It’s always nice taking a punt on something new. It’s far too easy to stick with game genres that you know and love, whilst ignoring those that don’t spark much interest. If I’m honest, I’ve never really had any interest in flight simulators, even though I do like more gamified flying titles such as Squadrons, Star Fox, and the like.

However, I’d been hearing a lot of good things about a new game in early access called Dawn of Jets and my curiosity got the better of me. As such, when the developer reached out and gave us an opportunity to cover the game, I decided to accept. After all, it was worth a try at the very least.

Little did I know that it would quickly become one of my favourite titles on the Meta Quest 3 – and the game still isn’t complete.

As always with early access releases, it’s worth keeping in mind that the game is in an unfinished state. With plenty of more updates no doubt arriving in the coming months, this review will likely end up being out of date by the time the full version drops and the thoughts here may end up being slightly inaccurate or even irrelevant.

Many thanks to the developer for the review code.

I BELIEVE I CAN FLY
Dawn of Jets is essentially a flight simulator, but with a difference. Whilst the cockpit may seem overwhelming when you first start up the game, it has a fair degree of accessibility as you’re guided through the procedures needed to both take off and land. It retains a level of complexity that should hopefully satisfy flight simulator enthusiasts, but without running the risk of alienating newcomers. The important thing that should satisfy most players, experts and newcomers alike, is that almost everything is done manually by activating switches or manipulating levers. It feels incredibly immersive, especially when you consider the level of detail that has been put into making the cockpit look as realistic as possible.

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There are ten jets in total for you to control, and each are modelled after real-life classic aircraft. You’ll only have access to one at first, but others are acquired by spending money earned from completing missions. What’s more, each Jet has their own set of hand-crafted missions for you to play through in the game’s campaign mode, so there’s a lot of content for you to get through.

These missions are where the more gamified elements come into play. After learning the basics of how your craft works (and how it differs from the others), you’ll soon be shooting down drones, flying though courses, bombing factories, and even firing off rockets at unsuspecting targets! The complexity of the missions vary from one to another, with some offering bonus medals for completing secondary objectives. The more medals you unlock, the more missions you can play, and the more upgrades you can buy for your Jet in order to make it perform better or alter how it looks. 

In addition to the beefy campaign, there are combat, race, and aviation challenges available for you to take on, as well a free play mode where you can take off and explore the area around before landing back down once you’ve had enough. There’s an element of customisation too which allows you to change your surroundings and the weather, giving you a reason to go back in when you want a relatively stress free flight.

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This is the part where I’d normally speculate on what I’d like to see going forward, but honestly Dawn of Jets already feels like such a complete package that it’s hard to ask for all that much more. That being said, this game also feels like a game I’d want to come back to endlessly, so any additions that aid that would be vastly welcome. Free Play offers some nice relaxing flights, but how about a mode that tasks you with random tasks; perhaps where you need to take out enemy fighters, bomb factories, race through rings, or any other task before landing safely. Your pilot could gain experience based on successes, and failures would result in having to take on a new pilot.

Regardless of what the future holds, I’m certainly excited to see what’s next in store.

VERDICT
Dawn of Jets is one of the best early access releases I’ve played in a long time. With a high level of polish and plenty of content, it’ll have you in its grasp for a long time. I’m so glad that I decided to give this one a play, as it’s going to stay in my gaming rotation for a long time to come.