He lauded the peripheral vision afforded by the game's letterboxed display, the high frame rate, the special weapons, the targeting system, the quantity and variety of missions, the sleek rendering of the spaceships, the explosion and lighting effects, and the moody soundtrack.

Both Sushi-X and Jeff Gerstmann praised this element as enabling better enjoyment of the gameplay, and characterized Wing Commander IV's extensive cutscenes as fluff,[5][7] while Dan Hsu and Next Generation both felt it hurt the game.

[5][8] Next Generation reasoned, "As excessive and ungameplay-focused as the FMV sequences in Wing Commander IV are, at least they give the player a face to identify with, and maybe even an emotional connection.

Boyer, Hsu, and Next Generation all argued that despite the varying objectives, the missions all boil down to the same requisite skills, making for an extremely repetitive gaming experience.

[5][8] In contrast, GamePro and Sega Saturn Magazine praised the variety afforded by the missions, with SSM adding that "the action continues all the way through with some complex and well designed duties".