The result is a basic flight system that encourages players not just to fly but also inhabit the behaviours of a winged creature, managing altitude and momentum in order to decisively swoop in on desired targets, while also availing themselves of the aforementioned updrafts whenever possible to quickly return to a tactical position of strength at no cost to their falcon’s energy. boosts of speed), both of which are critical to survival in combat as well as traversal and the successful completion of challenges across the skies of Ursee in general. In turn, falcon energy is required to perform evasive barrel- rolls or dashes (i.e. Thermal updrafts (which appear as small, circular cyclones of on the water’s surface) act as the wind-equivalent of springboards, catapulting one’s falcon high into the air when the player flies over them as well as filling the energy meter. Therefore, a sharp decline or dive results in a swift build-up of energy and momentum, a steep ascent quickly drains energy and momentum, while smooth and gradual changes in either direction will impact the energy meter far less dramatically and conserve resources. How quickly the player can increase or decrease energy and speed is directly dependent on the swiftness of the player’s decent or ascent, respectfully. Diving builds up falcon energy and speed, while ascending drains falcon energy and slows the warbird as it rises. Much like real-life birds, the giant falcons of Ursee utilize air currents to maintain flight, a concept which is represented in the game via simple yet fun-to-perform mechanics. One of the most crucial things that The Falconeer gets right is the exhilarating feeling of flight when piloting one’s warbird. Campaign missions are largely of the “seek and destroy” variety, complete with Ace Combat-styled pre-mission briefings, but additional bounties, fetch quests, challenges and the like can also be accessed from any faction-friendly island hub your warbird is perched at. Fighting under several different banners including their own causes, Falconeers are an ancient order of warriors that ride atop giant warbirds, and the player is tasked with reliving their stories by playing the “memories” of Falconeers that have long since fallen. Dripping with lore, the game is set in a fantastical Game of Thrones-like realm called “The Great Ursee” where island factions battle for survival and prosperity through intrigue, betrayal, and open war. Just looking at screenshots or watching it in fluid motion make it almost impossible to believe that this gorgeous open-world third-person air combat game was indeed developed by one man, but it is certainly the case. BEING the falcon, or riding on top of a giant one with a big-ass lighting gun, as you can in Wired Productions’ new game The Falconeer, is far more badass.Īpart from its soundtrack, The Falconeer is a solo labour of love by developer and Director Tomas Sala. But now, as a child who has learned to put away all childish things but videogames and become a man-child, I realize that those classic movies were selling me short on the experience the entire time.

I even wrote a fantasy novel (still unpublished) starring a warrior who had a trained falcon as his loyal companion. I did a school project featuring the Peregrine Falcon for my Environmental Studies class in junior high. I just thought the idea of owning a falcon was badass. Not the art or reality of falconry mind you, as I then lived in constant fear of being bitten, scratched, or scarred by animals. Back when videogames were still largely a collection of bleeps, bloops and huge blocky sprites that I could only experience in the local arcade and my main forms of childhood distraction were fantasy books and Rated PG movies, two Hollywood flicks, The Beastmaster (1982) and Ladyhawke (1985) both sparked and kindled within me a long-burning interest in falcons.

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