Air combat games on Xbox Series X/S combine the pleasure of flying with the satisfaction of shooting down enemies. There are a lot of available games right now, so to help you sort through the noise, here are the 10 best Xbox Series X/S air combat video games.
#10 SkyDrift Infinity
SkyDrift Infinity is a fast-paced air combat video game available on Xbox Series X/S. It features various game modes to either engage in dogfights or race against up to 7 other players.
With 16 different planes from various eras, SkyDrift Infinity put the accent on fast-paced races. You can use power-ups to increase your aircraft to fly faster and defeat your opponents. On top of these races, SkyDrift Infinity offers intense dogfights. The game features two air combat PvP modes: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch.
#9 Sky Rogue
Sky Rogue is a rogue-lite air combat game with low-poly graphics. Everything in this game is made to feel like a fun arcade game from the 1990s, from its graphics to the gameplay and even the music.
The game offers an unlimited number of procedurally-generated islands to let you blow enemies on land, sea, and air. Sky Rogue is a single-player game, but it also supports a two-player local split-screen mode.
#8 Red Wings: Aces of the Sky
Red Wings: Aces of the Sky is an arcade air combat game set in the middle of World War I. A German pilot known as Red Baron is dominating air warfare, with over 80 credited victories. It is now up to you to join his squadron and follow his adventures, or lead the hunt to take him down.
The game features 50 campaign missions you can play either solo or with a friend in local co-op. And if you don’t want to follow the story of the Red Baron, you can battle your friend in a Versus Mode. There is also a third game mode, survival, requiring you to survive as long as you can against waves of enemies.
#7 Century: Age Of Ashes
If there’s one thing that just about every single fantasy genre enjoyer can agree on…it’s that dragons are freaking awesome. Seriously, there are many people out there right now who wish that we had dragons out there so we could ride on them, soar through the skies…and burn down our enemies without having to say “Dracarys”. Or maybe we WANT to say that to further the fantasy, your call.
Anyway, in Century: Age Of Ashes, you’ll get to be a full-on dragon rider. You’ll get to pick your character, class, and dragon and then go to war with others to see who is the best dragon rider.
Oh, and did we mention it’s free-to-play? Because it is.
#6 Bomber Crew
Instead of simply flying your aircraft into battle, Bomber Crew puts you at the reins of your own crew as you have to manage a bomber during World War II. On top of making sure your plane doesn’t crash, you will have to recruit the right team members to check on the fuel, ammo, and hydraulics levels.
Bomber Crew is a strategic survival game. It offers different gameplay than the other air combat games on Xbox Series X/S. The crew greatly impacts your experience, so you need to choose the right members before flying your bomber into dangerous missions.
#5 The Falconeer
The Falconeer is quite a unique game on this list. Instead of driving a military aircraft to fight your opponents, you soar through the skies aboard a warbird.
The gameplay is more fluid than other Xbox Series X/S air combat video games. The warbird has a larger variety of movement than planes and you can upgrade it as you level up. The Falconeer features a large open-world set on an oceanic planet where frequent dogfights happen in the air. This game is the work of a single developer, Tomas Sala, and offers a new type of air combat game.
#4 Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China
Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China is an air combat game based on true events. It retells the story of American secret volunteer squadrons that defended China against Japan during World War II.
The game features historical missions that follow the clandestine operations of the Americans in fighter, bomber, gunner, reconnaissance, torpedo, and night missions. And you don’t have to fight this war alone. Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China supports multiplayer for up to 16 players, whether for team dogfights, rocket battles, or capture the flag modes.
#3 Project Wingman
If you watched Top Gun and want to become the next Maverick, Project Wingman is a good air combat video game for you. This flight action game puts you in the seat of your own advanced fighter jet to soar through the skies and defeat your enemies.
Project Wingman is a single-player game with various game modes. The campaign follows the story of a silent protagonist in the midst of a war tearing apart an alternative version of Earth. Conquest Mode is a territory capture game mode, where you need to build your own army to defeat waves of enemies. The graphics already look great on Xbox One, but Project Wingman is also available on Xbox Series X/S for even better performances.
#2 War Thunder
War Thunder is an MMO military game featuring a large range of vehicles, from ground forces to naval ships, and, of course, aircraft. If the game offers various options to fight on land, sea, and air, it was developed first as an air combat video game.
This MMO features over 2,000 vehicles, including planes and helicopters. War Thunder offers 100 different maps, based on the location of historical battles. You can decide to either play solo and complete the campaign, or join full-scale PvP battles. The game is free-to-play and cross-platform, so you can play against anyone, anywhere.
#1 Ace Combat Series
Ace Combat is one of the most popular air combat video game series. The first entry came out on arcades in 1993. Almost three decades later, the series is still kicking strong, with Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown released in 2019.
The goal of these games is to destroy various air and land targets while making sure you don’t crash yourself. The game also offers two multiplayer modes: Battle Royale and Team Deathmatch. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown features 28 different aircraft you can unlock through a tech tree.
