I love that somebody is making a single-player flight sim dedicated to formation flying

Often, the gaming internet depresses me with *gestures expansively*, but sometimes, it delights me with some relatively specific and impassioned Thing like, in this case, a single-player aerobatics sim dedicated to formation flying. Created by Japanese indie CloveTek, Dancing Wings – The Aerobatic Simulator is as far from yer Ace Combats and Delivery Must Completes as you can get while still having wings. A bunch of wise guys have tagged it “Automobile Sim” on the Steam page, but ignore them! I expect they’re just sore about never having performed a genuine Immelmann turn. Here’s a trailer.

And here’s the gist: you fire up the game as one pilot and complete a fancy manoeuvre of some kind. Then you save a replay and start over as a second pilot, alongside the first. Then you save a replay and start over as a third – etcetera. Up to six planes can be flown in this way. You’ll also be able to share replays with other players, challenging them to keep up with your loop-the-loops and boop-a-doops and all the rest of that death-defying razzle-dazzle.

There have been display flight sims before – games like 2017’s Blue Angels Aerobatic Flight Simulator or 1985’s official Red Arrows game,
for BBC Micro – but they’re not exactly as abundant as roguelites. I know about this one because CloveTek have emailed to say they’re showing it off at Tokyo Game Dungeon 11 in February. I fear Ziff Davis are not going to expense a trip to Japan for a demo, not even if I argue that flying over in an actual Red Arrow would be an amazing bit. If you’re at TGD next month, by all means corner the developer and ask whether the planes really dance.

Dancing Wings will release sometime in October 2026. While the game’s singleplayer focus sounds restful, I do wish this had a multiplayer mode. After all – if it were multiplayer, we could put together an RPS aerobatics team. Picture the dashing aces of the Rock Paper Arrows hunkered over the video feed at Ground Control, after failing to skywrite “PCGamer sucks big bubbly beaver balls” for the sixth time running. “You’re ahead again, Julian,” says Flying Officer James Archer. “You’ve made us write ‘PC games’ instead. We’ll be a laughing stock!”

“I am not AHEAD,” retorts Wing Commander Julian Benson, his handlebar mustache quivering with indignation. “YOU are all BEHIND. And if that was a Reverse Half Cuban Eight, young Archer, then I am Manfred von Richthofen.”

For more of this silliness, check out Brew Barons.