Today Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe released a press kit for its upcoming game Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.

The screenshots showcase advanced atmospheric effects including lightning strikes that will disturb the HUD and the fire control system, and the water droplets and icing that will progressively hinder visibility as pilots delve into the clouds.

We also get to see one of the advanced post-stall maneuvers that can be executed in the game in the form of a Kublit, which is a super-tight loop executed while in a stall condition, with no active lift.

The press release confirms that the game is mostly set on the continent of Usea in 2019. The player will play the role of a pilot of the Osean Self-Defence Air Force and will be involved in a conflict in which it'll be impossible to draw a clear line between good and evil. The conflict between human pilots and unmanned aircraft will permeate the story of the game.

The press kit also included two handy maps, one of the world of the game, and one of the continent of Usea itself.

If you want to see more of the game, you can also watch the latest trailer showing the PlayStation VR feature, and enjoy a video of me playing a demo of the game, alongside more trailers and screenshots. If you want to see even better flying, you can also watch Producer Kazutoki Kono himself play another mission, read my own hands-on preview of the game, and our recent interview with Kono-san.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is set to release in 2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. An actual release date should come soon.