Ил-2 Штурмовик: Битва за Сталинград

Definitly a must have if you are into WW2 simulation games

i think this game is fantastic, and very realistic

war thunder but fun

Coming from around 120 hours in IL-2 1946 I had high hopes, and was not disappointed by the game in terms of how it plays. I'm not a fan of the way the content is broken up behind so many paywalls, but I think developers actively look for any reason to put the modules on sale as they VERY often run deep discount sales, so what started as notable gripe turned into a small critique.

This game is amazing! The game is very open ended when it comes to customization and how YOU want to play it. Don't want a hyper realistic flight sim? You can tweak the difficulty in various ways to accommodate that wish. Do you want to control pretty much every aspect of your plane in a brutal unforgiving sim that isn't too far from the real thing? You can absolutely do that too. I think this game has something for everyone and they just keep adding new stuff to do and new planes to fly, and it seems that they aren't slowing down anytime soon.

It has a steep learning curve and is almost impossible to shoot anything down. But eventually its worth the effort.

A great addition to any pilot's game library.

its not without flaws, but its an amazing experience. I starting play war bird games young with aces of the pacific in the early 90's, and this just makes the mental view i had as a young gent become real.

with a quality hotas setup with pedals and I also cant express enough to have a head tracker. really make the environment come alive. If you have these items or working towards them, i whole heartly recommend getting this sim. Its alot of fun with some amazing detail.

best WW2 flight sim out there hands down.

Its a great simulator for people who like history and planes if you have a flight yoke, rudders and throttle instead of using keyboard the experience will be even better

Honestly i'd never have gotten into this had i not invested in a Flight stick. I do own VR (Quest 2) However i've been playing this at a native 4K on my OLED screen. It's been such a visual treat and for only having a 3060ti. It's super optimised compared to modern releases.

I've a fair bit of Flight Sim & Even some Space Shuttle 2007 experience behind my belt but the game was only around 10 pounds. The Lightly used Airbus Thrustmaster Stick cost 31 pounds from ebay & Another 12 into the normandy DLC.

In the next few hours i might even check my current career and see if there's planes i need. I can complete the entire Normandy deluxe collection for 26 pounds instead of the 52 non sale price.

I've invested way too much time into this game the past few days. Its seriously addictive and i've not even touched VR or any multiplayer aspects. I'm more of a relaxed gamer and prefer single player so i can always pause when needed.

The campaigns really make this work though. I'd have never got 20 hours on the base game in a matter of 3 days if i didn't really enjoy myself. Eventually i'm going to try VR and based on how easily i can run a fluid 60fps at 4K I'm positive my Quest 2 can handle 80hrz with some reduced settings for details i'd miss in VR such as grass and probably shadows from Ultra to Medium or high.

I'm already considering either investing another 16 into one of the WW1 packs. Or completeting the Normandy Deluxe bundle but i've another 10 hours before the sale ends to make up my mind.

Apparently the game is on sale quite often. I did own the original IL2 years back but it must have been more than a decade since i've played it. I'm really glad the developers put this on sale probably accounting for people buying new Flight sticks who might be put off but realistically if i knew i'd have got this much fun i'd have paid 30 for the base. I have since invested more than that into additional content so the sale technique certainly works with this type of game.

Hats off to the developers though. I've clearly ignored this game for far too long and please. Keep up the sales in future as i'm sure i'm not the only one who's got a few to spare every week.

Just buy it if you like the concept of flying. I really didn't buy this thinking i'd enjoy the WW2 elements but turns out it really feels fresh. I'm excited to get to try tanks in the future and get the upmost out this game. Like Zaccaria Pinball i reckon this will be another Cult classic that i always go back to. Another simulation game with amazing VR support. I've more hours in VR than 2D with that title so perhaps i'm already missing out not playing this in VR, Just right now i'm a noob who needs to look at the controller.

One recommendation i'd like is perhaps a in-game flight stick calibration. I have over 12 extra buttons on this stick i can easily feel out, it'd be great if we had the game ask us to input buttons for the most important inputs to noobs like me to assign proper controls to the stick. the default is pretty good but i did have to modify it to be able to fire weapons and use my thrusters. It only really gave me camera options on the default setting on my custom buttons so perhaps having a pre-designed bunch of inputs to calibrate on to your flight stick would be amazing.

What could work even better is having pre made profiles for all the popular sticks out right now and i can go from take off to landing all in VR with only my flightstick and its many buttons. Currently i have no clue and still use my keyboard along with my stick so that's currently preventing me from giving this a real try on VR.

Perhaps i need to play more and learn myself what inputs are vital and assign them in a smart and efficient way for my Airbus stick as of right now? Most games i'm pausing and checking controls and then hesitating to assign it to one of my many additional buttons and giving up and going back to memorising what buttons i need.

As you can tell there's a lot of work the user needs to do to get the actual value out of this game. It's not a terrible fault of the devs but more another hurdle we need to climb when making such an advanced game with so many mechanics, features and scenarios. I've been headshotted from afar while heading back to base and it was GG. But that bit of randomness is how theirs a literal army below and above you simulating at a solid 60 frames. It's really quite impressive from a 2014 release to have this much AI. From what i remember, The engine itself has really came on!

One thing i will be doing next play through is taking literal notes of the keys/commands i'm using most and try to come up with a proper profile for all my extra un-used buttons on the flight stick. Hopefully by then i can finally give the VR a shot!

So if you want this game for VR, sure it has the support to do it. BUT, flat out it does not provide that. you will need a joystick. your controllers from your VR headset will do nothing. Game has a lot of potential with VR so long as you have the components to support that (joystick, rudder pads,ETC.) If you play VTOL VR and think coming here will give you the same seamless experience with your hands, it wont. For the time being, I am refunding until I get a joystick if I want to.

IF you have VR, joystick, and rudders, well have at it this game will be amazing for you.

too scary, b25 make me mad, WHY BF109 BUILT LIKE PAPER

Excellent simulator. Could be very challenging and takes time to set everything up the way you like it, but worth the time. Possibly the best ww2 simulator there is right now

If you like realism, you'll love this.

If you like playing as Germany, you'll love this.

If you want to smash your keyboard, or controller, or HOTAS, be anyone else.

My first VR flight sim

if ur looking to play this game in vr and think ur vr controllers will work, dont even bother buying this game because they dont work at all, with the game, ur expected to still use ur mouse and keyboard even in vr mode, they mention nothing about that, im saving you all the time. game is alright but the no vr controller support instantly makes the game dog. instantly refunded this game when i found out you cant use your vr controllers.

Very entertaining and immersive. I think some missions could have been better designed in that the safest rout to target and best altitude for advantage are not always chosen. Minor really, Adolf Galland used to encourage hunting at low level in the BoB so who am I to argue? but this game makes you careful as it doesnt take much lack of concentration to get shot down. Level of detail can be stunning and its a pleasure to get your wheels thumping on the landing strip after a mission. There is a bug it seems to be well known where your place on the roster for the next mission in career mode, disappears after you complete the first mission of the day. I get over this by appointing myself commander, but I dont always want to command! however this way you can pick or chose if you participate or not. Oh, and pick your rout and height as well .

Absolutely superb WW2 air combat simulator - with Tank vs Tank thrown in!

Like it! Please continue the development. Nice simulator!

Great Flightsim but newcomers will have to look up a lot of guides online. Very little handholding in this game. Also be aware that many campaign missions are realistic from takeoff to landing - literally. Become acquainted with the time acceleration function :-)

Airplanes :)

one of the best flight sims and best ww2 flight sim, Fantastic maps and missions. Incredible detail for the planes and flight model.

i got my moneys worth so its not bad. single player is ok when starting out but gets old. mp is only really active on one server most of the time and centered around a air to air team death match meta. there are objectives and there is the opportunity for some real team play (bombers and escorts doing a realistic mission) but more than not its just people looking for air to air fights. if you like mp and playing an objective its not really gonna happen without friends so i give my time here a 7 outta 10.

I played mainly with a controller, which clearly isn't the ideal setup. I had fun and it reminded me of playing the early war plane sims as a kid. Good fun.

It would be nice to play the game, but I can't get past the registration at startup. I registered an account following all of the steps the recommended on Steam and on the developer's webpage, but still can't get the game to start. Something is configured wrong in their registration system.

Immersive warplane sim. If only all WW2 games had Career mode...

You will need a joystick, plus either flying experience or a desire to learn. You do not need VR, but it will make you want to try it.

killing people in air to air combat in real life must be the best feeling in the world

As detailed and sim heavy as DCS, but you can play it with only your mouse if you want.

It's a whole new dimension if you can play it in VR. I'm using a Quest 3 and link cable.

I'll preface this review by saying that I come from War Thunder. I played over a thousand hours and spent the majority of those time in mid-high tier prop air RB. I also bought the base game with Bodenplatte DLC on my first purchase, and only play single player thus far . With that out of the way, here's my thoughts:

As someone coming from War Thunder, do I recommend the game?

In short, yes. Very.

Good combat, pick any mission/theater you like without the alternate history missions (which I wholeheartedly hate from War Thunder), solid damage physics, a good options of planes, to name a few. In my opinion it offers the best of both worlds from War Thunder and DCS. A big plus for me is that it's able to be played with a controller (DualShock 4)

For the long answer...

I bought this game with the intention of trying to find an aircraft combat game that doesn't require me to grind hours upon hours to fly the plane I want (War Thunder) nor spend a great sum of money to fly the plane I want (DCS). For the longest time, I've had Il-2 Sturmovik: BoS on my wishlist but never really bought it because I don't own a HOTAS. I thought that to enjoy a game like this I need a full HOTAS setup. Boy, was I wrong.

Last month the game and DLCS got a major discount (which happens more often than I thought) and I decided to gun it. I'll give it 2 hours, and from there I'll make up my mind whether I want to keep or refund the game. Suffice to say that at first I'm surprised my DualShock 4 actually registers, though I'm having trouble with the camera movement. After the 2 hours is almost up I thought about refunding the game, but I decided not to. Though I'm having problems with the controls, I like flying the planes, and it just needs a little more tweaking here and there to make it work fine. So after binding the trigger, throttle, camera, and zoom buttons to the mouse and flying with the left joystick, I find the game to be very enjoyable, engaging and worth every penny I spent on it.

What sets it apart from War Thunder?

What I like about War Thunder is how the air realistic battles is just that, "Battles". You don't need to set supercharger stages, radiator flap, engine mixture, magneto, starter, push this, press that, etc. War Thunder controls that either automatically or at the push of a single button. Same with navigation, where you can just press "M" to see exactly where you are. Il-2 gives you the option to choose whether you want to manage the engine by yourself, or automatically. If you, like me, just want to get into the action without having to deal with "all that" then I highly recommend you try this game. Battles in War thunder are also "concise," as in you just need to fly for 5 minutes before encountering the enemy and get your dopamine rush from combat. IL-2 also gives you that chance, whether you want to run a quick mission with an air start, or go the extra mile and start from the parking area to play the entire mission, it's up to you.

I also love the fact that as there is no grinding or "reward" mechanics in this game, you can play at your own pace. For example, sometimes in War Thunder, when I'm the bottom fragger with 0 kills, few scores, and the match has dragged on for over 30 minutes, I'd usually engage the enemy to at least get a score/kill, even when I'm at a disadvantageous position. That way I can be done with this match, and move on to the next. Whether I die or not doesn't matter. Here, I try to be more cautious. I always disengage when I'm in a bad situation, and though I'm still kill-hungry, I do it with strategy and try to play it smart. Landing back home safe is always my top priority, and a reward by itself.

Damage model/physics is very very very good here compared to War Thunder. I always fly my 109 with wing gunpods (crazy, I know) in War Thunder because personally I feel that It never punches hard enough to kill a plane. The story is different here, however. I feel those 2 mgs and a cannon from the 109 is enough to kill an enemy. I also remember when my left wing was shot, but it's still intact, so I did not disengage out of the fight. Imagine my surprise when I pulled a high G and suddenly I was spinning aimlessly mid-air. It turns out that with enough damage and high G-load, your wings will give out in IL-2. I know this sounds like a common sense but I don't remember ever having this kind of encounter in War Thunder. There, if you're shot, you either still have your wings, or you don't.

Do keep in mind that I say this from propeller Air RB perspective, though. Not from Air Arcade battles, or Simulator Battles. I enjoy having to spot the enemy plane and identify them without the UI before engaging, I also enjoy having realistic aircraft physics and ballistic. If you're coming from Air RB, I think that it doesn't take much getting used to, and I truly feel that you will enjoy this game.

What sets it apart from DCS?

Very, very affordable. As someone living outside of Europe and Northern America region, the price of a game has been a big considering factor for me before a purchase. With the base game and Bodenplatte DLC, I get to play FW-190 A8, BF 109 K4, P-51D, Spitfire MK IX, and P-47D, all of which is sold separately in DCS with their own hefty price tag. Not to mention this game offers you the experience to fly the exquisite Me-262, in the same Bodenplatte DLC, if late war jets are your thing.

Eastern Front. Fly Lavochkins, Petlyakovs, Heinkels, Mid-war 109s and Stukas above Eastern front. I don't really fly the Soviet planes, but if you want to experience the 109s while they're nimble and lighter before they became a bomber interceptor, look no further. I love my Mustangs, but flying the 109 F4 is like gliding through the air.

I guess that's it from me. 88 hours in and I thoroughly enjoy my purchase. Bottomline is: Get the game, it's worth it, even more so on discounts.

muy real y muy bueno aunque le falta mas contenido y casi todo es de paga otra cosa me hubiera gustado que los aviones fueran klicleables en cabina

Great entry point for anyone looking at flight sims from a mechanics point of view. cost is tough for getting all the dlcs and the planes but those are al a carte and sales are generally not that far apart.

Loads of fun.

They are public supporters of the Russian war in Ukraine. Dont buy from them.

Excellent graphics and great control of aircraft ,tanks and vehicles. Challenging and fun to play. I am a private pilot and have flown military aircraft such as the T 6 ,T 33 And the MIG 15. This flight sim I believe helped prepare me for these flights. I made steep turns and rolls in each of the above aircraft with no difficulty.

I love this game sm good plane models and great crash physics dlcs too expensive tho

IL-2 is probably the best WW2 air simulator on the market right now. However, its graphics and engine are starting to show their age, which is expected for an 11-year-old game. That said, some missing features from the initial release still haven't been implemented:

• No support for four-engine bombers.
  
• No system for external fuel tanks.
  
• Less interactive cockpit compared to the predecessor IL-2: Cliffs of Dover.
  

The Good:

• The DLCs, which include maps and aircraft packs, are great for those on a budget.
  
• Ground attack gameplay is solid. (The Hawker Typhoon is an absolute beast!)
  
• Low-level air combat is well done. While the AI tends to focus mainly on turn fights, it works well in a furball.
  
• Best multiplayer WW2 experience right now, striking a perfect balance between study sims and quick air-quake games.
  

The Bad:

• Lacks high-altitude gameplay. (No large air formations to protect or attack.)
  
• Missing the Pacific theater and naval air operations.
  
• No external fuel tanks, making long flights in the Normandy campaign impossible without an air start.
  
[*]Ground vehicles have a lot of potential but feel more like a solid tech demo than a fully fleshed-out feature.

I would recommend the game to anyone tired of the grind in air-quake games or to those who don't have the time for a study-level sim.

good old game, kinda empty multiplayer servers though

This game is absolutely amazing! For those looking for a good WWII flight sim, get this game! It's so much more fun than most WWII games I've played. The developers seem like they try their hardest to make the game realistic. One thing to note is the game is a bit expensive to get into. You don't need a HOTAS, but it's very hard to play the sim without one. The best HOTAS for a beginner to use with this game is probably the Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS One, which runs about $100 USD at best buy. The game it's self cost $50 USD, which is cheaper than most AAA games out today. You get quite a few planes, but all of them are from the eastern front. If you want western front aircraft, you have to buy DLCs, which include new maps, collector aircraft, and regular aircraft,. Each of these add-ons is about the cost of another game, but give enough content to be their own game. Another option is buying collector aircraft by themselves without the maps and regular aircraft. Each one of these will be around $20 USD. I would rate the aircraft combat and realism 10/10!

There aren't nearly as many tanks in this game as there are in other games like War Thunder, but the quality of each tank model is outstanding! Each tank has a detailed interior you can look around and interact with. Tanks and tank combat in this game are far more realistic than in War Thunder and World of Tanks. Tanks are cheaper than aircraft, considering you don't need a HOTAS for them. If you were to get into tanks, I highly recommend getting the Clash at Prokhorovka DLC, which come with famous tanks such as the Tiger I, Panther, T-34, and multiple KV-1 variants. While in tank combat in single player, you can give orders to your tank platoon, such as to shoot on your command, where to move, ect. I would rate tank combat and realism 9/10!

[EDIT: I forgot to mention, this game and it's DLCs go on sale quite often! I got this game for only $14 on sale! I also got the 'BATTLE OF BODENPLATTE for $18 on sale. If you are interesting in getting IL2, add it and whatever DLCs you would like to your wishlist, that way you can get notified of sales!]

been waiting to try this game for way way too long
bite the bullet the other day and what can I say ?
I was a fool.
this one is a keeper.
physics, graphics, sound, force feedback, the feel of 'being there', replayability...
it's all 10/10 for me
what surprises me the most is a great optimisation.
I was afraid a bit of that since I don't have exactly NASA PC
but with my modest machine and everything ON MAX I still get above 60fsp all the time

great great work 1C. you got yourself a fan/buyer for your future projects!
Looking forward to them! :)

oh and btw, I prove my review is genuine by buying Battle of Bodenplatte and Battle of Normandy - the very same day! :)

see you in the sky

CAUTION ALERT
MISSILE
MISSILE
MISSILE
MISSILE
MISSILE
MISSILE

Or something like that, haven't played this game

Trash if you're wanting to play VR. If you take off the headset, even if you've set it to not disable for 5 minutes after removal, it will lose control of the mouse. You can get it back to move around the cursor but you can't click anything. Does this at random. Might work for awhile and then do it the next day every time you start it. After paying for all 4 Flying Circus I can't play because of an issue over 4 years old. Trash.

Over priced DLC, broken time compression, horrible AI. Not worth it. Play 1946 instead.

The visuals and flight characteristics per each plane make this a real challenge.

As a DCS nerd and IRL pilot, the flight model is a tad more simple than I'd prefer, and I like clicking buttons. That said, the game is fantastic fun, and is more robust and fun than DCS for Warbirds.

an AI Bf-110 chased me in a damaged P-51B Mustang and made my fuel tanks commit water + battery grade lithium

This game is absolute trash in my opinion. The tanks handle realistically, but at the same time I can go play Steel Beasts for such game play along with play Gunner Heat PC for more simpler and more functional game play features.

good game if you like flight sim get a joystick

Does not use steam multiplayer

Perhaps the best WW2 (and WW1 with DLC) flight sim on the market (Cliffs of Dover Blitz is another contender). Constantly updated throughout the years, with tons of paid and free content(scripted campaigns, skins, mods...), courtesy of the awesome community members. A must-have for any WW2 warbird enthusiast.

One of my favorites, if you love history and aviation buy it!