ACRODRIFT: FPV Drone Simulator is currently in early access and is avaliable to buy on steam. The full release has not been revelead yet but it is due to arrive on Playstation and Xbox later in the year. It features gorgeous graphics and an intricate flight system with customizable presets to tailor your drone to your liking. It does however suffer some frame rate and loading issues in some of the larger maps and would benefit from a tutorial.
Flying is Fun
Dueking studio have perfected the flying mechanics in this game. The drones do take a little bit of learning to fly for a beginner like me but once you get the hang of it the drones are very fun to fly. Each of the drones feel different with some having more power and others being lighter. You can feel the speed and power of each of them as you fly through various different maps. I didn’t realize how sensitive the controls would be until I started flying for the first time. This taught me that precision and control was more important in this game than raw power making it similar to real life.
However, it is not beginner friendly at the moment as there are no tutorials on how to fly or how to setup your own drone. There are some presets you can start with and beginner friendly controls to make it easier for new players. But I think a tutorial that explains how to control the angle and steering would help to make it easier for new players to jump into the game.
From a Mountain Pass to the Streets of Rome
There are currently 6 different maps to choose from: Container Port, Mountain Pass, Airbase, North Island, Rome Streets and Exclusion Zone. Each of them offer unique challenges and obstacles to overcome. Rome Streets is very narrow and easy to crash so it is not for beginner players. Mountain Pass features lots of elevation changes and is somewhat difficult but not too hard for amateur players. North Island is the biggest map of them all but isn’t too difficult as there is so much space it’s easy to avoid crashing.
The Graphics look amazing and each map is very detailed. The game is built on unreal engine 5 and makes excellent use of the modern graphics engine. North Island has a lighthouse and some houses on the island. Rome streets is arguably the best looking map with historical buildings, fountains and restaurants. The Airbase has control towers and several satellite dishes amongst a beautiful mountain backdrop.
Free Flight and Challenges
There are two modes currently in the game. Free Flight mode lets you explore each of the maps and learn the controls with no pressure. Challenges feature time trial races and a balloon popping time trial. These put the player under pressure to complete them as quickly as possible. They are fun thanks to the excellent flying mechanics and each trial is different from the last. But I think there should be a race mode where you compete against Ai controlled drones to make it more interesting. There is no progression system in the game either, and nothing new to unlock. This player doesn’t have an incentive to complete them as there is no reward for beating them quickly. I would add a gold, silver and bronze time to beat for the player and depending on the result they could unlock upgrades to their drone or new maps to explore.
There are some weather settings that can change gameplay a lot and make it harder for more experienced players. You can add dense fog or change the time of day to night making to change the environment. I think the developers have done a good job with the weather although for the Rome streets map they should add more lights in the city to improve visibility at night.
Camera Options
Finally, there are several camera settings that can dramatically change gameplay. Third person is the default camera setting and most friendly for the player. Dynamic zoom makes you feel like your flying the drone from further away but is very hard to control the drone rom that angle. First person is more difficult but fun to use and rear mount is like a rear mounted camera is on the back of your drone. The best camera option in my opinion is third person as it makes it easier to control the drone but players should choose which one they prefer.
Summary
Overall, ACRODRIFT: FPV Drone Simulator has amazing graphics and flight mechanics but needs a reward system in it’s challenge mode and a tutorial for novice players. It’s avaliable on steam at £13.49 which i think is a reasonable price for this game. If you are into flying drones or have never done it in real life but want to give it a go I’d recommend this game.
