14 DAY TRIAL // 
The Falconeer was an equally ambitious and stunning projects that soared last year on many gamers’ screens and hearts. Riding giant falcons in an almost open world, besting adrenaline filled battles and discovering all the secrets cleverly hidden was the winning bet of a single developer who put the entire game together. Warrior Edition promises an even more remarkable experience on the current gen with all the additional content in a single package.
It was to be expected that the first year in the lifecycle of the PS5 and Xbox Series X will see a series of remasters, collections and remakes. Beyond AAA titles, there are also some indie games that tried to get a second wind by conquering the current generation. Among them is The Falconeer, a game that despite its issues is widely seen as an indie masterpiece, due to the fact that it was developed by a single man.
The members of the modding communities or the fans of Skyrim need no introduction to Tomas Sala, since his mod, Moonpath to Elsweyr, gave us the opportunity to visit the khajit homeland. Even more spectacular was his work on the Falconner, a game that proposes a different fantasy universe, The Great Ursee.
This is a beautiful, but harsh world, governed by the endless seas, where the life of the inhabitants is concentrated in settlements erected on cliffs and a handful of islands. This unusual world could not exist without the presence of the falconeers, trained warriors riding giant flying creatures, who settle their disputes by harnessing the power of lightning.
You will discover everything the games had to offer in over 40 missions, that can be completed roughly in around 15 hours. The variety remains a key element, since you get to familiarize yourself with the kingdom of Great Ursee from different perspectives and you will understand the story through the political machinations of the different factions.
You will evolve from the early courier missions to grandiose battles, where you will decimate entire fleets with the support of the army you are part of. As the plot and the intrigues thicken you will assault fortresses and as your diplomatic influence extends you will be able to also tackle side missions.
You will need to tackle as much of the side content as possible if you want your falconer to be in tip top shape and equipped with decent gear. The evolution of your character is not keeping pace with the main missions, and without diving deep into the world you will often find yourself not just outnumbered, but underprepared.
In order to handle the increasingly difficult battles you will have to develop your weapons relying on the power of the lightning bolts, but also the skills of your trusted mount through mutagens or different amulets.
The main problem is that the side missions are built on the very same model, and they will prove quite boring and absolutely repetitive. Without exception you will be tasked with flying to a certain point to vanquish a certain amount of adverse falconeers and perhaps fly back with some heavy cargo that seriously limits your navigation possibilities. As a result, hunting down the different collectibles and discovering new places often feels like a chore and will frustrate players hoping for an open world experience.
On the other hand, the combat system is intuitive and after mastering it, it delivers on the promise of exciting dog fights. The Ai is balanced and on normal difficulty it will be a challenge to keep your fragile creature alive. Your opponents are quite accurate and behave rather aggressively, turning the combat into a challenge.
Thankfully the control system is up to it, and once you have mastered the different moves it is up to your skill to come out on top of the same level confrontations. But you have to keep in mind that you are riding a creature and not a fighter plane, so you will feel not only the currents, but also the dive needed to gain speed. And since the world of the Great Ursee is not a small one, getting from point A to B can be a lengthy task.
Progressing through the game and upgrading the abilities of your falcon will open new moves and make things more interesting. The Warrior Edition comes packed with all the extra content, including the Hunter and the Edge of the World DLCs. As such the new version comes packed with a new player class with a flyable Ormir dragon and a set of pyro pot guided rockets, and three additional side quests and new boss encounters.
It might not sound like much, but the price is not steep either, and this edition offers the best experience both visually and performance wise. The PS5 version looks gorgeous, and it has a stable framerate in 4K 60 fps mode. The most remarkable aspect is that the games have full haptic feedback and takes full advantage of the DualSense capabilities – no small feat considering the size of the development team.
The Good
- Engaging atmosphere
- A semi open world full of secrets
- Solid gameplay and controls
The Bad
- A lot of empty spaces
- The difficulty can be discouraging
- The secondary missions lack any kind of variety
Conclusion
Despite the fact that sometimes the pace is a bit off, due to the big empty traversal sections, and that the difficulty level can be inconsistent, soaring to the skies on the back of your trusted mount is a unique experience.
Review code provided by the publisher.
