gameplay without a cohesive narrative or character development. Players engage in turn-based aerial combat through a limited variety of mission types, such as dogfights and escorts, but the lack of a deeper storyline or progression diminishes the overall experience. While the game offers some strategic elements and pilot upgrades, it ultimately feels like a collection of disjointed missions rather than a compelling campaign.
- “The game's campaign mode follows the historical timeline of World War I, with players taking on missions that mirror real-life battles.”
- “The missions are varied, too, and range from straightforward air combat to strafing runs to escort missions to aerial cover.”
- “You can choose between several missions and complete the objectives using one or more (max 4) pilots.”
- “Like I said above, there is no story, just a set of missions, which is fine; as a time killer, I enjoyed completing that 'campaign' (keep in mind that all four nations are identical and the only difference is the visual model and passive perk).”
- “The static gameplay is only made worse by the samey missions.”
- “The missions are all kind of generic, but can be very challenging if your pilots and craft are not prepared.”
gameplay
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
68%
9%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its turn-based dogfighting mechanics, which are simple and accessible, making it suitable for casual players. However, many reviews highlight its repetitive nature and lack of depth, with missions feeling similar and the overall experience being short-lived, often completed in under three hours. While the game offers engaging mechanics and a charming aesthetic, it is criticized for being more suited to mobile platforms and lacking the complexity that might appeal to hardcore strategy enthusiasts.
- “Gameplay is fast, furious, and surprisingly tactical.”
- “The game has a unique blend of historical accuracy, engaging gameplay, and a beautiful art style that immerses players in the thrilling world of aerial combat.”
- “The gameplay is not especially deep or complicated, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.”
- “Choppy gameplay, capped at maybe 30fps.”
- “The entire game can be finished in less than 3 hours and the gameplay never really changes all that much from the beginning.”
- “Bland, limited & repetitive gameplay is what you can expect from Sid's Ace Patrol.”
graphics
81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
69%
14%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are dated and reminiscent of mobile ports, often described as simplistic or cartoonish. While some appreciate the unique art style and its fit within the game's historical context, others criticize the lack of polish, graphical glitches, and limited customization options. Overall, the visuals may not impress, but they do not detract significantly from the engaging gameplay experience.
- “The game has a unique blend of historical accuracy, engaging gameplay, and a beautiful art style that immerses players in the thrilling world of aerial combat.”
- “The game's graphics are beautiful and add to the immersive experience.”
- “I wasn't sure about the graphics when I looked at the previews because I typically like my wargames detailed and ultra-realistic, but the design in this game just works, especially for the period.”
- “The graphics are subpar, even for mobile, and the menus are oversized and boringly simple to cater to touchscreens.”
- “Each map looks almost identical, graphics look like a direct port from a mobile platform, the mission types you can count on one hand, and the game itself is very short covering 24 missions across 4 campaigns.”
- “Unfortunately, I cannot get the game to work, and am unable to resolve the graphics problems with support.”
replayability
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
52%
17%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with some players enjoying the variety offered by different factions and randomly generated missions, while others find it repetitive and limited due to a short campaign and lack of unlockable content. While many appreciate the fun and engaging mechanics that encourage multiple playthroughs, others criticize the repetitive nature of missions and the overall low replay value. Ultimately, the game offers decent replayability for its price, but it may not satisfy those seeking extensive long-term engagement.
- “The four factions you can play in campaign add replay value, as their respective aircraft are just dissimilar enough in performance to change up the gameplay.”
- “The randomization of missions for each battle provides extended replayability.”
- “The fairly simple controls mixed with the variety of game mechanics allow for huge replay value and interesting and fun gameplay.”
- “There are almost nothing to unlock and replayability is limited to 4 'goes through' (each of the four factions).”
- “The history side is bs, the strategy side is too easy and repetitive and the replayability is close to none.”
- “Unfortunately, it has nearly no replay value.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it bland, generic, or nearly non-existent during gameplay. While some appreciate the title screen music and feel it fits the game, others noted that it is not essential to the experience, leading to a general consensus that the soundtrack lacks depth and memorability. Overall, the music is often described as unremarkable, with a few players opting to turn it off entirely.
- “Music is good, graphics pretty cute.”
- “The music fits the game, although I turned it off.”
- “As soon as I opened up the game, I was given a blank screen with music playing.”
- “The sound and the music is very meh, bleh, and bland.”
- “Sound/music: 2/10 - almost non-existent or just very generic and unremarkable.”
- “There isn't much music to this game.”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous users reporting frequent bugs, graphical glitches, and crashes that can freeze their systems. While some players find enjoyment in the gameplay, many express frustration over the game's instability and lack of effective customer support. Overall, the experience is marred by these persistent technical problems.
- “On the downside, it can be as buggy as the underside of a rotting log.”
- “This is such a buggy mess.”
- “The game is buggy and customer support is non-existent.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while some players report smooth performance and no crashes, others highlight a lack of PC optimization and occasional performance issues. The historical accuracy in aircraft performance adds to the gameplay experience, but the inconsistency in optimization may affect some users.
- “The four factions you can play in campaign add replay value, as their respective aircraft are just dissimilar enough in performance to change up the gameplay.”
- “Personally, I didn't experience any crashing like other reviewers mentioned, and there are absolutely no performance issues.”
- “There is no PC optimization.”
- “Plane performance and time of appearance are taken into account.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while it can feel less tedious on mobile with short play sessions, PC users may quickly grow bored. The game offers a light and fun escape from more demanding grind-heavy titles, but the repetitive nature of aerial dogfights and the pursuit of numerous achievements can become monotonous. Overall, it appeals to casual gamers but may frustrate those seeking deeper engagement.
- “Maybe it feels less tedious if you play it on a mobile device, only doing a mission or two a day, but playing on PC will probably leave you bored within a couple of hours.”
- “This game somehow makes aerial dogfights boring and tedious.”
- “For the achievement hunters, all 50+ achievements are different levels of grinding for the four different pilot nations.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The monetization of Sid Meier's Ace Patrol on Steam has been criticized as a rushed cash grab, tarnishing the reputation of its creator, despite the game itself being enjoyable. Players appreciate the absence of in-game purchases, contrasting it with the mobile version, which they view negatively.
- “Loads of fun, glad there are no in-game purchases. The AI is actually very smart.”
- “Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a cheap, nasty cash grab, in an apparent attempt to besmirch Sid Meier's once great name.”
- “The game itself is good fun, but everything else feels so rushed that you can't help but think it's a cash grab.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is noted for its humor, providing a funny and engaging experience despite some glitches. While the campaign can be completed relatively quickly on easy difficulty, the pursuit of achievements adds an exciting challenge that enhances the overall enjoyment.
- “Funny little game, which can be pretty easy and also pretty challenging.”
- “You can finish a campaign on easy difficulty in about 2 hours, but the achievements are really exciting to pursue, and the gameplay, although simple and glitched, is very engaging and funny.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Reviewers note that the game lacks depth in character development, feeling that essential elements such as base building, research, and budgeting are underexplored, which detracts from the overall narrative and character growth.
- “The character development in this game is incredibly deep, allowing players to truly connect with their characters and see them evolve throughout the story.”
- “I love how the game allows for meaningful character growth, with choices that genuinely impact the storyline and relationships.”
- “The progression system for character development is well-designed, offering a variety of paths that cater to different playstyles and preferences.”
- “Character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
- “The characters are one-dimensional and fail to evolve throughout the game.”
- “There is a noticeable absence of depth in character arcs, making it hard to connect with them.”