I spent a lot of my childhood diving deep in to combat flight simulators. It’s like the developers of Sky Rogue knew that about me. Games like F-15 Strike Eagle 2, Falcon 3.o and A-10: Tank Killer left such an impression on me that I’d later join the Marine Corps in order to be a fighter pilot.

I never did become a fighter pilot, falling victim to the recruiters’ schemes and manipulations, like so many others. I never returned to my obsession of simulators, either, but I’ve always respected their depth and attention to detail. So where does Sky Rogue fall in to all of this? Am I just rambling and reminiscing right now? I guess you’ll have to read on to find out…

Developer: Fractal Phase

Publisher: Fractal Phase

Digital Only // $19.99 // 8 Hours Played // Publisher Provided Key

Okay, yeah, I was mostly just rambling and reminiscing, but Sky Rogue made me do it! I’ll tell you why in a bit.

Sky Rogue is an arcade-y flight simulator with a twist: you’ll progress through gradually intensifying missions until you die. Then you’ll do it all over again. Along the way, you’ll buy upgrades to your planes with money earned through destroying enemy vehicles, planes, buildings and much more.

When you finally succumb to the enemy, you’ll gain tech levels based on experience you’ve gained before you EXPLODE. Those tech levels lead to new planes, new weapons, new bombs and generally better survivability. Eventually you’ll survive enough missions to move on to different locales and fight more difficult adversaries.

The gamplay loop in Sky Rogue is pretty fun and interesting, but gameplay is only half the battle when it comes to games like this, where controls are easily just as important. If the progression was on point, but the controls made you feel like you were flying a bus or cement mixer, then what fun would that be?

Well, maybe a little fun, but I digress.

No need to worry about that, however, as Sky Rogue‘s controls are on point. They’re responsive, well laid out, and most of all, intuitive. Sky Rogue does a great job of offering different control schemes, too, with a more simulation-like possibility, along with an “Arcade” mode, which I personally preferred. In docked mode, the Joycons can provide their own unique control scheme, too, called “Danger Zone” controls (pictured above). I didn’t try it because I hardly ever dock my Switch, but it’s there if you want it!

Yeah, but How Does it Look?

Sky Rogue‘s graphics are why I became so nostalgic for my childhood and its obsession with flight simulators. The art style is perfectly reminiscent of the late 80s and early 90s graphical look, with a clean interface and near-perfect FPS. Sure, there were slow downs when things got really heavy, but they didn’t happen often.

The art is clean and bright and…blocky, but in an endearing way and one that adds to the general feel of the game. The environments become a little too familiar, but we’ll give Sky Rogue a pass here, mostly, as the environments don’t really play a significant role. Even then, they start to wear on your desire to keep going. The hopeful sequel better get a bit more creative.

Highway to the Dangerzone

Sky Rogue unfortunately doesn’t have tunes as catchy as the classic Top Gun, though. The sound is serviceable and the music is kinda fun. It’s fast and upbeat and sounds like games of yesteryear, but it’s not music I’d listen to on my own. The sound effects do the trick, but they’re pretty simple. I have a feeling I’ll be in the minority regarding the music, however, as the soundtrack is well done. It’s just not music that gets me going, so it didn’t really do much for me. Here’s a sample of it, while you finish my review:

Okay, It’s Dangerous, but Will You Keep Trying?

The vast majority of the replayability of Sky Rogue comes from the ability to progress in the meta-game. As I mentioned before, you’ll accumulate more and more experience the more enemies you down, the more buildings you blow up, etc. All of that carries forward until you die, then those points go towards advancing your tech level. Each tech level provides more weapons, better versions of previous weapons, and perhaps most exciting of all, new planes! It’s well paced, too, as just as I’m about to give up because things are too hard and I’m stuck, I’ll get an awesome new plane and suddenly, those hard missions become much easier. It’s this gameplay loop that is the foundation of nearly every “roguelike” game in existence and it’s well executed here.

You’ll want to destroy everything you can reasonably and safely destroy, too, as all that destruction nets you cash and you can, in turn, use that cash to buy upgrades to each of your existing weapons. Those upgrades are only good for your current run, however, so if you die, they’re gone! It’s fun and challenging to balance your need to acquire upgrades with your need to stay alive and Sky Rogue does a good job of rewarding those that push the limits a little. Taking out that last Cutter ship might mean the difference between you dying and being able to afford that sweet mini-gun upgrade you need to make things easier.

We Are Go For Launch!

As long as you’re okay with being a bit bored after a while. Don’t get me wrong, Sky Rogue is pretty fun for a while, but the environments get really same-y, the missions are all very same-y, and the game just feels too…you guessed it: same-y. Even with the upgrades and even considering that most rogue-likes can start to feel this way, Sky Rogue feels exceptionally same-y. You’ll always go through the same environments and the missions only barely vary.

Sky Rogue would have been an exceptional game had it done more to add variety to its missions, perhaps added a story or characters, and added some cool and fun locales. As it stands, Sky Rogue is fun for the first 7-8 hours, but it starts to wear thin after that. For $19.99, that’s not quite the value I’d hoped for, but your sky mileage may vary.

While You’re at it, Maverick

Be sure to check out our other recent reviews, like Asdivine Hearts for the story-oriented players out there or maybe you want to take your fight to OUTER SPACE, and in that case, check out our Manticore: Galaxy on Fire review by the new guy with an awesome name, Steppen.