Haven’t played Crimson Skies, but since people are recommending Star Citizen/Squadron42, does Everspace 2 come close to what you want ?

Crimson Skies was an arcadey combat flight sim with comic-book flavor plot-oriented gameplay and a setting that was…I don’t know what the word is. Steampunk-style “older technology used to build a historically-large and advanced systems”, but using interwar-era technology rather than Victorian stuff. Kinda similar to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Has dogfighting.

If you take out the time of the setting, then I’d think that you’d be asking for an arcadey combat flight sim with an over-the-top plot and maybe really large, fantastic enemies.

Some other people here recommended Ace Combat games, which I haven’t played recent entries of, or Project Wingman, which I have. I enjoyed Project Wingman, and it does have some large aerial enemies, but thematically, I don’t know if it really has that same over-the-top feel. It’s going more for Ace Combat sans all the cinematics stuff. More realistic-theme-but-overpowered, doesn’t have the same focus on plot and characters. Not saying that you wouldnlt have fun with it. Could be close enough.

I think that maybe if it were in space, you’d be talking about something like a Wing Commander successor, and that’s been kind of a void in the last few years. I don’t know if I’d recommend Star Citizen’s or Squadron 42, which another user here has, as they’re kind of a stupendous mess, but it is true that they aimed to be a Wing Commander successor.

searches

https://www.thegamer.com/best-space-combat-games/

Using that as inspiration:

I haven’t played Star Wars: Squadrons. Looking at Steam reviews, it sounds like a lot of people say that they have problems with bugs.

I haven’t played House of the Dying Sun. The Steam reviews are better.

X4 isn’t really about an over-the-top plot and instant excitement. The dogfighting isn’t that great. I dropped it pretty quickly, but X3 was mostly about using strafing to throw off the enemy AI’s prediction of where you would be. It’s really more about the scope of the space empire you build up.

Darkstar One I remember being kind of slow, more about RPG-style leveling up your ship.

I haven’t played Starpoint Gemini 2. It sounds like it’s less fighter-centric, from the Steam reviews.

I haven’t played Everspace 2. I did play the original, and felt that it was kind of boring, repetitive, and grindy. Roguelite, not plot oriented, jump into level, kill enemies, repeat.

I think that Freespace 2 and Freelancer are probably gonna be too old for you.

Yeah. Nothing there quite fits the mold. I guess out of what’s there that I could vouch for, Project Wingman is probably the closest, but it doesn’t really have quite the same thematic feel. Maybe someone else can chime in on some of the others.

Well, Squadron 42 has a Steam page and a release date for 2027. Take that as you will. I bought a Star Citizen key for $35 in like 2013 and checked in on it occasionally. It’s a technical mess held together with duct tape and chewing gum, but that mostly applies to the MMO portion of the game, and it’s totally possible that the single player campaign scratches this itch for you. When I got into a multiplayer game for dog fights or boots on the ground FPS, it was a good time, and the bones of that game are good.

Crimson Skies with modern planes would be quite different than Crimson Skies.

Would Ace Combat scratch that itch? It’s quite arcade-y. Or for a more indie take on the same formula, I had a lot of fun with Project Wingman. Neither has the same kind of pulp adventure storyline, but that may be as close as we have right now.

Hell I’d take an updated Crimson Skies, complete with dirigibles, or just a remaster even at this point.

You are not alone… I have been craving something like that as well.

You might look at Chorus (2021). It’s SciFi but definitely gave me some Crimson Skies vibes.