You can also buy mutagens for your bird which improves its various stats. The Falconeer can initially seem like a punishing game, however utilizing the stores littered around the world to buy better stuff is a quick way to correct this.

Saving up enough money for my first new weapon was a good feeling, and the difference it makes to overall combat was significant. You can also purchase a variety of weapons which have different effects and styles. You will need to be careful though as you can also overcharge your ammo pots if you stay in a storm for too long.

It isn’t perhaps as big a deal as this may initially sound, but there were a few occasions later in the game where I needed to divert my course from the main mission area to find a storm – I assume this will be more significant on harder difficulties. Of course you can also just buy these pots, but obviously within the confines of a mission this isn’t always possible. For example, if you want to refill your electric ammo pots, you can fly into a storm, but if you want more fire ammo then your options include flying over a volcano or finding a lucky drop in the sea to circle around for a bit (destroyed ships sometimes drop these). Each is more useful against different types of foes, and each can only be refilled with its desired ammo type. This can be your standard electric ammo, fire or acid. Carried on the back of your Falcon, ammo pots can be filled with a small selection of ammo types. Using these abilities consumes stamina though, and with a very limited supply you do have to be somewhat conservative, especially in larger encounters. You can roll and boost with your Falcon, this being useful for avoiding fire, and running away from or even chasing your enemies. You’re always on the cusp of discovering something and then you move forward to make a start with a different character somewhere else on the map.įlying and combat in The Falconeer is simplistic in its design, but it’s dynamic enough that you can play around a bit and enjoy some tense encounters. While initially disappointed that you didn’t progress as the same character, making your own choices and allegiances, the way the chapters progress allows for an intriguing narrative design. With each chapter you play as a character from a different faction, seeing their side of events as the narrative progresses. Some of these factions get on with each other, but there is an ever present conflict and suspicion that ultimately keeps them all apart. The Falconeer is set in an ocean world called Ursee, which is home to a number of factions residing on scattered bits of land and rock. The world itself is fairly small, though for the pace of the game it isn’t insignificant. From here you can choose to get stuck in to the story, try your hand at a side mission to get some money and experience (or ‘splinters’) or just take off and fly around the world to see what it has to offer. At the beginning of each chapter, you start at your faction’s home base from which you can accept main missions and some side missions, and also access a store to kit out your bird. At the beginning of each new chapter you will choose a new character, however will carry over items and your overall level from the previous ones, including map progression such as how many places you’ve discovered, etc.Ĭharacter classes simply affect the stats you start out with, for example you can have a Falconeer that has more health but less speed, and vice versa, though you can modify and increase your stats in-game as well. Though maintaining a small open world, progression favors a chapter format, with a handful of missions in each to complete in order. You will realise very quickly that The Falconeer plays out in a much more linear fashion than you might have previously expected. You play as a character of your choosing from a very limited selection of appearances, names and classes. Pre-release marketing boasted of exploration, friendly and non-friendly factions, and exciting fantastical aerial combat, but while some of this remains true or at least impresses in its own way, The Falconeer turned out to not be 100% genuine. Not just because it presents as being a semi-open world flight combat game with factions and light RPG elements, but also because of its attempts to create a lore riddled and atmospheric world. The Falconeer, for a small title, is an ambitious sounding game.

The falconeer map