DCS World

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 84 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 84
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 84
  3. Negative: 9 out of 84

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  1. Hollow_Fang
    Oct 26, 2013
    8
    As it is as a platform or Os for the system It is not a game
    that being said the modules are a bit steep in price but seeing as they are each in them selfs a full game i see why .The multiplay aspect is nice "ONLY IF" the server allows all aspects of the game from Helo's Both Transport and combat to plane to A.W.A.K.S to Ground forces control
    with all these things in place it is still    As it is as a platform or Os for the system It is not a game
    that being said the modules are a bit steep in price but seeing as they are each in them selfs a full game i see why .The multiplay aspect is nice "ONLY IF" the server allows all aspects of the game from Helo's Both Transport and combat to plane to A.W.A.K.S to Ground forces control

    with all these things in place it is still in a major lacking as the pricing of modules is much to high to justify buying all or multiple to the multiplayer aspect is a Broken lobby system that does not allow for searching adding favorites or filtering out the Modules that you do not have or even sorting by ping or players .As a game based around ideally multiplayer it does not work too effectively the load times even on a beast is quite bad game play is good with exeption of the Combined arms Ai is utterly Horrid The AI never really seems to bother me in games to much but when the tanks run into building when left alone and are just sitting targets that fire back or get destroyed by trying to cross a bridge I'ts time to focus on the ai being 100% rewritten Team work as i see it is non existent as there is no missions given out after game starts no destroy this target protect this area of ground nothing its mostly just a free flight with other people flying and seaching and destroying the building of a mission is not easy by any means Think Arma or flashpoint mission maker With less fineness and decent coding .

    all in all the game is a time killer and quite realistic on some aspects and Screamingly bad on others
    much work in the Ai controlls realism of The Huey -Combined arms and over all load times needs to be fixed     … Expand
  2. Puckit
    Nov 27, 2013
    10
    DCS World is by far the most realistic and fun combat flight simulator ever. If you really enjoy military aviation and are patient, there is no better game. Every time I fly a mission it feels like I'm stepping into the of the real thing.
  3. Seanerator
    Sep 20, 2014
    10
    An extremely high fidelity simulation of aircraft ranging from a variety of eras, from the P-51 Mustang to today's A-10C and KA-50. This simulation is not for the impatient, and learning each aircraft will take a differing amount of time depending on the aircraft. The P-51 for instance, being a simple aircraft, can take a day to learn. The A-10C, however, with it's vast range of computers,An extremely high fidelity simulation of aircraft ranging from a variety of eras, from the P-51 Mustang to today's A-10C and KA-50. This simulation is not for the impatient, and learning each aircraft will take a differing amount of time depending on the aircraft. The P-51 for instance, being a simple aircraft, can take a day to learn. The A-10C, however, with it's vast range of computers, weapon systems and avionics, after 2 years of flying it I am still learning new features.

    The only downside is cost, at $50 per aircraft, but the cost is well accounted for in the depth and attention to detail the developers have put into this simulation.    … Expand
  4. Lazarus_Long
    Apr 18, 2017
    5
    First, let me say I am not a Pilot, I got the game because of the D-Day Sim that is coming out later in May I think.

    I will update this review as I gain more experience, or if I find it not my cup of tea well I most likely won’t. Just know you’re not buying a game, but a simulator, and there is a big difference in the two. Go for DCS World 1.5 or even the DCS World Beta. Each takes    First, let me say I am not a Pilot, I got the game because of the D-Day Sim that is coming out later in May I think.

    I will update this review as I gain more experience, or if I find it not my cup of tea well I most likely won’t. Just know you’re not buying a game, but a simulator, and there is a big difference in the two.

    Go for DCS World 1.5 or even the DCS World Beta. Each takes hours to download, but are at least somewhat playable and do not require a terrain module. And is free with no other costs to play. This would be the best way to find out if you want to buy into the other planes that are offered.

    Now to download the game be prepared for a lengthy download wait, I have a 10Mbsp Internet connection, and with that, it takes 3-4 hours to download.

    I would suggest not downloading the DCS_World_2_OpenAlpha.exe, -- Another 3-4 hour download -- as DCS World 2 requires terrain module, which costs during the Promo I got it on was $29.95, and I couldn’t get the planes to do anything but crash. -- Note the terrain module also takes some 3-4 hours to download as well. -- Total download time of 6-8 hours. – It is fairly cool to look at as your plane flies over, but this is in real time and you can get bored after a while. i.e. if you have 50 miles to get to your objective and your plane travels at say 200miles per hour, expect to wait 15 minutes to get there, in real time. Don’t forget the 15 minutes it takes to travel back and land.

    Now for the interesting part, this not really a game, it is a very detailed Simulator and is not very forgiving. There is no plot or story, you’re flying a plane, and it is in real time. An hour is an hour, not some sort of speed up of time. Your missions or flying time will take a while, I say an hour at minimum, and so far, I have not found a way to save a spot and stop for a bathroom break. There well may be some way to do so, I hope I find it soon.

    I would watch some of the YouTube videos as they can be fun to watch. And these guys have a few hours of flying time under their belt, and I still saw them making some funny mistakes. The dogfights are very informative and might throw some light on what real fighter Pilots had to face.

    I spent around $90 and I’m sort of disappointed. There is no warning that the downloads will take hours. And you must be careful just where you download to.

    It is also possible to corrupt a file by placing an older module in the wrong place, say DCS-World 2 alpha. Older mods will not play in the DCS World Alpha or so I believe. I downloaded the DCS: Black Shark (English) Deprecated version (Have no idea just what that means.), but after doing so I was no longer able to start the Sim in any form.

    I ended up deleting the files and had to redownload them again taking nearly 4 hours, for each.

    Now if you want to learn to fly any of the planes here, and you are a novice as I am, be prepared for a long and steep learning curve, and don’t expect much help.

    Again I will update this review as I gain more experience, or if I find it not my cup of tea, well I most likely won’t. Just know you’re not buying a game, but a simulator, and there is a big difference in the two.    … Expand
  5. deb0
    Jun 28, 2014
    10
    The most realistic flight sim since Falcon 4.0. If you want a flight sim that strikes and excellent balance between fun and realism, this is the one to get. I am hooked on this sim. it's not for the faint of heart and the lazy. You have to be willing to learn the individual aircraft, along with standard flight procedures. But it rewards you with incredibly realistic and fun gameplay.The most realistic flight sim since Falcon 4.0. If you want a flight sim that strikes and excellent balance between fun and realism, this is the one to get. I am hooked on this sim. it's not for the faint of heart and the lazy. You have to be willing to learn the individual aircraft, along with standard flight procedures. But it rewards you with incredibly realistic and fun gameplay. You start with the Free DCS world package that you can download. It comes with a few planes. Then, if you like it, you purchase additional modules that have 1-3 planes. Each plane feels and performs differently. Don't expect DX11 graphics, but the graphics are the best of any flight sim, and are excellent where needed.… Expand
  6. gupta90
    Jan 5, 2014
    9
    DCS World acts as a HUB software and incorporates various aircraft (termed modules). When you obtain this game what you get is a large map (Parts of Russia and Georgia) and a free aircraft (Su 25T). Other modules (ie Aircraft) must be purchased). As of this review the following aircraft are available:

    - Su 25T (Su 25 variant with Shkval targeting, comes free with DCS world) - Su 25 -    DCS World acts as a HUB software and incorporates various aircraft (termed modules). When you obtain this game what you get is a large map (Parts of Russia and Georgia) and a free aircraft (Su 25T). Other modules (ie Aircraft) must be purchased). As of this review the following aircraft are available:

    - Su 25T (Su 25 variant with Shkval targeting, comes free with DCS world)
    - Su 25
    - A10-A Warthog
    - P51 Mustang ***
    - Mi8 ***
    - A10-C Warthog (C variant of the A-10)
    - Ka-50 (Named Black Shark 2 in DCS World)
    -UH 1H Huey ***

    The aircraft that have been developed as for DCS World are denoted with three stars and are separate to aircraft that have been ported over to DCS World from the game "Lock on: Flaming Cliffs 3" (FC3). This is not a trivial distinction. From my basic understanding and experience the two differ in the following ways (for convenience DCSW refers to a module made purely for DCS world):

    - FC3 aircraft do NOT have clickable DCSW aircraft have fully detailed and modeled every switch, button dial etc is clickable and does what its supposed to do

    -FC3 aircraft have simpler procedures. As an example you can take off a Su-25T from a cold start in several minutes. In DCSW aircraft it takes significantly longer due to the longer (and I assume more correct) procedure.

    -The DCSW aircraft have good training missions that are consistently of the same quality. They often start with a series of familiarization videos (in real time) followed by flight lessons where you are told and shown what to do. Conversely the FC3 aircraft seem to just have low resolution training videos that briefly tell you how to operate the aircraft (with the exception of the Su-25T)

    Eagle Dynamics and their associated partners have done a fantastic job of not only keeping flight sims alive, but taking them to the next level with DCS World.

    The free Su 25T module is great. As mentioned previously its not a DCSW module but that is good as it is an easier (though not easy) jet to pilot and blow things up with. Unlike the other FC3 ported aircraft the Su 25T has both the low res videos AND DCSW calibre training missions. The lessons take a bit of patience as you cant skip the dialogue and a basic knowledge of flight sims is handy. Often the narrator will refer to armament and other aspects of flight with acronyms and jargon so it sometimes takes a bit of time or a couple of tries to understand everything.

    There are a few small problems:

    - There needs to be a "restart mission" button if you crash/fail. Quitting to the debriefing menu and clicking "fly again" feels prehistoric and the load times are long.

    - The entire piece of software has a cold, sterile feel to it and lacks a bit of personality. However this was not a big deal for me.

    - They need to be a bit more up front about the difference between FC3 aircraft and DCSW aircraft. To be fair FC3 aircraft are lower priced but the differences aren't made clear.

    - Why is Black Shark 1 not incorporated into DCS World?

    If you like combat flight simulation this is it. Some may complain about the pricey nature of the modules but it is 100% worth it to me given the attention to detail and production quality of the different aircraft. I got lucky and bought most of these in a Steam sale (-66% off but I did pay full price for Black Shark 1 and would certainly pay for more upcoming modules (provided the quality remains the same of course).

    Playing this "game" was very much like a learning experience. I played each lesson several times and improved my skills through practice. Oh and also there is a game manual for each aircraft. Read it.    … Expand
  7. Ricoo
    Oct 19, 2014
    10
    Very good simulation, very realistic flight models. Very nice bunch of aircraft, planes and helicopters, new ones coming soon. Same for maps, some nice ones will soon be released. The devs are working hard to always improve their soft. Kudos to those guys. There is no better realistic military flight simulation out there.
  8. Lt_Maverick
    Oct 27, 2015
    10
    This "game is not meant for people who think a flight simulator is Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. This is a flight simulator in the traditional sense of the genre. The simulation comes with 2 modules for free: the survey level SU-25t and the study level TF-51. Flaming Cliffs 1-3 all featured an Su-25a which is easier to fly and more maneuverable. While this model is slower, less agile andThis "game is not meant for people who think a flight simulator is Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. This is a flight simulator in the traditional sense of the genre. The simulation comes with 2 modules for free: the survey level SU-25t and the study level TF-51. Flaming Cliffs 1-3 all featured an Su-25a which is easier to fly and more maneuverable. While this model is slower, less agile and sometimes feels like it's dropping out of the sky, it also has much better weapons systems. I haven't tried to enable interactive cockpits in the menu but this module is best meant to be used with a keyboard interface for systems while flying with a HOTAS or intuitively using modifiers in the menu so that each button on your HOTAS can fill multiple roles. Although this plane is a medium fidelity (survey level) simulation, the physics are top notch and it does a fine job of introducing you to the world.

    The second free module is the TF-51 which is the civilian version of the P-51. The plane does not have any weapons, nor does it have a HUD but it still gives you the opportunity to fly a high fidelity version (study level) of one of the greatest airplanes ever built. The TF and P-51s are both difficult to taxi to the runway and both can be difficult to take off. Once you learn to start the planes from a cold start you have to figure out how to maneuver them around the flightline. Then you have to take off which is difficult at first even if you have flight experience. Once you get beyond this cauldron of a learning curve can become one of the most rewarding experiences you'll get to partake in. You can equip the TF with smoke on the wintips to perform aerial demonstrations and learn how to do the Immelman or the Split S.

    If you expect to be Lt. Tom Kazansky then you are going to waste your time. If you come into this understanding that you will more than likely stink for the first 5 hours (minimum) of playing then you may enjoy yourself. Understand this: You are going to die a few times while taking off the runway, let alone crossing enemy lines. If you are patient, RTFM (read the farking manual), watch tutorials on youtube, bind your joystick properly, and approach this simulation with the right attitude, this is going to be a blast for you. The simulation offers several paid modules that are all worth the price of admission. There are often 75% off sales on the DCS website or on Steam. There's a Ka-50 Black Shark, a DCS A-10C, A F-86 Sabertooth and several other modules that have been created by contractors. You can also get the Flaming Cliffs 3 Module which includes a multitude of medium fidelity/survey level planes. No matter which module you decide to pay for, they're all worth full price considering the time gone into creating them.    … Expand
  9. CaptMescaline
    Oct 11, 2015
    10
    Amazing. No other company is doing a simulation based game for air, land and sea vehicles like this one is. Mainly flight sim focused at the moment but is planning on branching out into different things over time. This game sets a high standard and promises to get better as time goes on. Accurate physics based flight models rendered in real time give you an accurate representation of howAmazing. No other company is doing a simulation based game for air, land and sea vehicles like this one is. Mainly flight sim focused at the moment but is planning on branching out into different things over time. This game sets a high standard and promises to get better as time goes on. Accurate physics based flight models rendered in real time give you an accurate representation of how each plane flies with it's own character. Lots of different roles can be played from attack aircraft to air superiority fighters to ground commanders commanding boots on the ground. Multirole is being pushed out as we speak so more than one person can jump into the same aircraft. If you want to see whats coming check out the roadmap in the DCS forums. Can't wait for the FA18, doing carrier missions in VR.… Expand
  10. Kbz
    Dec 27, 2015
    10
    The greatest sim ever. Have to rate it 10/10 despite all of the bugs that are present. The flight experience is unmesureable. If you like modern combat aircrafts and hardcore sims, this is your choice.
  11. Zero25
    Jul 27, 2021
    9
    Прекрасная игра.
    Высокий порог вхождения. Во первых он связан довольно обширной и достаточно дорогой периферией. По нижней планке желательно иметь HOTAS джой - обычно это кабан (около 30К), трекер (около 12К) и педали (для вертолетов обязательно, около 9К). Так же мощной должна быть машина - лучше 32+ оперативки, 8+ Гб видеопамять и SSD.
    Во-вторых, если играть в аркаду, нет смысла    Прекрасная игра.
    Высокий порог вхождения. Во первых он связан довольно обширной и достаточно дорогой периферией. По нижней планке желательно иметь HOTAS джой - обычно это кабан (около 30К), трекер (около 12К) и педали (для вертолетов обязательно, около 9К). Так же мощной должна быть машина - лучше 32+ оперативки, 8+ Гб видеопамять и SSD.
    Во-вторых, если играть в аркаду, нет смысла заморачиваться с этой игрой. А если играть в режиме симуляции готовьтесь много читать. Самый маленький мануал на Су-25Т (не кликабельный) - 75 страниц, самый большой мануал на А-10С более 700. Это помимо документов по процедурам, например палубным. Хотите просто летайте, хоть один, хоть в коопе. Хотите воюйте. Рекомендую покупать карты Залива и Сирии, на них основная движуха. Самый лучший, с точки зрения готовности и общей причесанности модуль это А-10С, если думаете что лучше взять берите его, потом сориентируетесь по предпочтениям. Если берете палубник обязательно докупайте модуль Supercarrier. Если собираетесь полетать в онлайне желательно иметь Combat Arms чтобы получить доступ к передовому наводчику, не обязательно. но желательно.
    Да, модули стоят не дешево, но нет ни какого смысла скупать их все. У меня куплены F/A-18, мираж и A-10C. За полгода я нормально освоил только 18, на остальные просто нет времени, потому что объем изучаемой информации достаточно большой. Одного кликабельного самолета/вертолета, который вам нравится хватит очень на долго.
    Отдельно следует упомянуть новые облака в игре. Хотя они еще не работают как экран для теплового канала. но визуально - это просто божественно. Новые облака сделали этот симулятор самым красивым на 2021 год.    … Expand
  12. Hardcard
    Sep 16, 2014
    9
    I'll review this combat flight sim and also reply to NutCracker's review (below), this guy was pretty clueless.

    INTRODUCTION: First of all, DCS World is a WIP modular combat simulator being developed by Eagle Dynamics, it's not an arcade aircraft game like HAWX or Ace Combat, it's a simulator. Players shouldn't expect a plot with characters, voice acting, etc., they should expect a    I'll review this combat flight sim and also reply to NutCracker's review (below), this guy was pretty clueless.

    INTRODUCTION:

    First of all, DCS World is a WIP modular combat simulator being developed by Eagle Dynamics, it's not an arcade aircraft game like HAWX or Ace Combat, it's a simulator. Players shouldn't expect a plot with characters, voice acting, etc., they should expect a serious simulation platform with a campaign, single missions and a powerful mission editor which allows for the creation of endless custom missions and campaigns. Also, DCS has the best graphics in the current simulator niche, even though some non flyable aircraft models and terrain features are still pretty dated.
    These are remnants of the old "Lock On: Modern Air Combat" from 2003 (DCS evolved from that game). Anyway, in a few months DCS will get a brand new and modern graphics engine called EDGE, which will take care of this.
    DCS consists in a huge operational map which covers the Eastern part of Crimea and Black Sea, Kuban, Caucasus, Georgia, Chechnya and the Northern part of Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
    All Eagle Dynamics did was to populate that map (from the old LOMAC) with better looking terrain and airfields, they also introduced new effects, features, advanced flight models, high poly 3D models for aircrafts, vehicles, etc.
    DCS World is the best modern combat flight simulator to date and will be even better.

    To NutCracker:
    1-Controls are arranged in categories.
    2-It's "brakes", not "breaks".
    3-The Su-25T is equipped with parachutes which help stopping the plane.
    4-DCS is a realistic open world sim, thus, it's immersive by nature. If you are thinking about HAWX and Ace Combat as examples of immersion, you don't know what immersion means.
    5-ED periodically launches discounts of up to 70% for all modules (like they did las week).
    6-The two planes are the Su-25T and the TF-51D.

    POSITIVE FEATURES:
    -Modular design. (DCS World is the core module and it's free.)
    -Fully flyable Su-25T and non-armed TF-51D Mustang (that's a P-51) for free.
    -Tons of non-flyable planes, ground units, ships, etc.
    -Huge operational map.
    -Campaign, missions and great interactive training for the Su-25T (NutCracker didn't see this)
    -Amazingly powerful and complete mission/campaign editor.
    -Advanced flight model.
    -Realistic navigation, weapon systems and sensors.
    -Realistic armament and payloads.
    -Very high poly models for most planes and vehicles (including the Su-25T and the P-51. There are still some low poly models in the game, but they'll be updated, eventually)
    -Highly customizable controls (the control list is huge, you'll need to spend several minutes just to configure controls)
    -Joystick/HOTAS support (joystick is almost compulsory, you can still fly with keyboard, but I don't recommend it)
    -6DOF 3D hd cockpits
    -TrackIR/FreeTrack/Oculus Rift support

    NEGATIVE FEATURES:

    -Dated game engine (2003), which is based in DirectX9 and only uses 2 cores at most (1 for sound and 1 for everything else). This is the worst aspect of the game since it causes fps drops in crowded areas (near airfields and cities/villages and when flying in squadrons of several planes), near explosions and, to a lesser extent, when inside 3D cockpits while taxiing, parking, landing and taking off. Other than that, the game will run just fine in any decent rig.
    Fortunately, DCS World's graphics engine will be upgraded in a few months, the new graphics engine is called EDGE and features DirectX11 and multicore support among other things, this means that DCS World is about to become the most beautiful, complete and modern combat flight simulator ever.
    However, this will rise minimum specs, so you'll definitely need a multicore cpu and a decent gpu in order to run it from that point on.

    -Limited number of flyable planes and helicopters (even though the list of flyable aircrafts is growing every 6 months or so, DCS is still limited to around 16 flyable aircrafts at the moment. Of course, you must purchase the required modules in order to fly most of those). Eagle Dynamics is clearly adopting a modular development plan, in which they add new highly detailed/highly simulated planes and helicopters to DCS World in the form of separate purchasable modules.

    PURCHASABLE MODULE FEATURES:

    -Multiplayer filled with custom mission and free flight servers (just create your own mission in the editor and host a game online, you can totally do that).
    -Up to around 16 high poly flyable planes/helicopters (F-15C,MiG-29A/G/S,Su-27,Su-33,F-86F,
    A-10A/C,Su-25/T,P-51D,FW-190D9,Ka-50,UH-1H,Mi-8MTV2)
    -Hardcore simulation of most purchasable planes/helicopters (you control every single button in the cockpit)
    -Control of ground units such as tanks and sams if you purchase the Combined Arms module.

    DCS is the best modern combat flight sim in all aspects, and it will only improve as it gets developed.    … Expand
  13. HarrySound
    Aug 19, 2013
    9
    NutCracker clearly doesn't understand. DCS World comes with a single aircraft (SU-25T) which is a 30 year old Russian aircraft great for bombing runs and air support. I don't know too much about planes but the wheel brake not working is by design. It's quite light because your actually meant to land, apply wheel brakes and then deploy parachutes (press P) to slow the aircraft down.
    The    NutCracker clearly doesn't understand. DCS World comes with a single aircraft (SU-25T) which is a 30 year old Russian aircraft great for bombing runs and air support. I don't know too much about planes but the wheel brake not working is by design. It's quite light because your actually meant to land, apply wheel brakes and then deploy parachutes (press P) to slow the aircraft down.
    The reason the other Modules/DLC/Aircraft are the price they are is because of the detail they have gone into. The included aircraft (SU-25T) does not have an interactive/clickable but the A10c module and Black Shark KA-50, Mustang PD-51 do..... in the A10c for example, every single button is clickable in the click what you see and find out what happens. It's built off the same software they use to train A10C pilots, it's very accurate and VERY VERY indept, there's a whole computer inside that damn plane..
    This is not battlefield. If you work at it enough, and practised enough in this game it is completely possible you would be able to replicate everything in real life, such is the detail.
    It took around 2 years to develop just the A10c Module/DLC/Aircraft. The manual reads like a text book.
    Try some mid -air refuelling and then give this game 2/10 because you had no fun.    … Expand
  14. Hmshood1809
    Jan 29, 2014
    9
    This is NOT Call of Duty. This is NOT a pick it up and play game. I wouldn't even call this a GAME. This is the closest you will get to flying An A-10C, P-51D, KA-50, or any other included aircraft in your LIFE. IF you consider yourself a GAMER you will NOT like it. This SIMULATOR gets positive reviews because it is the best option for the people who want to play this genre. It is a selectThis is NOT Call of Duty. This is NOT a pick it up and play game. I wouldn't even call this a GAME. This is the closest you will get to flying An A-10C, P-51D, KA-50, or any other included aircraft in your LIFE. IF you consider yourself a GAMER you will NOT like it. This SIMULATOR gets positive reviews because it is the best option for the people who want to play this genre. It is a select few. I have been doing flight sims since X-plane 6, when I sat on my dads lap and we crashed on PURPOSE because I didn't know better. That is a long time in the genre. And I can honestly say that this is the best that I have ever touched. You need to know your stuff to enjoy the game. You need Incredible patience. I hardly have that. But everything in this SIM is just right for the people who it was aimed at. For all you people who think it is "too expensive", that is just an empty wallet on your behalf. These people need the money to expand the franchise. In fact, This game, when you can appreciate it, is worth all of that cash. Call of Duty at $59.99 is a complete rip off. A multi-choice movie with the cheeziest scenes ever. Meanwhile, DCS here provides infinite replayability, Never finding the same situation, and whats more you don't HAVE to buy everything. Many people, In fact most, me included, have an aircraft that they specialize in. I am an A-10 pilot. I know what every goddamn switch and lever in that cockpit does. What order to hit them in to do whatever, and why to do them in a given situation. I don't know how to do that in a KA-50, or mustang, or huey, or Mi-8, and probably never will. And for those who find that a steep learning curve, there is Flaming Cliffs 3, a shallower module that lets you play in the A variant of the A-10, the first Su-25, the Su-27 premier Russian all weather fighter, the F-15C, cost excluded the most effective fighter of all time, with none lost to enemy fire, and the MiG-29, Russia's star dogfighter of the '90s. This game is probably not for you. Because chances are, you are a "Gamer", who looks to expand his horizons into simulation. DO NOT START HERE. This is like taking a baby of breast milk and straight to jalepeno peppers cut up in a pickled curry and soaked in a red wine and brandy bath. Which, for you people laughing out there, is not a good idea. If the person I described is just you, you will rip out your hair in frustration, trying to learn the first few of hundreds of cockpit switches. Start shallow. In a low realism setting configuration of the new IL-2, for example. Or, because if you do get Flaming Cliffs 3, and you need this for that, Lock On: Modern Air Combat. But work your way up the ladder. This game would be shamed by someone who thinks themselves fantastic, but isn't. Nobody is born fantastic. But this SIM can make you just that. The reason I do not rate it perfect is because it is only perfect to those who can truly appreciate it. Become that person. You will not regret it. Thank you.… Expand
  15. morbidlynx
    Aug 9, 2013
    10
    An amazingly well done flight sim. Sure, if you're in reality a terrible pilot with bad habits it's going to be really hard to retrain yourself from the hand holding of other well known flight sims. Reality check #1, you can't expect to land at full speed. #2 Your 20, 000 pound Su-25 or A10 won't turn on a dime unless you know how to make the beast obey your wishes.#3 this is a veryAn amazingly well done flight sim. Sure, if you're in reality a terrible pilot with bad habits it's going to be really hard to retrain yourself from the hand holding of other well known flight sims. Reality check #1, you can't expect to land at full speed. #2 Your 20, 000 pound Su-25 or A10 won't turn on a dime unless you know how to make the beast obey your wishes.#3 this is a very unforgiving and realistic sim. You WILL be shot down a hundred times before you learn to actually evade enemy fire.

    Also, you really can't blame the developer for the user being too lazy to actually read the manual provided/available to each aircraft. I mean, if somebody's too lazy to read the mission briefing that describes the campaign progression why would you expect them to read the manual?

    In conclusion this game isn't for the lazy or weak willed. It's for those that want the satisfaction of seeing an a10 at the local airshow and knowing you could start that sucker up and off the runway and navigate anywhere you want to go. While using any and all real world equipment in that airframe.    … Expand
  16. xixi
    Sep 7, 2013
    10
    Simply the best combat flight simulator for modern era aircraft today. The DCS-Series aircraft simulate all systems at high fidelity like good planes for civil simulators like x-plane or MS Flight Simulator. Therefore you really need to spend some time to even learn how to start the engines. So if you want to have an experience as close to reality as you will get (including studying theSimply the best combat flight simulator for modern era aircraft today. The DCS-Series aircraft simulate all systems at high fidelity like good planes for civil simulators like x-plane or MS Flight Simulator. Therefore you really need to spend some time to even learn how to start the engines. So if you want to have an experience as close to reality as you will get (including studying the manual) in your home, then this is the simulator to go.
    You can compare the pricing with good planes for x-plane or MS Flight Simulator. You will find that a thoroughly simulated aircraft is about the same. (e.g. 60$ for the 777Wordliner for x-plane)    … Expand
  17. eekz
    Oct 15, 2014
    10
    DCS World is one of few flight simulation software that puts realistic simulation and fidelity to the first place.
    Modules for DCS World have professional level flight models and incredible fidelity of aircraft systems along with interactive cockpits. Powerful Mission Editior and mission engine that utilizes LUA scripts give you an opportunity to create any kind of scenario for your    DCS World is one of few flight simulation software that puts realistic simulation and fidelity to the first place.
    Modules for DCS World have professional level flight models and incredible fidelity of aircraft systems along with interactive cockpits. Powerful Mission Editior and mission engine that utilizes LUA scripts give you an opportunity to create any kind of scenario for your flight. This game is a 'must have' if you are fond of flight simulation games and aviation.    … Expand
  18. Pielstick
    Jun 16, 2019
    7
    Hands down the best flight and systems modelling you can get in a desktop flight simulator right now. DCS World simulates these aircraft in significantly more detail and to a higher degree of fidelity than anything that has gone before. You will need to spend many hours studying the manuals, watching Youtube tutorials and practicing yourself before you become proficient.

    So why the 7    Hands down the best flight and systems modelling you can get in a desktop flight simulator right now. DCS World simulates these aircraft in significantly more detail and to a higher degree of fidelity than anything that has gone before. You will need to spend many hours studying the manuals, watching Youtube tutorials and practicing yourself before you become proficient.

    So why the 7 score?

    No dynamic campaign. You're limited to missions created with the mission builder. Even if there was a dynamic campaign I think the maps are too small to do these aircraft justice. For a flight simulation which touts the hyper realism of the aircraft, it's strange that the maps are geographically so small as to make realistic missions impossible.

    The aircraft themselves (sold as "modules" which you can add into the base simulation) are excellent, but are a real hodge podge of mis-matching eras and don't complement each other particularly well. For example we have a fantastic F-86 Sabre and Mig-15 but there's no Korean map to play them in. We have a wonderful Saab Viggen but it doesn't belong on any of the available maps (Caucuses, Nevada, Persian Gulf and WW2 Normandy). We've recently got a Mig-19 but there's no other contemporary or supporting modules for it. We also recently got an I-16 but there's no map or other aircraft which are contemporary to it. This extends into the AI plane set too - it's full of combat aircraft of the 1990s, but nothing earlier or later. I really would like to see some more coordination between things so when a new module is released I can fly it against contemporary aircraft and weapons systems.

    Speaking of which, given the level of realism this sim strives to attain, don't count on flying anything which has been built in the last 20 years or so... they simply can't get access to the necessary information to model it properly.

    There's still a lot of niggling problems which have been around for a while - wonky air to air missile performance and the much complained about rendering issues where you will only "see" another aircraft when it is much closer than you would have been able to see it in real life.

    Also a rather long history of trigger happy moderators on the official forum. Then again, it's a flight sim.... overly zealous moderators go with the territory.

    Oh, and the more recent versions of DCS World really need to be run from an SSD otherwise you're likely to get stuttering and micro pauses every few seconds as the map data is loaded from the hard drive.

    I can't help but feel DCS World sits on the cusp of greatness, but for the time being at least, just falls short until the developer can address the problems I've outlined above.    … Expand
  19. gcoz
    Aug 15, 2016
    1
    Although the game is free with minimum activity, there are ongoing cost involved to upgrade aircraft and environments. I like the concept of the sim, and proceeded to spend approximately $100 to improve my flight experiences, by purchasing add-ons. However, upon trying to load any missions, including training, I kept getting a video card error message, which crashed my computer every time.Although the game is free with minimum activity, there are ongoing cost involved to upgrade aircraft and environments. I like the concept of the sim, and proceeded to spend approximately $100 to improve my flight experiences, by purchasing add-ons. However, upon trying to load any missions, including training, I kept getting a video card error message, which crashed my computer every time. After trying many suggested fixes, unsuccessfully, I have never flown a single mission, and therefore feel like I've wasted my time and money. Moreover, my computer is well equipped to handle the indicated system requirement to enjoy the game. Wishing you all the best if you are thinking of purchasing this game. My experience was not good...at all!… Expand
  20. Warhawk115
    Apr 23, 2020
    1
    This broken, unfinished, bug-infested, microtransaction laden "simulator" is only played because Eagle Dynamics has no competition. If a group of high-schoolers got together and made an attempt at something like this, it would be on par with DCS.
  21. At0m1c
    Mar 30, 2021
    0
    this game sucks. Its relly hard and there are no tutorais for the deafult plane
  22. NutCracker
    Aug 6, 2013
    2
    A free to play flight fighter sim. Has a lot going for it, but poor feature implementation and greedy payment model means the game is just not going to take off.

    Pros: Damage model looks great, where even the tires blow up if you land too hard. Feels more or less realistic. Not a real pilot so cant say. Cons: Training doesn't work, and only shows you a low quality clip    A free to play flight fighter sim. Has a lot going for it, but poor feature implementation and greedy payment model means the game is just not going to take off.

    Pros:

    Damage model looks great, where even the tires blow up if you land too hard.

    Feels more or less realistic. Not a real pilot so cant say.

    Cons:

    Training doesn't work, and only shows you a low quality clip

    Control configurations are all bunched together. So to find a weapons system you have to guess what it's called and then scroll through 100+ tags to find what you are looking for.

    Breaks don't stop the plane, so you have to land right at the beginning of the landing strip to have any chance of stopping.

    The missions have no immersion, no voice acting, no plot, no subplot. Basically feels like Flight Sim but without the scenarios where there was actual plot and story and voice acting.

    THE WORST THING IS THE PRICING! Don't be fooled by free to play, (and this is why people dislike free to play). You get one airplane and a few missions. But to fly anything else, you have to buy it with real money. However, any other plane in the game costs $40. !?!?!?!?!

    Where do they come up with these numbers? To make it worse there are only 2 other planes to fly. A P-51 and A-10. And you have a KA-52 helicopter you can buy for $40

    This game is not worth $120 At $30 maybe but not at list price.    … Expand
  23. vandidant
    Mar 25, 2015
    0
    Do not buy this. It does not work; the profile picture outline turns green and back to blue while nothing happens to the screen. It's 18GB of nothingness. The Russian developer of this, Eagle Dynamics, said the only way to make it work is to download the non-steam version. Yeah. Sell me a boat and tell me to swim when it leaks, why don't you?
  24. Alpiinoo
    Jul 5, 2021
    2
    If you buy F/A-18C Hornet and A-10C Warthog. You can enjoy. But not ejoyable for me. Because no dnymaic campaign (like BMS) and too many shortcomings there.

    Cheers.
  25. strangermoon
    Sep 27, 2019
    7
    great realtic and educative simulator. support gamepad but gampad buttons not enough to assign enough controls like engine righ left start lights opens etc. undterstanding ground bombs kinda hard and bugy in training. game more advance than mfs. ı dont know but only dont have air carrier in free version. you have one plane in free version but ı managed to add f16 and f15 su27 free modsgreat realtic and educative simulator. support gamepad but gampad buttons not enough to assign enough controls like engine righ left start lights opens etc. undterstanding ground bombs kinda hard and bugy in training. game more advance than mfs. ı dont know but only dont have air carrier in free version. you have one plane in free version but ı managed to add f16 and f15 su27 free mods which totaly looks fine and work free flight mode wit others ai only you have to manually select fire arms in detailed edit menu. hdr ,depthoffield and motion blur effects realy rocks in this game when they works you dont feel annoying textures like mfs and others. one of the best jet simulators between novalogic f22 in steam.… Expand
  26. martinistripes
    Sep 22, 2021
    10
    DCS World focuses mainly on simulation accuracy rather than on big Hollywood effects and offers so much for free. When and if you can complete all the training and campaigns for the Su-25T, the sandbox nature of DCS's mission editor and it's wide variety of multiplayer servers mean you will never run out of things to do. The simulation is also in constant development. So using the freeDCS World focuses mainly on simulation accuracy rather than on big Hollywood effects and offers so much for free. When and if you can complete all the training and campaigns for the Su-25T, the sandbox nature of DCS's mission editor and it's wide variety of multiplayer servers mean you will never run out of things to do. The simulation is also in constant development. So using the free content 5 years ago would be quite different from using the same content today, because of the vast number of engine, graphic and sound improvements. If you crave more, there's then a great selection of paid DLC (modules) developed in-house and by approved 3rd party developers. Put simply, nothing else comes close.… Expand
  27. kazannova
    Jan 14, 2016
    9
    this game is what i was looking for long time. if you want to fly a plane, you have to spend time in YouTube watching how to cold start up and learn every button. im sure you will feel that you are able to fly the real fighter after you master your fighter in the game. but the game lacks training . the game is complicated enough why not making a better training options ?
  28. heizendrat
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    DCS World est la simulation que j'attendais depuis des décennies, grand fan du genre depuis Fighter pilot, ACE, ATf, the Dambuster ou encore Accrojet, j'ai toujours rêvé de pouvoir ressentir cette liberté, ces sensations de vol devant un écran, ce jeu m'apporte tout ce dont je rêvais étant gamin devant mon Amstrad en m'imaginant piloter ce genre d'appareil.

    Très difficile à prendre en    DCS World est la simulation que j'attendais depuis des décennies, grand fan du genre depuis Fighter pilot, ACE, ATf, the Dambuster ou encore Accrojet, j'ai toujours rêvé de pouvoir ressentir cette liberté, ces sensations de vol devant un écran, ce jeu m'apporte tout ce dont je rêvais étant gamin devant mon Amstrad en m'imaginant piloter ce genre d'appareil.

    Très difficile à prendre en main car il y a énormément de touche et de combinaison à apprendre, même si je galère encore au niveau de la navigation, de certain point de mission ( tout est en Anglais ) cela reste hyper plaisant à jouer, on pourrait passer des heures en vol sans jamais se lasser.

    Les dogfight sont vraiment excellent, tout est fait pour coller au mieux à la réalité, le voile noir, le voile rouge, les prise d'air, tout y est...

    Un jeu excellent pour lequel j'aurais bien mis 9 car trop cher, vraiment trop cher et un suivi de la langue FR très limité, mais au vu de certaine note, je suis obligé de mettre 10 afin de relever une note qui est trop basse pour un tel monument.    … Expand
  29. ShodanSpectre
    Jun 2, 2019
    10
    This is the 2-nd game out of many dozens which I'm giving a 10/10 score. Here's why:

    I've played many sims before, and have a bit of experience flying single-engine General Aviation as well. Although I've only tried the Su-25T missions and campaign and what can I say - this is certainly a very realistic aircraft simulator. We're talking FAA-certified simulator realistic - but runnable    This is the 2-nd game out of many dozens which I'm giving a 10/10 score. Here's why:

    I've played many sims before, and have a bit of experience flying single-engine General Aviation as well. Although I've only tried the Su-25T missions and campaign and what can I say - this is certainly a very realistic aircraft simulator. We're talking FAA-certified simulator realistic - but runnable on PC hardware.

    With gorgeous, and highly detailed graphics, too! The terrain detail is amazing - no wonder it takes up over 60Gb!

    Now, about the controls - I have a 10-button 4-axis HOTAS system and I still feel like this is not enough to play this sim on full realism.
    I think I need a VR headset for viewing, because using the mouse to look around is not very useable. Although, without the VR headset - I can't think of any better way either.

    Besides that, I don't think there's anything at all wrong with this game. I haven't encountered a single bug or glitch. It's a thorougly polished product, with an extreme level of realism (at least as far as the Su-25T and the few missions I've done goes).

    This game is extremely difficult on full realism mode, difficulty is reduced by means of optionally enabling a plethora of "cheats" - such as:
    - simplified flight model (at full realism, you gotta trim your airplane for various speed, as well as for non-symmetrical bomb/missile useage, and that's before we're talking about any kind of damage mitigation)
    - unlimited fuel
    - invulnurability
    - maybe something else

    After a couple days in the tutorial missions, and several days of trying to play the combat missions - I couldn't get myself to pass any mission besides the one with flying over mountains, and bombing out a command center (2 bunkers with antennas near an airfield), and returning to base. And even at that - it took me like 6 tries! I'd usually either fail to hit the targets with bombs, or got shot down by enemy AAA or SAM, until I've learned how to properly take out two of the SAM, wait for frindly NPCs to take out the remaining ones, then drop the bombs (used up all 4, 50% hit rate on 2 bunkers)... And returned to base with like 10% fuel remaining!

    The only nitpick I can recall is sound-related: in some missions, radio calls are as if they were recorded by Barney in a classroom. Also, a couple times during a few dozen flights the mouse would sometimes get stuck in a cursor mode, and wouldn't work for camera control anymore. That might've been me doing something wrong, though.

    All said and done, I'm giving this a 10 because this game is exactly what it's claiming to be - an ultra-realistic air combat sim.

    But beware - it will take you _weeks_ to get to a point where you can do any combat mission at a somewhat satisfactory level.

    Playing this game is about as hard as flying a real warplane, in a hostile airspace, AND with the added complexity of:
    1) using a mouse instead of just naturally turning your head in real life.
    2) using memorized keyboard commands instead of more intuitive real cockpit controls.
    Good luck!    … Expand
  30. loubard
    Jan 12, 2016
    10
    I tried out the DCS World SU25T, now I'm flying an A-10C and I love this Sim. Once you know how to fly a plane, you instanly want to learn more about it and there is really a lot you will have to learn. It's just the best sim I've ever played. Find yourself a community and watch the tutorials on youtube. that helps a lot.
  31. sermen1987
    Mar 2, 2023
    10
    On short: the best combat flight simulator ever created. Unique realistic approach, many modules. Being actively developed.
  32. SteelTalons
    Jan 26, 2016
    10
    Awesome simulator in all aspects, no bad points, no weakness, no sim fails.

    this simulator deserve 20 of 10 points, people who voted down really don't know what is doing here.
  33. LetMePickThat
    Aug 7, 2018
    8
    The best combat simulator out there, without any hesitation.
    While most modules are expensive, they are worth the price and will keep you entertained for hours. The game could feature a more intuitive mission editor, as well as tutorials for every modules, but apart from that DCS is a very fine software.
  34. Gontt1
    Dec 17, 2021
    10
    Probably the best simulator experience although an expensive one
    definetly recommend in vr
  35. Boumouse
    Jun 6, 2023
    7
    Free but complicated to play it only with the controller and I also have a latency problem and the worst part is that the game was released in 2008 and I manage to run much more recent games, So conclusion the game is not very well optimized ...

    404 not found when posting my review = https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/raft

    https://www.twitch.tv/bou_mouse
  36. Almartan
    Jul 19, 2023
    10
    Best fight simulator out there. Moreover it's free but you'll need to make an investment to enjoy the game. Most People say this game is so hard because no tutorials a that stuff. If you really wanna master, you should watch some info before playing (YouTube guides). Update: game looks amazing and you should give it a try in VR.

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  1. Everyeye.it
    Apr 15, 2014
    90
    Dcs World is one of the best combat flight simulators based on the Su 25 T and it’s incredibly free. If you own a Joystick you should give it a try.
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