The Falconeer

What to Know

Critics Recommend

Average Score

Total Reviews: 60

Days

Hours

Minutes

Skip It

Repetitive and missions and awkward controls mar an otherwise dazzling aerial combat game that is unlike any other.

Skip It

Critics Recommend

Critic Reviews: 60

Critics Consensus

# Reviews: 60

Repetitive and missions and awkward controls mar an otherwise dazzling aerial combat game that is unlike any other.

Where to Play

** VSG may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

Critic Reviews for The Falconeer

Reviews

High Score - 85/100

Low Score - 50/100

Luke Kemp (PC Gamer)

78/100

“Despite a little turbulence, The Falconeer takes you on a memorable ride.”

Read full review

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.”

Read full review

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.”

Read full review

**Read all 60 critic reviews on the desktop version of VSG.

Read the Reviews (60 total)

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

** Learn more about how to become a MetaMeter-approved Critic.

Game Info

Game Description / Storyline:

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):

PUBLISHER(S):

GENRES:

SERIES/FRANCHISE:

GAME MODES:

GAME ENGINE:

DLC:

BUNDLED IN:

DIRECTOR(S):

PRODUCER(S):

DESIGNER(S):

PROGRAMMER(S):

ARTIST(S):

WRITER(S):

COMPOSER(S):

LINKS:

AGE RATING:

Detailed Information

GAME MODES:

GAME ENGINE:

DLC:

BUNDLED IN:

DIRECTOR(S):

PRODUCER(S):

DESIGNER(S):

PROGRAMMER(S):

ARTIST(S):

WRITER(S):

COMPOSER(S):

Developed by Tomas Sala. All titles, content, brand names, trademarks, logos, artwork, and associated imagery are trademarks and/or copyright material of their respective owners. © All rights reserved.