There’s no shortage of targets and challenges in Remote Reaper, Vladyslav Fomenko’s likeable FPV drone sim, but I suspect the game’s lack of context and continuity will eventually drain my belligerence battery.
To be fair to Remote Reaper, its main rival, Ukrainian Fight Drone Simulator, has the same problem. While both titles are accomplished short-burst entertainers, because neither supply a narrative, or chain together missions into meaningful, memorable ops, they lack the impact and long-term appeal of the best combat flight sims.
More approachable and forgiving than UFDS, and less interested in preparing pilots for service on real front lines, RR comes with a couple of small training areas and four large, vaguely Ukrainian killing grounds.
There are various ways to experience the latter. In the default mode you’ve all the time in the world to roam maps, locating and neutralising targets.
‘Raids’ are more pressured. Fail to stop an attacking force of infantry, armour, or helicopters before it reaches your position, and a defeat screen will interject.
Nailing armoured targets often requires a dash of finesse. Cope cages, popped smoke, and realistic armour thicknesses mean you can’t simply bee-line towards AFVs and expect a kill.
At default realism settings, only Shilkas seem to pose much of a threat to quadcopters.
Compared to the swift, sharpshooting grunts in UFDS, RR infantry are barrel piscines. Topping them is made even easier by generous HE splash damage and lenient collision detection (Although tree trunks obstruct flight, tree branches do not). Fortunately, anyone accustomed to UFDS levels of frustration challenge can add whalebone via a myriad of weather, enemy, and FM sliders.
The inclusion of a keyboard-friendly FM option means you don’t need a controller or previous drone sim experience to enjoy Remote Reaper. Although it strips an awful lot of flavour from the aviating, using WASD keys and mouse anyone should be able to immolate a T-72 or goose a Smerch after a few minutes of practice.
