The Falconeer – Review

Our Rating: 6.5/10

Even the smallest indie games involve at least a dozen developers. Tomas Sala from the Netherlands, on the other hand, created the Falconeer entirely on his own – and you’d never guess.

The Falconeer is a game unlike any other, a frenetic fantasy action game with highly unusual scenery from Wired Productions. It’s an open-world air combat game in which players fly a falcon across an endless ocean.

Game Overview

The game’s story is set in Great Ursee, a world of rough seas and stormy skies where a war is raging, jeopardizing the region’s economic and political stability. Most of the large mountains have small patches of land where the cities are built.

Mancers, Freebooters, Imperium, Civilians, and Rogue Pirates are among the factions that have created political tension. Each one has its own set of interests, objectives, flaws, and strengths. Mancer is the most powerful, as he controls the majority of the technology. The great fault, which runs through the middle of the ocean, is a magical place. Its cracks separate the waters, leaving a section of the ocean dry.

Gameplay

The game is divided into chapters, each with a different character to choose from. The idea is to take on opposing perspectives on the story, allowing you to experience a different side of the conflict. The prologue serves as a primer as well as a window into the future of history.

You control the animal with the left analog, while the right analog controls the camera and allows you to look around. The animal will perform a side roll if you move the directional pad to the right or left and press the LB button.

Furthermore, the hawk will gain speed if you only press the LB button. Only if the breath bar is not depleted will this be possible. Two bars appear at the bottom of the screen: one is orange and the other is blue, representing the animal’s breath. You’ll have to go fishing to recoup your energy.

The mechanics are simple: point your hawk toward the sea and sweep somewhere where fish are jumping. Press the RB button to consume it as soon as the animal catches one. You’ll need to direct your bird downwards to catch your breath, and the bar will fill up as you go down.

There are two options for reloading your weapons:

Storms: We will encounter small storms along the way, and if you fly close enough, the rays emitted will be captured by the equipment mounted on the animal’s back.

Energy Ball: Another method is to use the energy balls that the enemies drop. They’re afloat in the water, and all we have to do now is approach them to reload our weapons.

Great Ursee has a large map that entices players to explore every nook and cranny of the world. You can either complete the main missions or the side missions. If you prefer, you can simply explore the environment.

The Good, the Bad, and the Overall Experience

The game has a strong resemblance to the HBO series Game of Thrones. However, the lack of information that allows you to connect with your character, let alone understand his motivations and viewpoints on what is going on, can be frustrating. Even after changing chapters, it feels as if you’re controlling the same character after a series of missions.

Mission and Objectives

The Falconeer mission explanations are another thing that is repeated. When you begin a quest, one or more characters will explain what you should do; in the background, a banner will move according to the character’s explanation. You’ll see this screen so many times that you’ll eventually stop paying attention to it. Because you must cover long distances with your hawks, it is preferable to receive instructions while the player is heading towards the goal.

The objectives are divided into three categories: escorting someone, taking something, and exploring a specific location. They are too linear outside, going from point A to B, then B to C.

The player-falcon relationship in the Falconeer is one area where the game falls short. It is almost non-existent. Even though the animal is there to transport you anywhere in the world, your relationship with it is based solely on upgrades and modifications.

Controls

Controls are straightforward and respond quickly to commands. Flying over the ocean while controlling your hawk is very relaxing, but the options for recovering the two bars are extremely limited. When the player’s energy level drops during a fight, the moment is ruined, forcing the player to find a safe place to “fish.”

This may result in you missing out on potentially enjoyable gameplay. A Kraken, for example, appeared out of nowhere in mid-flight, but you had to fish for energy to participate. The Kraken would have been defeated by your teammates by the time you returned.

At other times, you may be forced to go down several times in order to fill your breath bar in time, as you will be unable to perform side rolls if the enemies continue to attack. Some upgrades can help, but in general, the choice of mechanics for this type of combat that will be used on a regular basis leaves something to be desired.

Conclusion

The Falconeer is not well balanced in terms of difficulty. Some situations appear complicated, but they are resolved in just a few acts. However, some cases start out simple and quickly become complicated. The impression is that the levels do not gradually increase in difficulty, but rather abruptly peak.

The game’s art, which is both colorful and minimalist, saves it (in a sense). Except for the fact that everything is extremely fluid, with very well-designed animations, especially in the big birds, there are no great feats here to take advantage of the new Xbox. Everything is beautifully designed, despite the lack of many details in the world. There is a hidden beauty between the cloudy sky and the raging sea. And a pleasing sound completes the picture.

With its arcade-style aerial combat, The Falconeer transports anyone who remembers the great classics of this genre back in time. At least in the early stages. The rhythm and polish of Tomas Sala’s production are somewhat inconsistent. The concepts are present, and the game is visually appealing, with a pleasing color palette and well-executed animations. But, in general, the implementation of all these ideas, which never reach high altitudes, is what makes it fly so low.

 

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