A single developer, no textures, but an enticingly rough water world: Although or precisely because no textures are deliberately used in The Falconeer, an incomparable picture presents itself when flying over it. Here a jagged rocky harbor, there volcanic bubbling elemental forces or the gigantic narrow tower of the empire. In the middle of it all is the "maw" - a huge trench that holds the wildly surging water masses at its edges as if magnetically. Here and there a fat whale emerges from the water masses, while the spatially whistling wind and the dynamically changing soundtrack also build up a lot of atmospheres.
The dogged dogfights on the slow bird also make for a peculiar gameplay experience. Long distances do get tedious here (despite occasional fast travel options). After a few hours, however, you get better and better at the controls and begin to appreciate their agility. When fleeing behind a series of jagged rocks with the last bit of life energy to cheat through the narrow rock arches in hairpin zigzag courses and swooping flights, it provides a thrill previously only known from arcade air combat games like Warhawk or Starlink. If you want, you can also control your falcon with the flight stick - just like in real life!
For an action game, the introduction seems unnecessarily bulky. In the beginning, players still didn't grasp their role in the web of intrigues of different houses, which moreover take place in separate chapters with different protagonists. At one moment, for example, they were diligently accumulating money for a new weapon - but shortly after, the first chapter was already over and had to switch to another character with a new bird and different equipment anyway. The staging prevented any emotional attachment to the characters, who struggle for power or even just their livelihood in the harsh primordial sea. Meanwhile, the tensions between the Empire and the Mancer Order hover over everything.
It's nice that the complexity also influences the mission design. In story missions, you have to keep a straight face while the faction watches idly as pirates attack a neighboring family clan. Only after the defenses have been sufficiently weakened do we stage ourselves as saviors in distress and thus gain claim to the local timber resources. Even the House of Borgia approves of the takeover since we know some nice dirty secrets about their business. Of course, the remaining pirates must be mercilessly eliminated later, since they might eventually blab about our dastardly maneuver. A nice excuse to finally smoke out the unwelcome buccaneers from their hiding place.
Conclusion
In some ways, The Falconeer is a fascinating exploration - with its harsh, graphically unique water world and all its spatially seething forces of nature, magical-looking creatures, and peculiarities. The slow but agile flying creatures also create a very unique sense of combat during chases around jagged rocks. However, the one-man project noticeably weakens in all areas that would normally benefit from a large team: the balance of fights and rewards fluctuates greatly at times, and the narrative was also unable to captivate me with its changing, generic characters. However, those who enjoy dogfights with a difference and can live with some unpolished mechanics should still be solidly entertained here.
