The Falconeer
What to Know
Average Score
- August 5, 2021
- Tomas Sala
- Action, RPG
Critics Consensus
- August 5, 2021
- Action, RPG
Critics Consensus
# Reviews: 60
Repetitive and missions and awkward controls mar an otherwise dazzling aerial combat game that is unlike any other.
Critic Reviews for The Falconeer
Reviews
Luke Kemp (PC Gamer)
78/100
“Despite a little turbulence, The Falconeer takes you on a memorable ride.”
Andrew King (GamesRadar+)
3.5/5 stars
“The Falconeer boasts an intriguing story and a hauntingly beautiful setting, but is hampered by repetitive missions in an empty open world.”
Chris White (God is a Geek)
8.5/10
“The Falconeer is a beautiful game that offers a necessary freedom and escape that is much needed right now. It looks incredible, and flying around The Great Ursee feels excellent, but sometimes the combat can be tricky.”
Outlet | Author | Score | Date | Quote | Read |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Areajugones | Ronald Goncalves | 7.5 / 10 | 11-06-2020 | The Falconeer is a commendable production that, despite being considerably repetitive, has interesting ideas and an attractive general proposal. Although boredom and monotony are its main threats, the video game of the admirable Tomas Sala manages to put aside its design problems to establish itself as a delivery that offers entertainment, uniqueness and, above all, beauty. | Read review |
CGMagazine | Khari Taylor | 7 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | The Falconeer is a small but surprisingly ambitious game that will impress those that are curious with its artistry, and if you are willing to pack a little extra patience and tolerance of its more glaring flaws, you’re likely to have a good time. Fans of old-school air-combat games such as Ace Combat and Crimson Skies in particular should consider giving it a shot. | Read review |
Chalgyr’s Game Room | Pierre-Yves Lanthier | 7 / 10 | 12-02-2020 | Overall though, The Falconeer kept me coming back for more as it has both a relaxing and an intenseness through its combat that just hits a sweet spot. While I wish there was more to do in the world than simply accept missions and find points of interest to update on a map, the flight combat was a lot of fun to get into even if it often meant that I was getting shot down by pirates as I both learned the world and got my bird better equipped for the battles ahead. | Read review |
Checkpoint Gaming | Lisa Pollifroni | 5 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | The Falconeer is a gorgeous game with some meditative elements to its gameplay. But with the good comes the bad, and repetitive and frustrating elements removed any zen the game had conjured. | Read review |
COGconnected | Nicola Kapron | 68 / 100 | 11-07-2020 | The single greatest oversight in this game, aside from the controls, is the inability to interact with your bird. You can inject it with mutagens to power it up but you can’t pet it? If I had been given the opportunity to interact with my warbird, customize its gear and coloration, and build a real bond with it, I would have enjoyed this game much more than I did. As is, I found The Falconeer to be a compelling but frustrating experience. | Read review |
Critical Hit | Brad Lang | 6 / 10 | 11-27-2020 | The Falconeer starts off as a fun, original take on aerial combat but quickly turns into a boring exercise in repetition that even a mysterious and interesting world can’t save. | Read review |
Cultured Vultures | Megan Walton | 7 / 10 | 11-24-2020 | The Falconeer is an impressive game and a joy for the senses. Though not without its flaws, you won’t be disappointed | Read review |
Destructoid | Chris Carter | 6 / 10 | 11-13-2020 | The Falconeer tries to be a legit dogfighting game and it plays the part to an extent; but there isn’t much holding it all together. I feel like I’ve said this often in 2020, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the developer take another crack at it, because there’s a lot of good groundwork here. | Read review |
Digital Chumps | Steven McGehee | 6.3 / 10 | 11-28-2020 | This is in spite of how great the game looks, runs, and also how it sounds. The presentation package of The Falconeer is quite good, especially on XSX, but that alone couldn’t overcome the struggles I was having with the experience otherwise. I appreciate the effort that went into making this, especially seeing as it was practically done by a one-man studio — but neither the lore or the gameplay really grabbed me and held my interest for long. I could see where more adept and/or forgiving players in this genre would have a better time than I did, though, so if the game sounds interesting to you, it’s worth keeping an eye on, especially given it costs less than half of some of the other launch games. | Read review |
DualShockers | Allisa James | 7 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | The Falconeer is an ambitious title developed by one person. It aims to be an open world air combat title but doesn’t completely stick the landing. | Read review |
Eurogamer | Robert Purchese | Recommended | 11-18-2020 | In a world of compromised visions, The Falconeer is dazzlingly original. An aerial combat game unlike any other. | Read review |
Everyeye.it | Andrea Fontanesi | 7 / 10 | 11-07-2020 | It would be ungenerous to deny Tomas Sala’s work good basic qualities, such as to ensure this peculiar “bird’s eye” combat simulator a certain solidity at least on the technical-artistic front. What emerges after a few hours in the skies of the Ursee, however, is that The Falconeer is a product that shines more in aesthetics than in actual ability to involve the player within the wet world he chooses to tell. | Read review |
Expansive | Jay Jones | Recommended | 11-22-2020 | The Falconeer is a remarkable achievement in more ways than one, and, rightfully, should be celebrated for what it does accomplish rather than what it doesn’t. | Read review |
Explosion Network | Dylan Blight | 5.5 / 10 | 11-11-2020 | I’m disappointed how the package for The Falconeer came together, as technically, it’s an excellent game. There’s bound to be an audience for The Falconeer, and those that will adore the mechanics of the game. In that regard, I wish it had of been on Xbox Game Pass to allow more discovery. | Read review |
FingerGuns | Toby Andersen | 7 / 10 | 11-07-2020 | The Falconeer lacks an actual Falconeer protagonist to hang its adventure from and ends up impersonal and fragmented. Odd dis-incentivizing design choices seek to undermine what is an otherwise wonderful lore-filled world and some of the most fun and frenetic aerial combat this generation. | Read review |
Game Debate | Stuart Thomas | 7.5 / 10 | 11-06-2020 | And while it’s easy to recommend you pick up and enjoy The Falconeer, its real magic lies in waiting. As hopefully it’s the start of a new series, where we eventually see The Falconeer Black Flag, or whatever Tomas decides to call it. And that is really where it starts to fill my flight chaps with excitement juice. | Read review |
GameGrin | Jamie Davies | 8 / 10 | 12-18-2020 | The Falconeer absolutely excels in story and presentation. Sure, its aerial combat gameplay might lack impact or variety, but with such an interesting and visually stunning world, it’s easy to overlook such shortcomings. | Read review |
GameSpew | Richard Seagrave | 6 / 10 | 11-09-2020 | It’s a lovely looking game, but The Falconeer just doesn’t entertain like it should. From its repetitive missions to its story that you’ll quickly stop caring about, it fails to capture your attention in the long term, while occasional frustration in combat puts a bit of a downer on the gameplay. | Read review |
GamesRadar+ | Andrew King | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-06-2020 | The Falconeer boasts an intriguing story and a hauntingly beautiful setting, but is hampered by repetitive missions in an empty open world. | Read review |
GameWatcher | Robert Honaker | 7 / 10 | 11-10-2020 | Panzer Falcon Saga | Read review |
Gaming Nexus | Jon Krebs | 7.4 / 10 | 02-03-2021 | The Falconeer sets players in a gorgeous setting with a storyline that keeps you entertained and intrigued, but falls short on both the amount to do and in keeping the gameplay as interesting as the story. | Read review |
GamingBolt | Pramath | 7 / 10 | 11-14-2020 | While it has its fair share of flaws, a compelling world that is rich with secrets and lore, alongside beautiful graphics and engaging flight controls, help The Falconeer stand out and stake its claim to your attention. | Read review |
Geeks Under Grace | Michael Mendis | 5 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | With a forgettable story and a critical lack of gameplay depth, The Falconeer fails to realize its potential. | Read review |
Generación Xbox | Javi Striker | 8 / 10 | 11-24-2020 | The Falconeer is a very interesting game that tells us several and curious stories about different parts of the world of Great Ursee, in which we will fight our enemies on the back of a giant falcon, which although the feeling of flight and fight is very good, Its negative part is that it can be very difficult to fight against several enemies at the same time, which can make us repeat the same mission several times and that in some moments it becomes frustrating, even so, it has many enjoyable points and It is interesting to see how these stories of flying horsemen begin and end, and above all, their excellent graphic beauty and how well it works on any Xbox you have, be it Xbox One or Xbox Series. | Read review |
God is a Geek | Chris White | 8.5 / 10 | 11-06-2020 | The Falconeer is a beautiful game that offers a necessary freedom and escape that is much needed right now. It looks incredible, and flying around The Great Ursee feels excellent, but sometimes the combat can be tricky. | Read review |
GotGame | David Poole | 6.5 / 10 | 12-06-2020 | Ultimately, The Falconeer is an interesting use of a few hours. The gameplay is mostly strong thanks to the engaging combat, albeit a challenging and frustrating experience. It’s just unfortunate that the game is full of repetitive tasks that suck the fun out of the game. | Read review |
Guardian | Will Freeman | 3 / 5 stars | 11-12-2020 | It’s a satisfying experience as you glide gracefully over the ocean, but too often the dogfighting and bombing runs play out as erratic scrambles | Read review |
Hardcore Gamer | Jeremy Peeples | 4 / 5 stars | 11-15-2020 | The Falconeer is a resounding success in every major area. | Read review |
Hey Poor Player | Heather Johnson | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | The Falconeer took some risks and tried something new, but when it came to core gameplay, it pulled elements from both flight and exploration genres that were simultaneously beloved yet bland. There’s substance to The Falconeer, and while there’s really something special here, it’s in the details instead of the big picture. For fans of air combat games, The Falconeer represents a breath of fresh air, and, quite frankly, it is pretty cool to be one with the falcon; for those simply curious, check out some YouTube videos before taking wing. | Read review |
Hobby Consolas | David Martinez | 65 / 100 | 11-26-2020 | The Falconeer is a beautiful indie game, full of promising ideas, but gets too repetitive after a couple of hours. There´s a great story behind the aerial combat, but it feels underdeveloped. | Read review |
IGN Italy | Andrea Giongiani | 7.3 / 10 | 11-07-2020 | Falconeer is able to reach extreme heights. Blasting airships in a thunderstorm is nothing short than epic… but more often than not you are doing mundane jobs in lackluster locales. | Read review |
Impulsegamer | James Wright (Impulsegamer) | 3.5 / 5 stars | 12-13-2020 | The Falconeer succeeds in its exploration which is wonderful, however its repetition and frustrating combat mechanics creates a whole new challenge for the gamer. Lastly, this new world will take most gamers around 10 to 12 hours to successfully complete and its creator Tomasa Sala should be commended on creating a brand new and engaging world with its own rich culture and dynamics. Interestingly to say the least! | Read review |
Jump Dash Roll | Jesse Gregoire | 5 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | A generic fantasy setting, confusing story and boring gameplay means The Falconeer fails to impress. | Read review |
Metro GameCentral | GameCentral | 7 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | It’s not the most accessible game around, but this quirky bird-borne aerial combat game is definitely one of the most imaginative games in the Xbox Series X/S launch line-up. | Read review |
MonsterVine | Shannon P. Drake | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-29-2020 | Interesting indie game that’s not quite as good as it wants to be, but still aims for the sky and hits. | Read review |
New Game Network | Alex Varankou | 50 / 100 | 11-15-2020 | The Falconeer has grand world building ambitions that never come to pass. Its narrative lacks a proper set-up, or a satisfying payoff, as the gameplay seems entirely disconnected. The poor control scheme, occasionally frustrating difficulty, and repetitive missions make for a forgettable launch game on Xbox Series X. | Read review |
PC Gamer | Luke Kemp | 78 / 100 | 11-06-2020 | Despite a little turbulence, The Falconeer takes you on a memorable ride. | Read review |
Rapid Reviews UK | Chloe Osborn | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-27-2020 | Launching as a day one title alongside the Xbox Series X|S, The Falconeer has been an anticipated title for many. It’s been on my radar for a while, and I’d frequently seen beautiful shots of soaring birds above the ocean appearing on my Twitter feed. As a game optimized for next-gen, it would be silly not to take the chance to review it. | Read review |
Rectify Gaming | David Rodriguez | 8 / 10 | 11-29-2020 | “The Falconeer provides a superb, almost meditative flight experience.” | Read review |
Rock, Paper, Shotgun | Sin Vega | Not Recommended | 11-16-2020 | The Falconeer’s limitations kept it from fully winning me over. But it’s bloody impressive when its stars align. | Read review |
Rocket Chainsaw | Joseph Rositano | 3 / 5 stars | 11-29-2020 | If you have the patience to spend a lot of time discovering the lore and upgrading your bird, you will eventually be rewarded, but otherwise you need not apply. | Read review |
Saving Content | Scott Ellison II | 4 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | The Falconeer is a stellar experience. While its problems are few, they are drowned out by its strengths in exploration, combat, and being an audio and visual splendor. With well over a dozen hours of content, there’s a world begging to be discovered, and The Great Ursee. The next-generation of gaming is here, and with The Falconeer, there’s nothing else like it. | Read review |
SECTOR.sk | Peter Dragula | 6 / 10 | 12-02-2020 | Water world with giant falcons is visualy charming, but almost empty and missions are stereotypical | Read review |
SelectButton | Marcus Jones | 7 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | The Falconeer is an exciting flight sim/air combat game set in a water world that stopped growing somewhere during the Victorian/Industrial era. | Read review |
Sirus Gaming | Jarren Navarrete | 5 / 10 | 11-23-2020 | Ultimately, The Falconeer is best when flying relaxingly around the environment. Appreciating its visuals can easily be the biggest selling point of the game. Though if you’re thinking of buying it, be aware of its flaws. The Falconeer is a visually pleasing game, but I can’t quite recommend it with its aerial combat being so lackluster. | Read review |
SomHráč.sk | Vojtech Florko | 75 / 100 | 12-08-2020 | The Falconeer is a fairly original title, fitting to accompany the Xbox Series X launch. Despite some bizarre design decisions, the atmospheric setting and beautiful visuals are worth experiencing. | Read review |
SpazioGames | Marino Puntorieri | 7.5 / 10 | 11-15-2020 | The Falconeer is fascinating and compelling in many aspects, despite its repetitivity. | Read review |
TechRaptor | Andrew Stretch | 7.5 / 10 | 11-06-2020 | The Falconeer is an interesting take on the aerial combat genre putting players in the saddle of large birds and setting off across a flooded world in search of balance between warring factions. While the story and world do feel incomplete the flight combat does a good job of staying entertaining. | Read review |
The Games Machine | Alessandro Alosi | 7.2 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | The Falconeer is an interesting aerial combat game which, however, is weighed down by several burdens that do not allow it to shake off the monotony that arises from its own ambition as an open world. | Read review |
TheSixthAxis | Jason Coles | 7 / 10 | 11-06-2020 | I find myself a little perplexed by The Falconeer. I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game, but it almost felt like I was doing so in spite of how I felt about the gameplay. I do think The Falconeer is going to find an audience that loves it wholeheartedly, but also that there will be plenty of others for whom this falls a bit flat too. | Read review |
ThisGenGaming | Robby Bisschop | 7 / 10 | 11-09-2020 | The Falconeer is a gorgeous game that once again shows that there is no limitation to what a single person can achieve if they set their mind to something. Exploring the Ursee is a blissful experience, offset only by the repetitive nature of the combat encounters and the slightly grindy progression. | Read review |
TrueAchievements | Sean Carey | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-06-2020 | Developer Tomas Sala has created a unique and engaging aerial combat game with The Falconeer. | Read review |
TrueGaming | خالد العيسى | 6.5 / 10 | 11-22-2020 | While the world of the Ursee grabs the attention and tells some interesting stories, the gameplay aspect lacks variety as the majority of missions are almost identical. | Read review |
VGChartz | Lee Mehr | 6.5 / 10 | 12-09-2020 | Bumpy design turbulence blunts The Falconeer’s ambition. | Read review |
VGN | Nicola Del Giudice | 8 / 10 | 12-21-2020 | Despite being a one-person game, The Falconeer outperforms many other, more famous titles in some ways thanks mainly to an interesting narrative component that puts the game world at the center, rather than a single character. There are some ities in terms of inventory management and three-dimensional movement, but this does not seriously penalise an experience that should be experienced as soon as possible. | Read review |
VideoGamer | Josh Wise | 6 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | Far more than the combat-whose charm ebbs away on a tide of repetition after the first few hours-the draw of The Falconeer is its suggestion that, while we may be shaped by our stories, they don’t pin us down, that the mere act of living is to take flight from the past. | Read review |
WayTooManyGames | Jordan Hawes | 6.5 / 10 | 12-15-2020 | There is an enjoyable aerial combat game here with a unique story and setting, but the grind and monotonous mission structures hamper it. | Read review |
Wccftech | Nathan Birch | 5 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | The Falconeer doesn’t do anything glaringly wrong, and yet, the overall experience doesn’t really click. The game looks lovely, controls well, and offers surprising depth considering it was created by a single developer, but an uninvolving world, repetitive missions, and combat that isn’t as visceral as it should be grounds its potential. Like many flights, The Falconeer is kind of exciting when you first take off, but by landing time you just want the experience to be over. | Read review |
Windows Central | Miles Dompier | 3 / 5 stars | 11-13-2020 | The Falconeer is an undeniably beautiful game with unique storytelling and jaw-dropping environments, but repetition ultimately keeps it from being great. | Read review |
Worth Playing | Chris Barnes | 7 / 10 | 12-10-2020 | The Falconeer’s simplistic but captivating visuals are representative of the game as a whole. There’s a simplicity to its gameplay and narrative, but there’s something intriguing about the lore. The game doesn’t stick the landing on its unique concepts, though. Clocking in at around 10 hours, the four chapters feel like the start of something really special | Read review |
About The Falconeer
The Falconeer is an open-world air combat game, featuring frenetic aerial dogfights and deep exploration of the mysterious open-world of The Great Ursee. Generations of poisonous decisions and treason swirl in the deep, as factions clash in a fight to preserve the past or flee its terrible consequences.
RELEASE DATES:
DEVELOPER(S):
- Tomas Sala
PUBLISHER(S):
- Wired Productions
GENRES:
- Action, RPG
SERIES/FRANCHISE:
- n/a
GAME MODES:
- Single player
GAME ENGINE:
- -
DLC:
- -
BUNDLED IN:
- -
DIRECTOR(S):
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PRODUCER(S):
- -
DESIGNER(S):
- -
PROGRAMMER(S):
- -
ARTIST(S):
- -
WRITER(S):
- -
COMPOSER(S):
- -
GAME MODES:
- Single player
GAME ENGINE:
- n/a
DLC:
- n/a
BUNDLED IN:
- n/a
DIRECTOR(S):
- n/a
PRODUCER(S):
- n/a
DESIGNER(S):
- n/a
PROGRAMMER(S):
- n/a
ARTIST(S):
- n/a
WRITER(S):
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COMPOSER(S):
- n/a