Fallen Aces

It was one of these afternoons, the kind that had the gray of the clouds matching the gray of the streets. The air outside was thick with exhaust fumes; the air inside was thick with cigarette smoke. I was about to drown another stray thought of happiness in whiskey when it came into my office. A damn fine-looking game. 2D sprites in a 3D environment, an immersive sim tailored to the twisted desires of any good-for-nothing detective, making a cold case of good games to play suddenly getting very warm again. By its looks alone, this game was bad news for my free time.

“Fallen Aces” a name like honey-laced tobacco, a perverse mixture, sweet and yet bitter at the same time. Being released in acts promised a sting whenever the last chapter of an act was done, leaving me craving for the next hit like a hobo-junki in a third-rate drug-den.

Of course, like any pretty thing, it too had dark secrets to hide. Small cracks in the facade giving glimpses of what lies below, whole areas even that would allow me to slip underneath the glossy exterior and fall into oblivion.

Did these faults make me consider not taking the case? No. Like a depressed moth, I could not resist the artificial flame of Switchblade Cities’ skyline nor the stench of violence on its streets.

Okay, I am going to stop with the wanna-be noir stuff here.

Fallen Aces is a good game. Like, really good. In terms of immersive sims that have you play a detective roped into a conspiracy, chasing after a killer that seeks to eliminate the former defenders and heroes of the city, I never played anything better. I did get the game on a whim back in 2024 when the first act was out and still being tinkered with, and by now the second one has arrived.

The game has you playing as Michael Thane, a detective who has seen better days. By now you are working on a case that is colder than than the rain slicked asphalt outside your apartment. The city has more or less devolved into chaos after some goons killed your client, Victor Waltz, the best hope to become the next major and leader of the former heroes of the city, the A.C.E.S. You get dragged into a conspiracy that is, of course, connected to your case, fighting your way through the gangs that loiter around Umburgh, aka Switchblade City, in the search for who might be behind the killings and discovering more dirty secrets about the city, former friends, and enemies along the way.

Chapters within an act are each a self-contained level; they range from a mansion you get to sneak around in to whole parts of Umburgh that you can drive through. They are interconnected by the story progression, but it is not some open world you get to tour back and forth in however you like. The different environments keep the game fresh in such a way that even a trip to the shopping mall becomes interesting. It has to be said that act 2 has way bigger levels than act 1, the very start of it already being a fest for people that like exploring and rewarding those who decide to snoop around, with such nice things as pushing the cops onto some troublesome fellows, which in turn allows you to clean up more easily.

In immersive sim fashion, the game allows you to get to your goals in more than one way and has tons of hidden secrets and alternative paths. You get to decide whether to approach your problems guns blazing or if you want to try and sneak around, maybe knocking some goons out instead of putting a bullet between their eyes.

The first level of act 1 already shows the variety that Fallen Aces has to offer. Starting in your apartment, when some goons come to knock on your door (and some sense into you), you could open the door and fight your way through the apartment complex, or you can smash your window and flee like a coward who is afraid of da big scary men. Now, with some quick maneuvering, the first level can be completed in about one minute, but then you will have seen about 5% of it, not collected any money to later spend on gear, and you won’t have the satisfaction of getting into brawls every twenty feet or so.

Over time you get some other characters to join you, or you join them, rather. But besides one or two assists, they do not make much of a difference gameplay-wise. And talking about gameplay, Fallen Aces is a FPS of sorts. Not that you need a gun, in theory all levels can be done without one and in at least one having a gun is a disadvantage, but there are guns and you can use them to shoot the bad guys. As a hard-boiled detective, your fists and kicks are weapons enough in a brawl, but you can use a pipe wrench or other utensils to make it hurt a bit more. The guns are as easy as can be; you aim and shoot. You do have some spread when shooting, which can be reduced by smoking a cigarette, so if you want to smoke someone with your old pistol from 40 feet away, you better smoke one yourself first.

Guns, of course, need ammunition, and if you stumble upon some, it will take up one of your three precious inventory slots, which also house your weapons and consumables. So, when and whom to shoot becomes a question of tactic sooner or later before you are back to a dishonest brawl. And even if you manage to pick up a pipe or board to help you give some gangster a bad time, hitting someone with your weapon decreases its durability, which even holds for your guns if you pistol-whip an enemy. Once the durability is gone, the weapon is broken, and all you can do with it is throw it away, into a goon’s face, for example.

While durability in some games is irritating or outright takes the fun of finding a cool special weapon away, in Fallen Aces it adds to the game. Fights feel more dynamic if you have to switch weapons and look around for a quick bottle to pick up and smash over someone’s head. The chapters are also filled with enough stuff to use, and you don’t take any inventory with you between them, so there is no fear of breaking your Master Sword before you get to the final boss.

Finally, the overall movement is smooth enough to dodge out of the way of most attacks and to climb fences and other obstacles. Pretty much each level has enough geometry that sooner or later you will find yourself trying to climb up somewhere where you are not even sure you are allowed to be, maybe even stacking some trash cans to gain height, the sign of a good immersive sim. As a side effect of this, you might end up seeing more of the game than the developers intended. But even if you meet your untimely demise by slipping through the cracks of a level, the pretty decent autosave function means that you won’t have a long runback.

No good game is complete without music, and Fallen Aces features a thematic ensemble of soundtracks to do detective work to, ranging from tense orchestral arrangements to smooth jazz songs. A good number of chapters also have adequate songs like “The Image of You”, making the wait until they are loaded all the sweeter. Listening to the saxophone playing while holding a donut and overlooking the lit skyline makes you want to spend some more time in that violent and yet beautiful Switchblade City.

• Games