Helicopter combat game 'Heliborne' has left Early Access

We don't see many games like this on Linux at all, so it's great to see the helicopter combat game Heliborne [Steam] release in full.

It's actually not a bad game once you get into it, the dogfights are pretty damn fun and can end up quite hectic. Graphically, it does look quite good, especially the rather nice helicopter models which are surprisingly great.

It includes 40 different helicopters spread across many different generations, with single-player, co-op and online modes along with big wide open maps to fly around. There's multiple control schemes, so you can pilot in an arcade way or a more realistic way to appeal to wider audiences which is sweet.

Post-release, they plan on adding more game modes, new types of weapons and equipment, naval maps with "naval helicopter and naval weapons" and more.

The main problem I have with Heliborne is the terrible UI before you're able to get into a game. The lobby UI is messy, confusing and needs a fair amount of work to make it inviting to new players. I get confused every time I load it up to be honest, it's just rubbish. There's no way to just jump right into an open battle, you have to pick a battle and see if it lets you join. You're only able to join specific battles, which they need to make a much better job at explaining in the UI directly.

If you can look past the crap UI, the actual gameplay is pretty good. Worth a look I think. You can find Heliborne on Steam for £15.49.