The Falconeer: Warrior Edition Switch Preview
The Falconeer: Warrior Edition is set to release onto Nintendo Switch on August 5th, 2021, but Wired Productions was kind enough to give me a preview code to give you an idea of how the game runs on the Switch. This is not a full review, as I will be working on that at a later date, but this will serve as a first impression to give you and me an idea of how this title runs on the hybrid console.
Without further adeau, let’s get previewing!
Right off the bat, this is a story-heavy experience where you control a giant falcon and perform aerial combat very similar to games like Panzer Dragoon and Rez, among others. Think of the gameplay as a flight simulator with combat options, and that is basically how the game controls. You fly on your falcon and fire at oncoming enemies through a series of chapters that set the stage for the game’s various little stories.
Unlike others in the genre, The Falconeer spreads its gameplay out in a very well-balanced way. It doesn’t have that strong, arcade feel like other aerial combat titles. The Falconeer also spends a lot of time flying over open areas, listening to character dialog, and running various tasks for the many settlements spread throughout the game. This is a title that has a lot going for it, and it entertains in several ways.
Although the core gameplay is the combat, fighting enemies and protecting areas, one of the most charming points in the game is flying freely in the air when nothing bad is happening. This gives you some time to absorb the world and get a genuine feel for the personality of the game, and this also caters wonderfully to the balance in gameplay. Honestly, this is a beautiful title, and it is easy to miss some of the serene landscape while in a dogfight, which makes you appreciate the down times even more.
Combat particularly feels like a standard flight simulator and controls as such. Inverted controls are set by default, which can take some adjustment for those who like standard controls. However, flight controls being inverted does feel more natural. Either way, controls are quite customizable, as you can change inverted controls, flip the flight control and camera sticks, invert the camera, and even change the action buttons to whatever you prefer. This allows for you to set up the experience particularly to your liking and is a wonderful addition to make the game more accessible.
The Settings menu allows for change in difficulty setting, camera smoothness, cinematic zoom, UI scaling and colors, and music and voice volume. I messed around with all of these, and it was fun to mix things up in different ways. This is just another area where the game allows you to customize more precisely.
The overall presentation of the dynamic menus is clean and crisp, and there are no real confusing set ups throughout the startup and early stages. The game does not necessarily hold your hand the whole time, but it guides you masterfully with its easy-to-use menus and tutorials in the early missions.
Although I am still navigating through the first quarter of the game, I can confirm that The Falconeer is a hefty title with lots to do, whether you simply like playing through the story or completing every little task. The current Switch preview build is the base game, but I will be getting the full Warrior Edition soon to finalize my review. Since the base game is already hefty as is, I am curious how much more the Warrior Edition adds to the package.
There are a lot of other elements that I will go into more deeply in the full review, like the story presentation, side missions, territory and enemy types, and even leveling. Just know for now that The Falconeer runs wonderfully on the Nintendo Switch in its current state and looks beautiful in the process. This is absolutely a title to keep your eye on, so look out for our full review as we approach The Falconeer: Warrior Edition‘s release date on August 5th, 2021.
Thank you for stopping by Nintendo Link for all of your gaming news and previews! What do you think of yet another Microsoft exclusive title coming to the Nintendo Switch? What did you think of this preview? Let us know in the comments below! Happy gaming, everyone.
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