Sky Rogue

While it lacks any storyline and the randomised nature of the missions may strike some as lazy, Sky Rogue has plenty of gameplay where it counts. The dogfighting action is superb, aided by excellent controls, a wide range of weapons and plenty of stuff to unlock. The 12-stage campaign mode will keep you coming back for quite some time – thanks largely to the unique roguelike approach where death means losing everything, but the experience gained means a better chance of success next time around – and the ability to rope in a friend in co-op adds even more longevity. Granted, when you do eventually complete the game there's not a great deal to bring you back, but it will take quite some time and effort to reach that point – and you'll have had such a blast you won't feel short-changed anyway.

Playing Sky Rogue is like going back in time to an era when trying your best to get as far as you can was all that mattered.

The large variety of aircraft and weapons also help to keep the player engaged. Topping things off with excellent optional motion controls makes this a great Switch port from the original PC version. If you like arcade flight-sims, rogue-lites, or just sublime low-poly graphics, Sky Rogue is worth checking out.

Well done to the developers for taking the roguelike to a genre that I would never have expected it would pair up with, and then executing it as well as any dogfighting flight simulator out there. But, while the loot grind is generally enjoyable, and the randomised missions help keep the missions from becoming rote, Sky Rogue does struggle to give you a reason to care about any of it.

As a whole package Sky Rogue is very attractive in a very retro-esque kind of way and manages to set itself apart from the other aerial combat titles already on the system. With its focus generally concerning larger and tougher targets, rather than skirmishes with other smaller and quicker aircraft, it’s more of a planning and execution title than a “seat of your pants” one. You can certainly be reckless and try to make an aggressive run while ignoring everything but your target but that strategy only works for so long before you’ll get lit up badly. If you’re looking for a wide variety of aerial combat that’s a little lower on thrills per minute but can be satisfying in its more methodical nature Sky Rogue is a solid option.

Overall, Sky Rogue is an interesting diversion of a game. It’s definitely not going to be the main game you’re playing at that moment, but will probably occupy a nice side game acting as a palette cleanser to whatever big game you have going on. It’s a shame that it lacks enough depth to suck you in for longer gameplay sessions, but a 20 minute burst here and there will probably be your limits. In that case it’s quite enjoyable, just don’t expect too much more than that. If it was a couple of pounds cheaper I wouldn’t have too much of a problem in recommending it.

Sky Rogue offers an excellent arcade flying experience, with crisp controls and satisfying combat.