The jump to Xbox exclusivity will always leave a sour taste in my mouth regarding this game as a loyal fan since the PS2, but while the game is not nearly as bad as it sometimes comes off, it lacks much to really make it stand out in a franchise of truly great heights. The visuals are impressive being the only mainline title of the series of 7th gen hardware, and the music maintains the high bar of quality the series is known for. Probably AC6's greatest mark on the franchise is the strength of the gameplay, with mechanics designed around actually using the vast amount of allies and support that make the climactic moments of this game feel truly epic.
Unfortunately, a lot of that praise ends up feeling moot when so much of what makes this game good is done better in other Ace Combat games (minus the actually useful allies), and those games support all that with more engaging stories, an area where AC6 sadly falls short. The story of this game tries to replicate a bit of the magic of how AC4 told its story: following civilians and characters not shown directly in the gameplay, barring some moments of contact with the larger narrative. This disconnect worked for AC4 by keeping the story personal and on-message with the game's themes, but here, most of the cutscene narrative just feels half-baked, and at worst it just feels a bit juvenile. The fact that the in-game narrative also lacks any real engagement, outside of a few standout moments of gameplay, leads to a game that overall fails to engage with what has made Ace Combat such a beloved franchise: a strong, thematically appropriate narrative about the nature of conflict.
In the end, AC6 is a decent game in its own right, with strong gameplay and some standout missions, but it fails to create a strong personality for itself, and that ends up making the game feel much more hollow than it otherwise would. Anybody looking to get into the series for the first time would be served well by this entry, especially being one of the more modern titles, but I doubt it would create as many lifelong fans of the franchise as some of the games that came before or after.
Unfortunately, a lot of that praise ends up feeling moot when so much of what makes this game good is done better in other Ace Combat games (minus the actually useful allies), and those games support all that with more engaging stories, an area where AC6 sadly falls short. The story of this game tries to replicate a bit of the magic of how AC4 told its story: following civilians and characters not shown directly in the gameplay, barring some moments of contact with the larger narrative. This disconnect worked for AC4 by keeping the story personal and on-message with the game's themes, but here, most of the cutscene narrative just feels half-baked, and at worst it just feels a bit juvenile. The fact that the in-game narrative also lacks any real engagement, outside of a few standout moments of gameplay, leads to a game that overall fails to engage with what has made Ace Combat such a beloved franchise: a strong, thematically appropriate narrative about the nature of conflict.
In the end, AC6 is a decent game in its own right, with strong gameplay and some standout missions, but it fails to create a strong personality for itself, and that ends up making the game feel much more hollow than it otherwise would. Anybody looking to get into the series for the first time would be served well by this entry, especially being one of the more modern titles, but I doubt it would create as many lifelong fans of the franchise as some of the games that came before or after.