Ил-2 Штурмовик: Битва за Сталинград

Vr is so fun in game. Takes a bit of time to get controls down and graphics. Dog fighting is great and the VR really is immersive this is my favorite Sim.

I play the game only in VR so i can't talk about the flat-screen experience.
The game has a beautiful and diverse number of planes and maps. The graphics are very good in VR and first i played it on a MSI laptop with a RTX 4070 who doesn't match the performance o f a real 4070, and i coud play it on high settings in VR.
Now i have a real PC with a 4080 super, and in VR i am on max settings, and i have 72 FPS (like the VR headset).
I wished it was a little easier to edit custom missions, but the rest is good enough.
You want a little more realism, you have the settings for it, you are a noob like me, you can go on the arcade side and work your way up.
I bought a lot of the dlc on sales, i think that i'm on 60 euros for all the big packs and a lot of planes, without the tanks and the flying circus. Not that expensive on sale, as is a very good VR game and we don't have a lot of good looking VR games.

Poor quality execution - overpriced and a number of bugs. heavy on memory.

been playing this game since the first title and i have loved every one of them, the added tank battles only improve these amazing titles, this does require a learning curve but the rewards out weigh any learning issues. my suggestion is buy a second key board cover the letters and map the keys to the configuration best suited for your hands marking the keys with symbols

This game is not a game, it's a simulator for people with a mature approach, who like flying, and WWII history. With the basegame you get several Soviet & German planes and the map of Stalingrad. If you want to fly more planes & get more maps you have to get some of the DLC's. There are three most recommended DLC's that may be worth it, depending on what map or planes you want to be able to access: Kuban, Bodenplatte, Moscow. The game is from 2014, so it's best to buy the older DLC's on a sale.

39 hours playtime is not enough to make an informed opinion about a simulator, but I will update on that:

Great:

- Realistic detailed planes from WWII with great design and sound from that era. They really look 1:1.

- Realistic maps from WWII. Everything needed to know is shown on the map, which is either accessable by clicking O, as a full map on the screen or by clicking M, to see the map in a little box on the right side of the screen.

- Ability to speed up or slow down time. With this ability one can train shooting enemy planes.

- Difficulty options: from invulnerability, to endless ammunition and autofollow the enemy with your camera (when the enemy is 3km away), there is a lot to choose from, which makes this game even a choice for any causal simmer.

- Multiplayer on servers with friends. Friends can use turret controls (if available) even if they don't own the DLC.

- The Graphics are from 2014 but still look good and any computer bought in 2020 should be able to play this game without any problems on higher settings.

- Voice is implemented in the missions is in the langauge of the country one plays for. Good immersion.

- VR option.

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In need of improvement:

- Missions in single player career mode make you fly over long distances with your squad. While this is realistic it costs the player a lot of time when dying. One can use the speed up button, but it will still take you 1 or 2 minutes before you reach your destination to fight the enemy. A better system would be to give players lives, so that they can respawn right at the start of the battle with no need having to fly to it.

- No explanation on how to play the game, I couldn't find a manual, so I downloaded the manual for "IL-2 Sturmovik 1946", to get some clues. I was also confused where to start with the game, but as far as I understood the main goal for Stalingrad is to go through the career mode, otherwise to do the missions.

- Controller mapping: as an avid controller player I reject the option to only use mouse and keyboard, but for that I had to remap all the buttons on my X-Box controller. This takes a lot of time as one has to understand what is important and what not. By reading some posts I understood that a max zoom button is needed, then a button for the whole map. I mapped the buttons using my own ideas, experimenting, like autocam on enemy (padlock view), boosting and stopping etc. It's important to understand that the controller will never be enough, keyboard will have to be used for other important things, like the landing gear (if not mapped).

- AI on quick battle maps is extremely hard even on novice.

- Almost no music. Simulations don't need music, but it would be nice to have some quality music.

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Conclusion:

This simulator is best suited for people who are into simulation, because it is not there to entertain, but to experience the harsh reality of WWII battles in the icecold skies. I would like the game to get a bit more causal, to offer both sides: simulation and simple gaming, but that's asking a lot from the developers. Overall the game is great for what it is: a simulator.

The MOST beautiful fighter sim I have ever played bar none!
The attention to detail with 4k skins...oh and VR is unreal, you are literally in the cockpit.
My son has been playing War Thunder, but when he saw IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad he was very impressed. When he flew in VR he was stunned!
You might be prone to just fly around and explore the many camera angle (yes they are good), fly below the tree line, enjoy the sunset, bomb the hell out of ships or make swiss cheese out of aircraft on the airfield.
Oh, I didn't mention shredding planes with machine gun fire, with debris streaming of the plane like meta confetti at 300 mph!
Get this game, get this game....I wish I hadn't waited so long!

Firstly, the developers have been diligently and reliably adding content to this platform for over a decade now, which is impressive enough on its own. This simulator scratches the itch every time. It has quality graphics, decent damage models, and great quality of life stuff (the replay functionality is insanely good). There are active servers if you like multiplayer, and it is not difficult to host your own lobbies to play with friends. My friend and I have been loyal players of this game since 2017 and Rise of Flight and the original IL-2 that came before this, and the experience just keeps getting better. There is a great variety of aircraft with DLC, mission types, and scenarios. The game's AI is also enjoyable to fight against for practice. This is not an arcade experience, but it is also not the most detailed, grueling simulator out there. I believe that it strikes the perfect balance between casual play and simulation, with the ability to use engine management assistance and other options to craft the gameplay to what you want it to be. Nothing but the best wishes to the developers, and gratitude for keeping this experience going for as long as they have!

As the title only officially supports the outdated OpenVR (SteamVR) technology this is a poor choice for VR simmers. It's especially disappointing how such a mature product have failed to keep up with the industry in this regard.

It is a very intensive game with pretty much no learning curve. just throws you to the wolves. This I could forgive if it wasn't for a major fault in that the Multiplayer DOES. NOT. WORK. From what I have ended up looking into the multiplayer for the game stopped working after an update 4 or 5 years ago. The only ways I have found are forum posts about needing a static IP and forwarding ports to host a server. and even that does not work all the time from what I can tell. It certainly hasn't worked for me or my buddy I bought the game for.

Don't get me wrong, it is an amazingly in depth flight sim for the hardcore guys.
But it really should be marketed simply as a single player game at this point.

I honestly can't recommend this game. I've tried playing it many times but the learning curve is literally a cliff. You spend most of your time flying straight and level to get to the enemy (with barely any speed up, x4 and x8 speed barely do anything), and there's no mid-mission saves, so the moment the perfect AI pilots get a shot on you, you're dead and have to start you 5-15min of straight level flying all over again. There are difficulty settings to make things easier, but none of them help get to the objective quicker, and there's no easier enemies or less damage, just simplifying the flight model and invulnerable on/off (which feels pretty empty to play). It's a shame because the graphics are great and the flight model feels great and there's heaps of detail in the planes, but it's kind of unplayable unless you're a flight sim expert already who's happy to use up most of their playtime just staring at the screen waiting to reach the enemy in the name of realism. I don't need my flight sim take as long as WWII.

I was looking for a fun game to last me for months so I can save money to buy a new GPU.
Bought an entry level HOTAS instead. TrackIR might be next. Current GPU still holds fine.

Great Plane sim, you can set how hard and sim like you want to play making the single player really enjoyable.

Bit off a bit more than I could chew getting every bundle at a super steep discount but it runs well and plays mostly fine. It took a long time to bind things but once it was set up it was good. Formation flying with bots is insanely difficult, they are really tight and they throw the throttle around a lot. So if you are new don't expect to be flying formations neatly. Tanks look pretty good. I recommend this game if DCS is too intimidating(or you want more WW2 focus).

The game's pretty good, the devs just support Russia a little too much (okay, way too much) Normandy is sick though, pretty awesome
edit: I lied, it's the shit (especially in VR)

Super awesome, game might seem hard at first but i learnt most of the basic controls at only like 5 hours, you keep practicing the keybinds then it gets really cool, very immersive, awesome tanks and planes, good campaigns, cool career, just recommend to buy dlcs at big sales.

Had no luck setting up joystick input. No matter what I tried it detected a different joystick axis, and for throttle even axis "s" whatever the hell it was. If controls setup is that difficult, it's not worth it even at 80% discount. I have 1000+ hours in DCS. Refunding.

This is the best WW2 (and WW1!) flight (and tank!) simulator in my opinion. I fell in love with the game so much so that I bought every map DLC when it was discounted :D

The best flying WW2 combat game with amazing damage models.

Smash the funny and or helpful button if you dislike this game! cheers...... i also like free points.

This took a little bit of setting up with the joystick. I had an old Cyborg Graphite tried that but it was a windows issue. Got a different joystick and manually mapped the controls and that worked great. I only got the 1st game installment because it was cheaper. I have played IL2 since it was first released. I Still have the CD :) ! I have always enjoyed the game. I have not tried the multiplayer. I'm more into the single player game side of it. Still experimenting with it. The graphics are outstanding as usual. I do have an issue with the stall component. I don't think planes stall so much. I have actual flight time. I think the stall is a bit much in the game. I get it you really really really want people to know planes stall. Makes it a real pain in the tail for such low stall speeds. Real planes hit the air about 50 knots or so and do not stall. Unless your the old P40 which had a tendency to stall from the wing root on take off if your speed was to low. I think you'd have a lot more players or buyers if you cut the stall down a bit. You could use a radius instead for max turn radius per aircraft type. Yes I know a lot of realism fans like the stall. But this is a game friend. I do myself like the realism. Maybe its just scale that's my issue. Would like to see the cockpit controls initially like when it starts in flight or on the ground. Its like you have a stall component but cant see the air speed until you find the zoom back in the cockpit buttons. Other than that I have always liked the game that's why I got it after all. Would I recommend it to others? Yes absolutely. Still working on getting the hat buttons to be able to be used for looking around. You should have just used an x and y axis for them. To many options to pin the hat to. Really just working out the kinks right now of how I like it setup on the joystick. Took like 10 restarts to set up the joystick. Got creamed by the FW109 in first fight. Changed it to a BF110E and got first kill. Also learned not to try to take a BF110 on firing on the merge. Dang those cannons! Anyway looking forward to the fun going forward.

If you're looking for a WWII flight sim your options today are likely; War Thunder, DCS, and IL-2. Here is my comparison between those choices:

IL-2 has the best physics, damage, and sense of place in WWI/WWII. It feels the heaviest of these games to me, there is a sense of weight and presence in the world which also carries over to VR. It also has the best single player content; quick missions, historical career, scripted campaigns and even a good third party campaign generator. Multiplayer is semi-historical, airfields are fairly close so there is moderate travel time but it works fairly well. The cockpits are not interact-able and plane controls are streamlined. Content is expensive but deep discount sales are common and you should wait for one if you are interested.

DCS is best at being a simulator, allowing you to be the pilot in the seat controlling almost everything inside a particular plane. Everything is manually controlled and each plane is a separate module. There is little single player content and it mostly thrives on individual missions and multiplayer servers. There are campaigns but they are hit & miss. Multiplayer servers are mostly historical so expect 30 minutes of flying to the front. Player count is low to moderate (Mostly modern-war players, not wwii). Content is expensive and singular, but each plane is meticulously crafted. Physics and damage are good, but IL2 is better. Example; a piece of a plane gets shot off, in IL2 it has weight and can damage you, in DCS it flops around in the sky and you pass through it.

War Thunder is free-to-play and suffers the typical problems of F2P games. Behind the grind to unlock what you actually want to fly there is a great multiplayer arcade experience, and a really good simulator mode. Lot's of planes means no focus and poor graphics for each one but variety in choice. Quickest at getting you into a multiplayer engagement vs other players because of its small non-historical maps.

TLDR; IL2 is the best single player WWII experience. I prefer War Thunder for multiplayer because it respects my time the most, but plenty of people enjoy IL2 multiplayer so I rate it second place. Buy it on sale. Check each main expansion for the planes you want to fly the most and buy that one.

Very good simulator, with a good campaign and multiplayer community. This isn't fast paced and remember that you do ACTUAL MISSIONS! You'll be flying & navigating for awhile before you spot the enemy. A truly different experience not for everyone, but an absolute blessing to flight simulator enjoyers. Great game!

I really don't want to give it a bad review, because I'm sure it was a good game. I live In Australia and the servers are basically deserted at times when we want to play. You might get one without tanks with a few in but that's it. If you stay up late enough some more will join. Multiplayer is basically dead in Oz. The key mapping is absolutely terrible and you can be trying for hours to get a key mapped only to eventually goto a forum and find out it's incorrectly labelled. For example, I spent ages trying to map my tanks turret horizontal and vertical movement. Only to discover after wasting hours that it isn't done by mapping the controls that say turret horizontal and vertical movement. that is in the Tank section. You have to go into pilot movement controls and map pilots head up and down. It also drops out a bit when trying to join a server and you will have to restart. I played for nearly 25hrs before I had a half decent game, and even then I had many keys not correctly mapped. Like the controls for the gun in the artillary. I really wanted to spend more to get more planes but I have decided it's just a waste of money.

After all these years it still has major problems regarding the cockpit camera centering in the Collectors Spitfire, and view controls. How about toggle HUD being able to function? FFS, fix the basics so it's actually playable

I love planes especially military aircraft, especially soviet aircraft i love ww2 aircraft in general the most and as such , especially soviet ww2 aircraft, as such i esspecially love this game

Right from the opening menu, IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad hits you with a sense of authenticity that’s hard to shake. The aircraft sounds snarling engines, the creak of stressed wings, the hum of cockpit dials are so lifelike it’s uncanny, and the interiors are a love letter to detail. This isn’t just a game; it’s a time machine, and the realism hooked me instantly.

The title itself, Battle of Stalingrad, isn’t just a catchy name it’s a promise of historical weight, and the developers at 1C Game Studios delivers. The single player campaign is the soul of this sim, plunging you into one of World War II’s defining clashes: the brutal 1942-43 air war over Stalingrad. It’s clear they poured serious research into this. You’re not just flying random planes you’re part of squadrons with real histories. Take the Luftwaffe’s Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG3), formed in 1939 and thrown into Stalingrad with their Bf 109s to dominate early skies, only to face the Soviet 434th IAP and their Yak-1s as the tide turned. Later, you’re piloting the IL-2s of the 8th Air Army’s Shturmovik regiments, hammering Axis lines during the counteroffensive. The game lets you dig into each squadron’s past when they were formed, their combat legacy, even their insignia proudly displayed on the fuselages. It’s a history nerd’s dream, and it makes every mission feel like a chapter in something bigger.

The realism extends to the gameplay too. This is no arcade flyer flight mechanics mirror the real capabilities and quirks of these warbirds. I used a joystick, and while the controls took time to master (stalls and spins were my early nemeses), they clicked eventually, delivering a rewarding challenge. The visuals are just as authentic: scarred Stalingrad terrain, swirling blizzards, and planes so detailed you can count the rivets on an IL-2’s armored hide. The soundscape cannon bursts, engine strain, flak pounding the sky wraps it all in visceral immersion.

The campaign’s pacing can drag at times, with some missions feeling like reruns, but the historical depth kept me invested. You’re not just fighting; you’re reliving Stalingrad’s turning point, from the Luftwaffe’s initial edge to the Soviet resurgence. Multiplayer’s a wild ride too dogfights with real pilots are heart pounding, though server quirks can disrupt the flow. The aircraft lineup, from the nimble Bf 109 to the rugged IL-2 (my personal favorite for its ground-pounding grit), ties perfectly into the setting, each plane a star in this historical epic.

Replayability hinges on your love for the era those squadron histories and dynamic battles beg for repeat flights. It ran smoothly on my system, with only minor stutters in the thickest scraps. For the price, it’s a steal if you crave authenticity over casual thrills. The developers’ research shines through every insignia, every unit rotation, every mission briefing feels pulled from the archives.

What I adored most was how it honors Stalingrad’s legacy the campaign’s depth, the squadron lore, the sheer weight of flying in history’s shadow. Drawbacks? The steep learning curve and sparse tutorials might ground newcomers. I’d give it a 9/10 a triumph for anyone who wants to soar through a meticulously crafted slice of World War II.

Just had an update and now I cannot select a map in the quick start system. So I cannot play the game anymore.

Every update forgets binds and now I need an account to just play offline. On top of it I signed up but still cant logon. Kinda pissed. Actually gameplay is great for old plane combat

Game is dead! Do not support Russian companies!

It's the best WW2 simulator out there. Just pick the right DLC for you. Don't go crazy.

ถ้าจะเล่นเกมนี้ พวกมึงต้องทำใจกับการที่ มองศัตรูไม่ออก หาไม่เจอ พยายามยิงฝั่งเดียวกันเอง มึงมองไม่ออกหรอกครับ เครื่องบินแม่ง ระยะจะเอาดากกันอยู่ละ เห็นอยู่ pixel เดียวไอ่หำ แต่มันสนุกตรงนี้ล่ะ ชอบความ simulation เครื่องมีให้เล่นพออยู่ บางแผนที่อาจได้เล่นแค่ bomber ที่มีให้

สรุปสั้น
- simulation ในห้องเครื่องทำมาดี
- Graphic Engine บัคเยอะ (มองไม่เห็นเครื่องบินหน้าเมฆ)
- ส่วนใหญ่จำเป็นต้องใช้อุปกรณ์ ในการเล่น ( Joystick/Controller )
- คนไม่มี DLC ต้องทำใจหน่อย เพราะเครื่องมีให้เล่นในแต่ละแผนที่ ไม่เยอะมาก

I have been playing the il2 series since the excellent 1946 (which I highly recommend).
Cliffs of Dover was a much anticipated but disappointing sequel. However the battle of stalingrad series is an excellent return to form. I really can't praise the game enough.
I have played in vr too and it really adds to the immersion, though you need a fully configured hotas to play like that regularly.
I've bought most of the add on games. I wish the series was less Russian focused as that air war doesn't interest me so much.
If you enjoy ww2 air war games, this is it. Dcs may dominate modern jet and helo gameplay but it is a poor ww2 platform. Also I think il2 does a much better job of making war flightsim fun, whereas dcs can feel sterile. Perhaps il2 flight models are not quite as sophisticated as dcs, or perhaps dcs has gone too far with modelling every cockpit button. Overall I find il2 to have the better balance of gameplay vs dcs sterile system modelling. Plus for ww2 milsim il2 bos is far far better than dcs (not to mention much cheaper as I don't need to buy several dlcs just to play a ww2 scenario).
The developer has done an excellent job and the continued excellent dlc content is a great sign of continued effort by the developer.
Chef kiss😘

Serious WW2 flight combat simulation (click almost every switch / button /etc). It is not an easy flight sim (although you can make things easier), and it will require some effort to learn how to fly the plane in a manner that lets you shoot anything. There is increadible depth here, if you want to manage your plane's engine mixture, prop pitch, engine cowels, in addition to flying, shooting, etc... then this game will let you do it. Expect to have to watch some youtube videos for flying your plane - and how to best dogfight in that specific plane. The old arcade style - pull all the way back on the stick and turn - will put you into an unrecoverable spin... and even if you don't spin out, most planes this won't do you well in the fight. Learn real life manuvers and use those...

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In an odd way, one of the hardest thing is knowing what to buy/download.

First - There are Battles, which include a map for each, several planes for each, and a sandbox type 'campaign' in each (randomized battles in the timeline/battle where you create a pilot, join a squadron, and fly missions until they die...seeing how many days you can make it and how far through the battle you can go).

Second - there are one off collector planes you can buy that give you (typically) one or more specialty plane for you to add

Third - you can buy campaigns for planes, more of a traditional campaign for a plane, where you get a dozen missions in a row with a story.


These all leave over 50 expansion modules and steam doesn't do a good job of allowing you to filter what you are looking for...and the IL2 website isn't much better. Ironically when you are in game seems like the best place to get an idea of what you want - then go to steam and find that specific module.

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This game is fantastic in VR (although the setup is slightly challenging to get right). And realistically the best way to play this game IMO. Get a good HOTAS and a VR headset and then go fly. Not required, but this will add so much to the experience.

haha funi plen go brrrrrrrr

In all seriousness, this game is pretty amazing. It really makes you feel like a fighter pilot, and brings you closer to the aircraft than many other games. It feels amazing to fly your favorite warplanes (for me its the Spitfire MkIX and the Fw 190 A-6.) All the aircraft are wonderfully modeled and sound like the real planes like the Mustang, which I have seen fly before. This game is 100 times better then the hellhole known as War Thunder.

Two planes crashed into each other during a dogfight right next to my cockpit, scattering debris everywhere. Most immersive game experience I've ever had/10

At first this game was awesome. But in a few months time I am seeing that it taes about an hour or so of messing around with settings, controls, inputs, and track IR to get anything to work> its not a game, its a project every single time to get it running. I am honestly so tired of dealing with so many issues when I have bought either standard or top of the line equipment to run on this thing and I am plagued with problems all around.

If it had better joystick support that didn't involve an hour of setup to get your joystick working, and better VR controls, it might have a better business model than milking the same 300 people with hugely overpriced DLC.

I always say that if i could travel back in time, I would go back to the year 1938 and enlist in the Army Air Corp, but since time travel isn't possible yet I guess i can live my fighter pilot fantasies in for IL-2 Sturmovik in VR.

On a real note, I spend ~$600 for a flight stick/throttle/MetaQuest VR on a whim, and worth every penny. As an aspiring pilot, this is exactly what I need.

It is a giant learning curve, but it is worth every bit of it in the end.

Phenomenal in VR (Meta Quest 3 with OpenXR). You can almost forget you're not in a real airplane. In fact, the other night, after turning off the engine, I tried to climb out of the cockpit. :)

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.