Epic

Epic is a futuristic flight simulator from Digital Image Design, published by Ocean Software, that combines fast-paced combat between piloted craft with a storyline set in the distant future amid an alien invasion. The player takes on the role of a pilot fighting against a hostile race, progressing through a series of missions in which, besides shooting down enemy aircraft, they also handle defending ground targets, escort duties, and reconnaissance flights over unknown territory.

On the Amiga, the game benefited from a smooth 3D engine with filled polygons that, compared to Digital Image Design's earlier titles, offered smoother animation and more detailed models of aircraft and scenery, with the speed and agility of the craft higher than in traditional military simulators. The combination of brisk action with a military sci-fi theme and cinematically staged cutscenes between missions gave the game an atmosphere close to that of space action films, supported by dramatic music and explosion and laser-fire sound effects. The controls were somewhat more accessible than in the studio's purely simulation-focused titles, which opened the game up to a wider audience that didn't want to spend a long time learning complicated cockpits.

At launch, Epic was praised for its graphical quality and pace, which set it apart from slower, more technically demanding simulators like TFX from the same studio. Within the Amiga's catalog, it stands as an example of how Digital Image Design managed to adapt its technological base to a more action-oriented, less simulation-focused audience, and it's still remembered today as one of the visually most striking flight titles of its time on the platform, recalled even by players with no interest in pure simulators. Its sci-fi framing and faster pace made it a good entry point into the genre for those wanting to move from World War II or Cold War aircraft toward more fantastical, action-packed scenarios.

Why play it: For players who want a faster, sci-fi-flavored entry point into flight simulators without needing to master the full realism of titles like TFX — visually one of the most striking flight games of its time on the Amiga.