I went into Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge not quite sure what to expect. Another Ace Combat clone, maybe? But thanks to its WWI-inspired aircraft design, it leans far more toward pure dogfighting than modern fox-fighting. Missiles are still around, but you carry far fewer than in Ace Combat, and they don’t home nearly as aggressively.

Visually, the game is surprisingly charming. It has that soft, warm look so many original Xbox titles had, and it isn’t shy about showing it off—especially with endless sunsets over open ocean. And since it’s set in an alternate post-WWI world, the game wastes no time introducing massive zeppelins, which never stop being impressive. Little touches like enemy pilots parachuting out after you shoot them down help the world feel lively.

Structurally, the game feels more like a compact open world than a linear mission-by-mission shooter. You pick up missions by hailing other planes or interacting with stations. The downside is the complete lack of subtitles, so you need to listen carefully to radio conversations to understand objectives.

The gameplay has a noticeable arcade bent. Health pickups float around mid-battle, and instead of simply replacing your plane with newer models, there’s a simple three-stat upgrade system—armor, firepower, and speed. I’m not a big fan of how upgrades are obtained, though. Instead of earning them through missions, you have to hunt down glinting tokens in the open world, often tucked inside tunnels. It wouldn’t be so bad if they marked themselves on the map after discovery, or if the game at least told you how many were in each area.

Every aircraft also feels distinct thanks to unique primary and secondary weapons. Your starting plane gets the classic machine gun plus guided rockets, while the next one you find uses a slow-firing cannon and even a shotgun. New planes aren’t announced either—you’re simply expected to explore, usually finding them hidden in bandit outposts. I love that sense of discovery.

One of the game’s most impressive features is your zeppelin. It participates in missions, fires on enemies autonomously, and you can land on it anytime to man one of three turrets. It scratches an itch most arcade flight sims ignore: capital-ship combat. While you can’t pilot the zeppelin directly, hopping between dogfighting and operating big guns feels great—almost like getting two styles of game at once.

The world is full of small, memorable touches. Trains move through levels and sometimes become mission objectives—whether you’re defending them, robbing them, or even battling another train in a duel. You can grab ammo from their open platforms mid-flight. These details make the world feel dynamic and playful.

The boss encounters are wonderfully bold and imaginative. Episode One ends with a zeppelin transforming into a mechanical spider. Episode Two pits you against a giant mechanical centipede. Episode Three opens with a duel between two massive zeppelins weaving between Chicago skyscrapers. Later, you acquire the heavy Brigand aircraft with a rear gunner reminiscent of a Lancaster bomber.

There are some pacing issues in Episode Four—such as a mandatory bet with some British tourists to see who can shoot down more Nazi zeppelins—and I’m still not a fan of corridor-flying sequences, especially Aztec ruins full of swinging pendulums. Thankfully, the difficulty is far more forgiving than most Ace Combat tunnel runs. I also hit a bug after escorting the first Sun Disc; completing that mission before helping the tourists fixed it.

The final mission is tough but fair. I only wish there were checkpoints after destroying each section of the massive Nazi zeppelin, though maybe that would make things too easy. As it stands, the boss puts up a real fight but feels incredibly satisfying to dismantle—flying through turbines, blasting cores, and watching the entire colossal craft come apart.

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge is one of the most unexpectedly inspiring games I’ve played in a long time—bold, stylish, inventive, and endlessly fun to explore.