IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 279 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 147 out of 279
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 279
  3. Negative: 97 out of 279
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  1. BlitzPuppet
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    Updated 2023:
    Game has come a long way since my initial review. It's definitely worth playing now and feels like a true successor to the original IL2. Shame they can't implement 4 engine bombers, but maybe the next iteration will.
    Multiplayer is where it's at. Original Review: I've played flight sims all my life, ranging all the way back to my parents Packard Bell with    Updated 2023:
    Game has come a long way since my initial review. It's definitely worth playing now and feels like a true successor to the original IL2. Shame they can't implement 4 engine bombers, but maybe the next iteration will.

    Multiplayer is where it's at.

    Original Review:
    I've played flight sims all my life, ranging all the way back to my parents Packard Bell with Microprose's Flying Fortress, Lucasart's WWII additions, all the way through all of the Jane's games, Falcon 4.0, and the IL2 series. You name it and I've probably played it....as long as it was categorized as a "simulation".

    When I first heard BoS being marketed as the true simulation replacement to IL2:1946s I got excited. 1946s was dying out as the game was so old and was no longer attracting any new blood...this was exactly what we needed, a new game! I was one of the early adopters and jumped right into the "alpha premium" just to be able to fly this "future of flight sims" game. While I was happy with what I saw at first I was quickly brought back in reality once the development continued.

    I'm not going to get into any of the forum drama or anything of that sort, but my main problem was that the Devs didn't seem to listen to what their early adopters/playerbase were wanting and expecting out of the game. They had their own ideas and were sticking to them. Hardcore sim fan? Sorry, you're not our target audience.

    Everything seems dumbed down and really does remind me of IL2:Birds of Prey (which I could not stand). While pretty it just didn't seem real at all and seemed to throw out all that made IL2:1946 so good and fun. I am in no way talking about the lack of maps/planes but more of a focus shift from individual plane components to what now seems like an overall "plane". I'll compare it to some car racing games that use green bars that have static performance levels for easy interpretation rather than relying on the skill of the driver. Don't even get me started on the FW190...

    The game is gorgeous but unfortunately is still plagued by the DX9 "plateau" that some developers can't seem to get past. The flight models seem a little wonky and I can't understand why the pitch input in the axis planes seems to "wander" after input (regardless of speed) where as the russian planes do not have this issue. This makes gunnery/overall flight aggravating since I don't remember seeing this input in any other game series (DCS and Cliffs of Dover don't suffer from this)

    All in all I was utterly disappointed by the game. I may check back in a year or two to see if things have improved, but for right now...there are MUCH better games out there if you are looking for a true flight sim experience. If you're looking for a step up/above from War Thunder then BoS may be for you.

    I give this game a solid 4.0. It's pretty, the sounds are awesome, and it has potential....but the devs come off as hostile/apathetic and I just don't have any patience for that. I wish them good luck!    … Expand
  2. ICDP
    Jul 9, 2021
    9
    I backed this sim back in 2014 during early access expecting it to be a sim. At release it was aimed at the WT crowd but offered them nothing to switch because WT is free and has more content. It was touted as the next step in the IL2 series fro the hardcore sim crowd but it came nowhere close to delivering on that claim.

    My how things have changed since 2014. At some point after my    I backed this sim back in 2014 during early access expecting it to be a sim. At release it was aimed at the WT crowd but offered them nothing to switch because WT is free and has more content. It was touted as the next step in the IL2 series fro the hardcore sim crowd but it came nowhere close to delivering on that claim.

    My how things have changed since 2014. At some point after my initial review there was a change of management and subsequently the sim moved more towards sim and away from arcade. It was a massive shift in direction and the changes and improvements have been a complete transformation.

    There are well crafted and presented single missions as well as a very immersive career modes for the single players. More maps to fly on and more planes to fly in.

    If you love WWII aviation history then this is the best Sim out there for you.

    Recommended for hardcore simmers.

    Pros
    Good graphics
    Good sound
    Great in VR
    Great FMs
    Excellent career mode for single players    … Expand
  3. sermen1987
    May 4, 2018
    10
    + Very good audio/visual engine being upgraded with every major patch.
    + Great physics and flight modeling. The best ground collisions among flight games.
    + Very good idea with consolidating all parts into one game. It's enough to have just one part and you can play multiplayer and receive all new patches. + Very good contact between community and developers. + The game is developing    + Very good audio/visual engine being upgraded with every major patch.
    + Great physics and flight modeling. The best ground collisions among flight games.
    + Very good idea with consolidating all parts into one game. It's enough to have just one part and you can play multiplayer and receive all new patches.
    + Very good contact between community and developers.
    + The game is developing constantly.
    + One of the best Virtual Reality implementation i've ever seen.

    - Before 04.2018 generated range of view was too small.
    - Until Battle of Bodenplatte (2019) there is no western front.

    Overall: By far the best WW2 flight simulator ever created.    … Expand
  4. Gazych
    Jul 31, 2020
    10
    Кто бы, что бы не говорил, это лучшая игра. Это классика - которая никогда не умрёт.
  5. Karaya13
    Jul 13, 2020
    0
    Hello, I've been with this game since the first hour (2013).
    I have to say that this has steadily deteriorated to the detriment of the luftwaffe side.Why is that - maybe because the game comes from a Russian developer house and they want to see the Russian / allied aircraft more well - the name of this game is, for example, the il2. The developers of this plane meant it particularly well    Hello, I've been with this game since the first hour (2013).
    I have to say that this has steadily deteriorated to the detriment of the luftwaffe side.Why is that - maybe because the game comes from a Russian developer house and they want to see the Russian / allied aircraft more well - the name of this game is, for example, the il2. The developers of this plane meant it particularly well with this plane. The il 2 is more agile than some fighters in the game and can simply stand upright in the air and shoot you from below. Apart from that, the il2 and the pe2 can take an incredible amount of bullets .. much too much ... unrealistic.Even il2 and pe2 are incredibly agile even at high speeds, more agile than some Luftwaffe fighters ..... despite a much higher weight ....
    We stay with the pe2,their reargunner starts to shoot from a distance of 1 kilometer ....... and it hits, even if you fly past it at 200kmh or more it always hits you. Your plane is in most cases junk. These are just a few examples, and there are still a lot more ...
    if you address the problems in the forum there will be no reaction, probably because it is not wanted If you look at the multiplayer servers on which il2 is played, you will find out that only the allied side actually wins. Why, because the allied side is preferred by the developers.
    Just look at the results on the server pages, that speaks a clear language.

    ...
    I always hoped it would get better, but it never became.
    My recommendation: do not buy if you love the luftwaffe planes.

    P.S. Never forget,as an luftwaffe player 1C 777 is not interested in you but in your money.    … Expand
  6. SamppaS72
    Jan 27, 2020
    10
    Absolutely the best WWII flight sim! Buy new maps and planes, especially when they are on sale on Steam or Il-2 Sturmovik's own website. Now there are maps also in western front. Remember, if you buy it on Steam, you have to buy the Stalingrad first.
  7. Pielstick
    Jun 3, 2019
    8
    Five years on from my original negative review, it's time to revisit it...

    On original release this one took a lot of flak from the online flight sim crowd. It looked like the developer was trying to catch both the original IL-2 Sturmovik crowd and the War Thunder players... but missed both. I believe the company divested itself of the original lead developer who was doubling down on    Five years on from my original negative review, it's time to revisit it...

    On original release this one took a lot of flak from the online flight sim crowd. It looked like the developer was trying to catch both the original IL-2 Sturmovik crowd and the War Thunder players... but missed both.

    I believe the company divested itself of the original lead developer who was doubling down on some really poor game design decisions and has taken a much healthier direction under Jason Williams.

    From the initial missteps this one has matured into a very solid WW2 flight sim. Very decent graphics which don't require a supercomputer to get decent framerates from combined with a very convincing flight modelling make it a very enjoyable experience. The developers have added more single player oriented content, and I hope more is to come, especially by way of historical campaigns.

    Thus far the expansions have all been set on the Eastern Front, with the first Western Front expansion under development. Whilst this title doesn't even begin to approach the scope of the original IL-2 Sturmovik (and especially the 1946 edition with mods), it's probably fair to say no other flight sim will ever achieve the same scope as that landmark title. However, I do hope the developers continue to explore more WW2 theatres.    … Expand
  8. rulezcz
    Jan 24, 2019
    10
    I do not usually write reviews but all the zeroes I saw here well...come on guys this game does not deserve a zero. This is a proper game with great dev support and hopefully even better future (because no one else will create such an immersive WWII combat sim for us hadcores).
    I guess most of the zeroes date back to 2014. I don¨t know how did the game looked back then I only bought it 6    I do not usually write reviews but all the zeroes I saw here well...come on guys this game does not deserve a zero. This is a proper game with great dev support and hopefully even better future (because no one else will create such an immersive WWII combat sim for us hadcores).
    I guess most of the zeroes date back to 2014. I don¨t know how did the game looked back then I only bought it 6 months ago.
    This is a simulation masterpiece combining all the good from all the classic sims (i.e single player career) and I have played them all since the old Red baron 20 years ago.
    I play on Oculus Rift and I must say that there is no way back to flat screen for me any more.
    The devs have lot of experience and I can feel it in the game.
    The game also gets updated constantly so it gets better over time (hence the zeroes from 2014 ?)
    There are a few planes you can buy at extra cost if the stock planes are not enaugh. In the end you will buy these just out of curiosity how beautiful the cockpits are in VR :-). But hey...8 euros for a plane if you wait for a sale ? That is less than a cinema ticket to watch a 90 mins movie and it will take you longer just to learn how to fly the plane properly.    … Expand
  9. mrmertz
    Oct 20, 2018
    10
    You have to wonder why someone would give a game a big fat zero simply because their computer will not install it correctly. Anyways...

    I run all of the IL modules and have never had any issues with installing any of them, let alone the gameplay. The studio devs have come out with numerous updates and patches since it’s original release so earlier reviews are now pretty much void given    You have to wonder why someone would give a game a big fat zero simply because their computer will not install it correctly. Anyways...

    I run all of the IL modules and have never had any issues with installing any of them, let alone the gameplay. The studio devs have come out with numerous updates and patches since it’s original release so earlier reviews are now pretty much void given the years it’s been out now. The updates serve to address things such as improving and tweaking the already outstanding FM’s even further, however slight, and it’s all done in the name of accuracy - not game balancing.

    I have it running on a 4K 42” screen and it’s gorgeous. The planes are built in high fidelity detail, both visually and in the flight models. Each variant within a model is faithfully represented. With the looming of the Pacific theater coming down the pipelines and the western front being in the works as well it will just add to the playability of the sim.

    Yeah, “sim”. Once you’ve gone the War Thunder route and World of Warplanes, to the casual gamer the arcade games are fine until you come over to IL and discover infinite loops aren’t the norm and no, you really can’t take a Stuka and just ram the throttle forward and leave it there. This is where I believe the arcade player becomes quickly annoyed with trying to fly a good representation of it's WW2 counterpart in IL and simply gives up trying to take a few extra minutes before hand to read the flight perimeters before flying, then dumps a low score on here. This is where also you may read about things like “Well, War Thunder has a bazillion planes to fly and it’s free too” - hmm, unless your 10 years old wouldn’t that perhaps say something about the quality you’re getting? Don’t get me wrong, other software outside of the IL series has its fans, of course, but to come over from an arcade game and then knock how bad a flight sim is that consistently strives to model its FM’s accurately as possible and on top of that actually has the nerve to charge you for it (since the devs and the studio itself shouldn’t be getting paid at all), is to live in a land of unicorns and rainbows. You pay for what you get, in the real world and it’s no different in the competition of the software industry.

    So for all those interested in jumping into a vintage WW2 machine and to fly as close as you’ll get without developing a time machine, this is it. Also as a note, with their new engine running now they are also doing a total redo of their WW1 sim, Rise of Flight, now called Flying Circus. Two huge thumbs up, especially considering all they are taking on now.    … Expand
  10. jugger_dk
    Jun 12, 2018
    0
    Really looking forward to the feel of playing a FlightSim again.

    Started the game after initial install. The game was windowed with resolution 1280x720, if I recall correctly. Changed to my native resolution: 3440x1440, restarted game.

    After that no menus, no text, just a turning 3D-model of a Il-2.

    Esc, quit, uninstall.
  11. Aladdin718
    Apr 8, 2018
    0
    The game pretty much requires a joystick in order to play it. The other input option is using the mouse, which is experimental. Buyer beware.
  12. Lealison
    Mar 22, 2018
    4
    hello, not sure i d buy this game again. bads and goods version 3.01

    -there is good things that fan boys tell you so i ll talk about what they dont feel important you to know -good graphics if you got powerful system, 3G vram or less wont, if you can even start the game -lower graphic setting from high to medium can make game ugly very fast, specially clouds, and shimmering, without    hello, not sure i d buy this game again. bads and goods version 3.01

    -there is good things that fan boys tell you so i ll talk about what they dont feel important you to know
    -good graphics if you got powerful system, 3G vram or less wont, if you can even start the game
    -lower graphic setting from high to medium can make game ugly very fast, specially clouds, and shimmering, without giving good performance boost.
    -many new player complaint cause game crash, not start etc...
    -need internet connected to play single player career,
    -after a mission done you can have a message internet failed and your stats does nt count
    -even with walk around, some user got in game stutters with card as 980 and stronger
    -even if good fps, clouds often stutters (like 1 fps) immersion breaker
    -planes in front of clouds are often barely visible, look like 800 x 600 resolution (z-buffer thing
    problem) only sim i know with this problem, since long time they say it may stay like that, not realistic
    -SP flight leader wont wait for you and you may have to fly combat power all the time
    -saw some reports ai take some much time to take off, that flight leader doe s nt have enough fuel for all the mission because the waiting
    -fighters flight don t use formation , for a sim, it is not realistic, 1946 and COD do better
    -almost no communication between leader and wingman, or what it is said is useless, again 1946 and COD you have many option to communicate with AI,it is less realistic than older games, again
    -
    -track ir, open track problem in update 3.01, many got the problem just right after the update, the
    tread on forum got around 2000 view and Dev keep saying they did nt do this
    -critics on forum are welcome if you also say you like the game, dev works hard, you like them
    etc.. go see by yourself if i m lying
    -veterans on forum are fast to say to new guy s to stop talking about something already discuss by
    them years ago, but new guys with problem thread are not very popular, again see your self on the
    forum
    -i just talked about few problems from many others i remember just now, i think a part of the problem is they listen too much a group a few people who play online and it s not representing the majority who play alone in peace at home after work or else, i really wish you go on their forum, you ll learn a lot about the game .

    i do play the sim with a free 3rd party campaign generator , PWCG so i can make use of almost the 200$ spent in this game, i dont say i regret but i live in the hope they will fix things, last update is a big disappointment for that, i m lucky i can play it, i seen comments that people leave the game a time in hope the game will be fixed and they will be able to login ... well they have more patience than me.
    I really hope they slow down with the rig with the new theaters, it s time to stop, adjust and fix everything that a consider the basics, AI behaviors , AI communication , missions correctly done graphic optimization etc.. only way to me to be the best and stay in business for always    … Expand
  13. dinin70
    Mar 16, 2018
    9
    Please don't read the old reviews. Not because the people is lying but because the game changed a lot since then.

    No more unlocks and mostly there is now a real career mode where you create your character and go through various missions, earn medals etc. AI is not great through, it feels more like a "training bot" than anything else but it's a pleasure to drive any plane, who feels    Please don't read the old reviews. Not because the people is lying but because the game changed a lot since then.

    No more unlocks and mostly there is now a real career mode where you create your character and go through various missions, earn medals etc.

    AI is not great through, it feels more like a "training bot" than anything else but it's a pleasure to drive any plane, who feels totally unique (each plane is extremely different. You need to take care of different things in a BF109 than in a FW190 that himself is the total opposite of a MC202 =) and laserbeam AI.

    Multiplayer is well populated but I find a bit unforgiving... There are only aces out there.

    The price is steep I agree, but it's frequently on sales and it's extremely worth it. There are maybe less planes than in IL2 1946 for examples but the attention for each plane is totally unique.

    I'm taking a point down because they should really provide additional planes... ME262 is lacking (to be coming with Battle of Bodenplate, but yeah... Again full priced game...) and this is something leaving a bitter taste :(

    Bodenplatte will be very good since it will be in Occidental Europe. I didn't buy Kuban for instance (no new plane, only variants, and... Again... In Russia. I'd like to see the sea, the boats the mountains something different than the huge plains of Russia). I'll probably take Bodenplatte but on sale. Price is WAY TOO STEEP.

    I advise for a newcomer to take Stalingrad or Moscow on sales (depending on which plane you prefer most) and then wait for a sale on Bodenplatte in god knows how many decades...

    Totally worth it on sales!    … Expand
  14. metaMetaMetaMe
    Feb 12, 2018
    9
    Wow, people are ruthless on metacritic. First of all, let me clear something up. This IS a combat flight simulator. Do not listen to the haters tell you otherwise. War Thunder is a game, DCS is often a study-level sim, and the IL-2 "Battle Of" series falls somewhere in between, but it's still very much a sim. You won't have to read a bunch of plane manuals like in DCS, but you will stillWow, people are ruthless on metacritic. First of all, let me clear something up. This IS a combat flight simulator. Do not listen to the haters tell you otherwise. War Thunder is a game, DCS is often a study-level sim, and the IL-2 "Battle Of" series falls somewhere in between, but it's still very much a sim. You won't have to read a bunch of plane manuals like in DCS, but you will still have to learn specifics of planes to get anywhere and you'll have to manage the engine to not blow yourself up (reading old plane manuals won't hurt though). It's the perfect balance of sim and fun.

    As for the flying itself, the flight models are seriously excellent quality. It "feels" like you're flying more so than any other sim/flying game I've ever played. People who fly IRL say that this is the most accurate "feeling" of flight. If that's not a simulation then I don't what is. The damage models are also much better than most other games/sims I've played and people have said that VR in this game is amazing.

    Really, the only negative that I can think of is that the campaign isn't great (also not terrible), but they're about to release a new version which will include a brand new dynamic campaign with several new types of missions (along with a ton of new content). There's also user generated content that you can play while you wait, like scripted campaigns etc and a lot of it is good quality and there are mission builders out there.

    PROS
    * Amazing flight and damage models.
    * It looks beautiful.
    * Actually feels like flying.
    * Combat is insanely fun.
    * Enough user generated content for when the campaign gets dull, a mission builder etc.
    * Very active development and a team that's communicative with their audience.

    CONS
    * The campaign isn't "great" but it's not terrible either and it will be changed in the next few weeks anyway so this point won't be valid for much longer.
    * UI/menus can be improved, but honestly I don't care that much when I'm just trying to get into a plane and fly.
    * A bit on the expensive side, but it's worth it to me. Flight sims are kind of a niche genre so supporting the teams you like is worth it. I want these guys to continue and have no problem supporting them.

    Oh and btw, this is NOT the same team that put out CLoD. It's a mix of some of the old IL-2 guys and the team that did Rise of Flight. Haters will hate.

    Being that I've played nothing but this for the last 2 months, it's an easy 7-8. I'll give it a 9 to offset the haters. This will easily be a 9-10 for me once the campaign improves.    … Expand
  15. AstroCat
    Dec 1, 2017
    9
    Fantastic deep flight simulator with dedicated developers. The game keeps improving and getting expanded over the long haul. Lot's to offer for the flight and ww2 enthusiast. Single players needs some love but my understanding as of the time of this review a new career mode is just around the corner. Highly recommended.
  16. mpdugas
    Mar 4, 2017
    10
    The BoS/BoM/BoK series is such a significant change from the original series that they have become the best flight simulation series available at the moment. I say this in the context of multiple aircraft fighting in a realistic setting; the single most accurate flight simulation for a given aircraft must certainly be the BMS-Falcon 4.0 code.

    The various available aircraft are correct    The BoS/BoM/BoK series is such a significant change from the original series that they have become the best flight simulation series available at the moment. I say this in the context of multiple aircraft fighting in a realistic setting; the single most accurate flight simulation for a given aircraft must certainly be the BMS-Falcon 4.0 code.

    The various available aircraft are correct for the historical period, the simulation itself is very approachable, with varying degrees of player involvement, and everyone should be able to find a setting arrangement that suits their evolving play style, from mouse controls to multi-control setups.

    The simulation also includes very stable multiplayer code, which allows human players to occupy the same airplane and fly/fight as a team, something which DCSW is still 'talking' about. Thus, you can play as a flight crew on board a Russian or German multi crew airplane, such as the PE-2 Peshka or the Heinkel He-111; you can be pilot, bombardier or one of the several on-board defensive gunners, all with your friends or multiplayer teammates.

    There are a couple of well-designed multiplayer servers available for PvP combat, so you can still choose to fight human players instead of game AI combatants. This simulator will even allow you to take control one of several tanks from either alliance, so that you can enjoy ground combat while the rest of the multiplayer crowd carries on with bombing, strafing and air-to-air combat. Some of these tank scenarios have been made available as single-player scenarios withing the main game itself, as well.

    There are the usual quick missions, several canned single-player missions, and quite a few scripted campaigns to enjoy, some of which are commercial, some of which are community contributions for free. While on the topic of community contributions, many different aircraft 'skins' are available, both from the developers and community members, so you can display the colors of your aircraft choice within the historically correct era, or even fanciful designs available.

    One of the best, most comprehensive player contributions has to be the Paul Wilson Campaign Generator which allows you to create single-player campaigns as you wish to, rapidly and with little player input save to pick out which significant variables you wish to employ; it has a simple simple interface, and voila!, you have new campaigns to play.

    The game feels like it has a cohesive setting in which to engage in WWII aerial combat, The aircraft seem to perform, relatively, the same way their RW counterparts did. You can relax and feel that you really are on the Eastern Front or Great Patriotic War. The visuals, with the new DX11 graphics engine, are compellingly good, and VR support appears to be ready for use at about the the time when the VR technology is likely to mature; neither are quite ripe for prime time yet.

    You can dispute flight models and damage schemes all you want, but what the simulator offers makes for a very realistic and playable setting. 1C Games and 777 Studios are relatively small Russian developers, and they have the same sort of relationships to the western commercial world as many of their counterparts in other simulators have, which is to say they do not have the same approach to customer service as do western companies; not bad, mind you, just palpably different.

    There is plenty to do, and lots of ways to actually play the simulation, so much so that, with the new segments evolving for our enjoyment, there will be soon something for every one. Most of what currently exists is a handful of aircraft from Russian and German stable, subtle variants of similar types, and a couple of foreign players, such as the Italian Macchi202 and the American P40-E1, to add variety and spice things up a bit, even though these aircraft are not the best-of-breed by any means.

    It does not have the incredible variety of aircraft which Rise of Flight, its sister-simulation has, however, but it is slowly evolving into a simulation that will have a much wider range of choices as the developers move into the Pacific theater with carrier operations in the new Midway segment. Battle of Kuban will bring new aircraft types like the venerable and respected Spitfire, and the less-well-know Airacobra P-39, among others.

    What is occurring, behind the scenes, is the melding of the best elements of Rise of Flight with the new "Battle of X" series, including a carryover of the career mode, which hearkens back to Red Baron of old.

    What is NOT needed are clickable cockpits, while such are delicacies for BMS and DCSW, because, with VR looming, such will be very hard to implement while not adding a great deal to the genre: a mouse on my PC screen clicking various cockpit buttons is less immersive than a HOTAS mapped correctly. However, if VR can get my virtual fingers to do the same task, then that is the real game-changer for me!

    More to come!    … Expand
  17. Zoltann
    Feb 10, 2017
    9
    IL2 BoX revisited!

    The game has significantly matured, and many of the silly initial restrictions (notably silly unlocks) are cancelled. I own BoS, BoM and was happy to be a backer of BoK (Battle of Kuban). If youre in to flight simming, if you like old warbirds, if you like MP flying you cant go wrong with this Gem.. The enhanced "old school" SP experience is being totally    IL2 BoX revisited!

    The game has significantly matured, and many of the silly initial restrictions (notably silly unlocks) are cancelled.

    I own BoS, BoM and was happy to be a backer of BoK (Battle of Kuban).

    If youre in to flight simming, if you like old warbirds, if you like MP flying you cant go wrong with this Gem..

    The enhanced "old school" SP experience is being totally overhauled, and will be released (with BoK I think it was).

    Constant improvements are being made and are implemented for the whole range of the series, so the first one, Battle of stalingrad (BoS) is just as current as the last one Battle of Moskow (BoM).

    However, BoS comes with a special offer of some 50% discount regularily, so try it out and see for yourself...

    Highly recommended! Zoltann.    … Expand
  18. davison
    Nov 5, 2016
    0
    Wish i could get my money back, plane stalling out at 120+ MPH in the P40 if i pull back on the stick, this thing cant even manage a simple turn fight with a fricken early war german 109, which it was designed to be able to defeat. This games physics suck for something claiming to be geared towards hardcore simmers. I have years of experience with DCS, and have even flown smaller propWish i could get my money back, plane stalling out at 120+ MPH in the P40 if i pull back on the stick, this thing cant even manage a simple turn fight with a fricken early war german 109, which it was designed to be able to defeat. This games physics suck for something claiming to be geared towards hardcore simmers. I have years of experience with DCS, and have even flown smaller prop planes in real life, im not a bad pilot, but this game sure makes me feel like i cant do anything, even when trying to perform basic combat maneuvers, if you pull all the way back on the stick the plane **** flops about, not to mention they feel sloppy, no matter how well i try to tune my axis on my thrustmaster warthog, i dont feel like im flying, but i do feel like im riding a bull that i have no control over, but am still uselessly trying to control… Expand
  19. VR_Stick
    Sep 13, 2016
    10
    I spent many years with the original IL2 series. At the time it was THE combat flight sim. I also spent many hours with IL-2 CloD and Rise of Flight. I now play both IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad and Moscow exclusively as they are superior flight sims. Although separate products, they merge into one sim as will all future releases. The feel of flying is simply the best on theI spent many years with the original IL2 series. At the time it was THE combat flight sim. I also spent many hours with IL-2 CloD and Rise of Flight. I now play both IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad and Moscow exclusively as they are superior flight sims. Although separate products, they merge into one sim as will all future releases. The feel of flying is simply the best on the sim market, and yes, I have flown actual aircraft. Each plane has its strengths and weaknesses. Air combat and ground pounding are both challenging. Visuals are beautiful. Multiplayer continues to expand including dynamic campaigns. In single player mode there is the ability to fly with easier controls while you learn. A third party single player campaign is available and extremely well done. The sim is continuously supported by the devs. New technologies are coming such as DX11 and VR support. New campaigns have been announced as well. As you can see the original release of BOS received many negative reviews and maybe rightfully so. That is old news now however and the sim is top notch. IL-2 BOS/BOM is THE combat flight sim now. If you love WWII aircraft, you don't want to miss this new series.… Expand
  20. JL11
    Sep 12, 2016
    10
    my initial review of this game was not positive largely due to SP campaign limitations. Now that ROF like career capabilities are going to be incorporated in to BOM and BOS (as well as future products) I am revising my score since this is otherwise and excellent flight simulator.
  21. MustisTheCat
    Aug 17, 2016
    8
    This review would look very different if I wrote it a year ago.
    The game came was released in barebones status but a lot of work was put into it since then. You can even say that it received multiple upgrades, all free. There have been some mistakes however, though most of them were changed or are oficially announced to be changed. Still, it is immediately recognizable that people who    This review would look very different if I wrote it a year ago.
    The game came was released in barebones status but a lot of work was put into it since then. You can even say that it received multiple upgrades, all free. There have been some mistakes however, though most of them were changed or are oficially announced to be changed. Still, it is immediately recognizable that people who made this game are experienced combat flight sim creators.

    Now I want to make it as short as possible so I`ll just say that the single best thing in the game is the aircraft and the feeling of flight. In those terms Battle of Stalingrad is a true successor to IL2 Sturmovik. When you fly`em you really get the ‘nextgen’ impression, even if the game is still in Dx9 (soon to be Dx11).

    Cockpits look great, especially bomber interiors deserve a commendation. I very much like the flight model. Each and every flyable aircraft flies different, for example you easily can tell the 109F4 and 109G2 apart. There are some design flaws but nothing your average sim pilot could get crazy about.
    I also very much like the concept of custom loadouts, meaning that every plane has some field mods available (different windshield, added outer wing cannons, different types of gun in the propeller hub etc.).

    Damage model is standard stuff I suppose, nothing really new here. Though be sure that even the smallest caliber rounds can break a plane if struck the sweet spot. It is entirely possible to blow off a part of a wing, disable weaponry or wound (kill) one of the crew members.
    Engine management is not exactly state of the art. Again, I would describe it as a standard in such games. Change prop pitch/RPM, manage throttle and supercharger. What is questionable is that all engines have the same 1 minute overrev limitation whereas in real life some planes obviously had more or less durable engines and could go well above factory specs (the P40 for instance).

    The weakest part of the title is the multiplayer. There is no coop mode available to date, mostly you just have to fly in a open map on a free hunt. It is possible to setup organized missions though it is faaaaaar too much hassle to do and needs serious streamlining. Still a work in progress though.

    The graphics and sounds are good, at times very good. It has to be noted that it was a conscious development decision in order to make the game friendly for low spec PCs.

    Also the dev team has finally removed options that had to be unlocked through grinding and that is a big plus.

    8/10 from me.

    Pros :
    - engaging and challenging flight model
    - damage model
    - engine management
    - graphics
    - sounds
    - detailed maps
    - user interface
    - compatibility and low spec accessibility

    Cons :
    - lackluster multiplayer
    - limited and repetitive single player
    - bad AI
    - Dx9 and other game engine limitations
    - some minor flight model quirks.    … Expand
  22. avatarka
    Aug 15, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Даже на этапе "Раннего доступа" игра выглядела очень достойна, сейчас, когда игра вышла в в релиз, я могу сказать - это Шедевр!

    Ты сидишь за штурвалом и это действительно "Я сижу за штурвалом, черт возьми!".
    Для симулятора важны ощущения, важен реализм, хорошая визуализация и реализация звука. Игрок должен не просто играть в пилота, он должен кончиками пальцев, всеми органами чувств ощущать себя пилотом, он должен стать им на время игры и всё это даже на данной стадии разработки есть в избытке!
    "Я не играл в пилота, я им был!" - вот, что я могу сказать...
    Внимание разработчиков к мелочам ощущается с первых минут игры. Очень красиво, аутентично, атмосферно и очень динамично...
    Глядя на зимние пейзажи становится даже зябко...
    Временами во время пикирования становится реально не по себе! Непередаваемые ощущения и опыт...

    Когда ты заходишь на самолет противника, когда вы идёте параллельным курсом и ты видишь лётчика Люфтваффе - "Вот, он - гад!", когда крылья ваших самолётов едва ли не касаются друг друга, а потом вы расходитесь чтобы сойтись буквально лоб в лоб! Да, от этого дух захватывает! Увлекает так, что в запале схватки, не задумываясь ни о чём, идёшь на таран!
    Или... "Вот, ты... а, вот, я... но хоть мой ЛаГГ в решето, но я не горю, а ты горишь, и я у тебя, фриц, на хвосте! А теперь получи, и на землю, тварь! На землю! Потому что, это наше небо и нам в нём летать, а ты, гадина, рождён, чтобы ползать! А по сему... на землю!".

    Как передать ощущения, когда уже не враг, а а ты у него на прицеле и снаряды его пушки рвут на части обшивку твоего самолета, и оглядываясь, ты видишь, что ты горишь!.. Это не описать словами, это надо почувствовать... Звуки пробиваемой обшивки... "Бам!", "Бам-бам... Бам-бам-бам..." и, вот, твоя ласточка на скорости в 300 с лишним киллометров в час, бешенно вращаясь входит в какое-то немыслимое пике и ты покидаешь самолет, выпрыгиваешь из него с парашютом... Вот, он летит к земле, дымя, сгорая, теряя куски обшивки, разваливаясь на части... а в стропах твоего парашюта поёт ветер... Такое можно лишь ощутить! Эти эмоции невозможно передать!

    Рекомендую ли я эту игру? Вне всякого сомнения!

    Разработчикам удачи, успеха и наши лучи поддержки! Будем ждать дополнений!    … Expand
  23. TylerGM2
    Jul 1, 2016
    2
    Has promise, however the Devs are nickle and diming the players for every cent they can. Buy IL-2 1946 if you want a WWII flight sim, this has no content at the moment and charging another $20 for two planes is absurd. Not to mention an entire campaign is a DLC, why nickle and dime me after I paid $60 for your game?
  24. trademe900
    Feb 26, 2016
    10
    Don't know about the original release, but the current product is absolute astounding. Amazing flight physics, attention to detail, realism, damage, immersion- just can't say enough.
  25. spleenripper
    Feb 16, 2016
    9
    Ignore the bad reviews this is a top ww2 combat sim this game really shines in multiplayer a good joystick and head tracking are essential . i own cliffs of dover and DCS and in my opinion il2 battle of stalingrad is best.
  26. Blues1968
    Feb 4, 2016
    3
    Si vous aimer les jeux d'arcade d'aviation (mode réaliste) en ligne 1 contre 1 et gonfler votre égo se jeux est parfait pour vous. Dû au manque de contenu,les développeurs ont davantages miser sur la beauté graphique les explosions la physique très bonne simulation au niveau du plan de vol et surtout sur les difficultés aéronotique extrême,décollage sur glace verglaçante,pilotage dans desSi vous aimer les jeux d'arcade d'aviation (mode réaliste) en ligne 1 contre 1 et gonfler votre égo se jeux est parfait pour vous. Dû au manque de contenu,les développeurs ont davantages miser sur la beauté graphique les explosions la physique très bonne simulation au niveau du plan de vol et surtout sur les difficultés aéronotique extrême,décollage sur glace verglaçante,pilotage dans des conditions nul,atterrissage peu rassurante et difficile ,vu des avions ennemis demande un télescope....se type de simulateur sadomasochiste devient frustrant et pénible et beaucoup trop lourd à la longue à des années lumière,du plaisir et du contenu dans il2 1946 ou ROF.En linge Clodo est Super .Si vous avez une bonne cinquantaine d'heures à mettre pour maitriser des atterissages parfait sans faire de patinage artistique se simulateur sadomasochiste conviendra au pur et dur seulement,le problème est que piloter un avion réel est aussi à des années lumière d'un simulateur de salon.Amusez vous donc et aller voir ailleurs ....Bos un beau un simulateur de misère sans contenu.… Expand
  27. IJG2_Bouma
    Jan 5, 2016
    1
    This is all but a flight sim. I flew all sims since CFS to DCS World.
    -outdated engine full of shelter
    -FMs are completely fantasist
    -Graphics are not much better then the old IL 1946
    Save your money and go for DCS World or IL2 Cliffs of Dover with TF mode
  28. Pahvihousu
    Dec 18, 2015
    0
    total crap. flight models are crap. there are no players in MP and they are converting this to a tank game. save your money for better flying simulator
  29. Erich_Hartmann
    Nov 8, 2015
    10
    I just read a post saying this title had a bad critic here, and can't believe what i am reading. As there's a lot of Russian flight games and simulators out there, i wouldn't be impressed if, for example, Gajin, the most unprofessional company someone can imagine, making accounts just to bash this awesome title to make kids think his arcade and bs of game is better than the best simulatorI just read a post saying this title had a bad critic here, and can't believe what i am reading. As there's a lot of Russian flight games and simulators out there, i wouldn't be impressed if, for example, Gajin, the most unprofessional company someone can imagine, making accounts just to bash this awesome title to make kids think his arcade and bs of game is better than the best simulator one can fly.

    And as i can see here, there are a lot of kids, that looks that were expecting an easy game, like warthunder, and awesomly expecting better graphics. Maybe they just have potato pc's because i can't understand how someone can talk bad about the looking of this sim. And this sim looked perfect even when i had a potato pc, so i don't understand what they are saying...

    Let's focus on the important. A comercial pilot student, friend of mine, recommended me the IL-2 Cliffs of Dover as the best sim he has ever flown. Then we saw Battle of Stalingrad and bought it instantly as he told me wonderful things about it.
    And he can't be more right. This title has the best physics i have ever tested in a flight simulator. Amazingly accurate stalls, airflow flight models, and landing gear physics. It has he best damage model i have ever seen. Awesome graphics, from terrain, to models, to even smoke, chemtrails, and fire effects and explosions.

    I have flown flight simulators since a lot of years now. With decent peripherals as the Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog and saitek rudder pedals with Track IR can be. Flown from the FSX on the old days, to DCS World and a lot of the IL-2 titles.

    And all i can say is, 1C Game Studios have done the best flight simulators i have ever flown.

    FSX is outdated af. Complex integration of the comercial planes internal systems, with interactive cockpits, but too simple physics, and graphics that are harmfull to the eyes.

    DCS World has decent flight models, simple but decent. Miles away from IL-2. The good point are the interactive cockpits, the third party companies doing modules, and therefore more varety of planes. But then you have the problem of having some planes, without their rivals of the era. An important fact here is that this is focused as a modern jet flight sim, and not as a WW2 flight sim as IL-2 is.
    The graphics? Well, even with the 1.5 update, they still have the explosions and fire effects from Lock-On, a sim from 2003. And the damage model is bs. P-51's laughing at half of a 30mm Bf 109 K-4 mag. This simulator is focused on dominating the systems of modern jets, not for doing dogfights. Also each module costs around 60€, that is what Battle of Stalingrad cost on release.

    IL-2? Well, i said already the most important things. Best physics i have ever flown. Looking on pair with DCS World 1.5, with fire and explosions miles from dcs. The best damage model i have ever seen, come on search videos on youtube about the damage model of this game, you will go crazy. Wings bending, parts flying, planes breaking in 1000 pieces...
    IMHO this sim could just be improved by adding interactive cockpits, but as kids today just want easy games, this would limit the market. And also, maybe more planes, although the most used ones are implemented, and to add more planes they should add more factions like the Brits or the US, and wouldn't make sense on the Battle of Stalingrad, as thos nations weren't involved in this battle. They are close to the release of Battle of Moscow, where they are adding appart from more planes to the german and ussr factions, an american p-40 for the allies, and a italian MC-202 for the germans.

    I would love to fly the Spitfires again on a more updated 1C Game Studios engine, and also americans like a P-15 or thunderbolts, along with germans on for example the Battle of the Ruhr. I would be the happiest man of the world.    … Expand
  30. Voidhunger
    Nov 1, 2015
    9
    Its time to make a new review after the new update which contains a new seasonal maps of Stalingrad and many fixes and improvements. If I leave out the lack of SP content this sim is briliant.

    I would say the only WW2 game worth your time. Excellent flight model and graphics. Good enough damage model. Im realy enjoing this game now !
  31. D3schain
    Sep 30, 2015
    9
    Very good flying simulator, with advanced physics and well done airplanes, there s constant support and development, lack of good single player campaign is bit annoying but multiplayer is where the game shines, flying with wingman, experiencing ww 2 aerial combat is one of the best feelings i ve ever had ingame, however flying peripherals are must have (TIR5, joystick, rudder pedals)
  32. Chumbuster
    Sep 15, 2015
    7
    The only thing stopping me giving this a 9 or 10 is the lack of planes. People should note that this game still has the coolest flight model, far above all other simulators for the feeling of flight. I have played them all
  33. Radikal
    Aug 26, 2015
    0
    While previous IL2 titles had excellent multi-monitor support and the developers claimed to provide it in the final release of Battle of Stalingrad; they changed their minds at the last moment (or never intended to in the first place) and failed to include it. At least they got enough of us suckers with similar expectations of previous titles to buy in early before unveiling theirWhile previous IL2 titles had excellent multi-monitor support and the developers claimed to provide it in the final release of Battle of Stalingrad; they changed their minds at the last moment (or never intended to in the first place) and failed to include it. At least they got enough of us suckers with similar expectations of previous titles to buy in early before unveiling their spectacular inadequacy. Lesson learned: NEVER believe game developers until they actually DELIVER on their commitments. No more pre-orders or early access gimmicks for this guy. I will never pay for a product with claims of a level of performance that never materialize; it's a sad trend these days.… Expand
  34. FlightSimGuy
    Aug 13, 2015
    2
    I've played every IL-2 game since the franchise launched, and I absolutely love WW2 flight sims. I payed the exorbitant $80 for the "premium" version of the game as soon as it was available. Now, the multiplayer is dead 90% of the time and sparsely populated by a few hardcore flight simmers. But the good news is, even before Battle of Stalingrad left beta, they had already began working onI've played every IL-2 game since the franchise launched, and I absolutely love WW2 flight sims. I payed the exorbitant $80 for the "premium" version of the game as soon as it was available. Now, the multiplayer is dead 90% of the time and sparsely populated by a few hardcore flight simmers. But the good news is, even before Battle of Stalingrad left beta, they had already began working on Battle of Moscow. Don't worry; you can purchase it for $80, too. The developers and moderators over at the official website are horribly unfriendly, and quash any negative comments, feedback, or ideas that do not go along with the narrative that they are trying to sell. The graphics are great, and the sim is pretty spot on, but is it worth paying $80 over and over to be treated like an *** even though you payed out the nose for their game? Here is a quote from one of the developers in December of 2014: "[threatening the future of the game over letting bad reviews permeate Metacritic] If you want to shut the game down then just leave the situation as it is now and let a bunch of haters and trolls finish it." -Zak.… Expand
  35. jarhead2b
    Aug 12, 2015
    8
    With a rough start during Early Access and an unlock fiasco, the game has begun to come into its own. Scenery is vivid and flight models are well done. Only negatives are the current single player content but hopefully that will change.
  36. Airdrop01
    Jun 16, 2015
    3
    I've waited to write this all through early access and for a looooong time beyond. They have yet to provide any type of remotely immersive single player experience of any kind. It is indeed a shame because the game is beautiful. Save yourself the money and go to the art museum instead. This is truly pretty but truly boring. The single player is just flat out awful. I don't needI've waited to write this all through early access and for a looooong time beyond. They have yet to provide any type of remotely immersive single player experience of any kind. It is indeed a shame because the game is beautiful. Save yourself the money and go to the art museum instead. This is truly pretty but truly boring. The single player is just flat out awful. I don't need Falcon 4 or European Air War but this is truly the worst most boring single player game ever of this genre. 3.0 because it looks pretty.… Expand
  37. Penshoon
    Jun 4, 2015
    9
    BOS is a great stepping stone for people that are interested in ww2 aviation but has been off by the complexity that flight simulators are associated with. A joystick is the only requirement, no need to read into complex checklists and manuals just to get in the air and start flying. If you play in normal difficulty you only need to steer and control the throttle of the plane as the restBOS is a great stepping stone for people that are interested in ww2 aviation but has been off by the complexity that flight simulators are associated with. A joystick is the only requirement, no need to read into complex checklists and manuals just to get in the air and start flying. If you play in normal difficulty you only need to steer and control the throttle of the plane as the rest like engine management is automated for you. In expert difficulty you need to manage things like mixture settings, supercharger gear changing with altitude, radiator settings and so on but this is quickly learnt as the game does a good job telling you if you run your engine too hot/cold, too many RPM or too much throttle.

    For flight simulator enthusiasts the game has flightmodels that match the fidelity of DCS models but lacks the in-depth systems modeling from their modules. The cockpits are not clickable but most functions that are vital to combat are bindeble in the key setup menu.

    The map of Stalingrad looks great and even though the game engine has been around for a few years I still think it's the best looking flight sim to date. It's lacks the option to tune your graphics apart changing the presets from low, balanced, high or ultra along with gamma, vsync, resolution and AA setting. As with any sim a good cpu is needed to run the game smoothly but should still run ok on machines with a few years on it's neck.

    As for gameplay the devs made a "campaign" for SP players. Unfortunately it's doesn't do a good job of immersing the player into the battle. It's completely lacks historical narrative and any kind of role playing aspects. At the same time it doesn't punish the player for not doing exactly as the mission tells you. There are no fail states where you need to redo the mission all over again but you are free to make up your own mind how you will tackle the objective without the game telling you you can't do that.
    If you are looking for a dynamic campaign where you can role play your character this campaign will disappoint you though.

    The MP scene is usually quite populated although there are times during the day when very few people play but in the evening the servers usually starts filling up. When you join a server you get the option of choosing a side of the conflict, you plane, loadout and home base. You are then free to either go for any of the objectives marked on the map like destroying supply trains, convoys, tank columns, supply depots, train stations, airfields and so on. Of course you are also free to grab a fighter plane and go hunting for other players.

    The game receives regular updates from the devs and a expansion is scheduled for release Q1 2016 titled Battle of Moscow with early access starting in July this year.    … Expand
  38. Bearcat99
    Jun 1, 2015
    9
    This is my second review of this sim. Much of the deficiencies in this sim since my first review have been corrected as I felt very confident that they would be. As of this date the biggest flaw in this sim is it's single player campaign and the still as of this writing lack of graphics options, however in that respect the graphics presets work very well on most user PCs. The potential isThis is my second review of this sim. Much of the deficiencies in this sim since my first review have been corrected as I felt very confident that they would be. As of this date the biggest flaw in this sim is it's single player campaign and the still as of this writing lack of graphics options, however in that respect the graphics presets work very well on most user PCs. The potential is there greater than it has ever been for the future of this sim. User content is being created in the form of missions and skins and there is new content in the works for BoS in the form of summer maps and an entirely new theater is also in the works, The Battle of Moscow, coming with 6 totally new aircraft and new variants of three other aircraft already in the sim.

    My current score of a 9 is a reflection of the positive changes to this sim that have been achieved and als a reflection of my confidence that the deficiencies that remain will be corrected to the satisfation of a majority of the simmers who own this product.    … Expand
  39. Hash_Slinger
    May 13, 2015
    9
    As a long time dcs player i decided to pick up il-2 bos, and I absolutely love it! It is an excellent sim, the graphics are outstanding, the planes and atmosphere are almost photo-realistic. What I like most about it is the sense of height and speed they were able to create. If you don’t have the hud on or you're not looking at your altimeter you can pretty much tell how high you are byAs a long time dcs player i decided to pick up il-2 bos, and I absolutely love it! It is an excellent sim, the graphics are outstanding, the planes and atmosphere are almost photo-realistic. What I like most about it is the sense of height and speed they were able to create. If you don’t have the hud on or you're not looking at your altimeter you can pretty much tell how high you are by the level of detail provided on the ground. The map is huge, and there is a lot to do. For instance if you are doing a ground support mission (my favorite) on the way to the mission point you might come across a flight of bombers and their escorts and you can engage and then continue with your mission, once you are done with the mission on the way back there might be a train or an airfield you come across. It really seems as if there is a larger battle going on and you are just a part of it. People say the campaign is repetitive, but i don’t think so at all. There is 5 planes to choose from on both sides and 6 different types of missions. Now you can do the same mission in the same plane twice and the objectives will be different. Not to mention if you were a real pilot you would probably be doing the same thing most days. The planes are incredibly detailed, and each one is unique in response. I think they handle great, it actually feels like being in a prop plane. The biggest complaint i hear is the dlc and the unlocks,. Personally I kind of like the unlocks, it gives you a sense of accomplishment not found in a lot of flight sims. But I can see both sides of the argument. Flight sim fans don’t buy games to be video gamey if that makes sense, and unlockables are definitely video gamey. As far as the dlc, i like to judge games on what i bought, not what is available so i cant really comment. Although In dcs you have to buy every plane and this comes with 10 planes. Any fan of flight sims or ww2 should check this out in my opinion.… Expand
  40. Teekanne
    May 8, 2015
    0
    This game is a very good arcade game.
    If you're looking for a *flying* arcade game there's non better.
    However, if you're looking for a combat flight simulator you'll probably be a tad disappointed and I'd advise that you save your money. I should've known better given my previous experience with 1946 and CloD ... but there you go, I'm a slow learner. I won't be touching the IL2    This game is a very good arcade game.
    If you're looking for a *flying* arcade game there's non better.
    However, if you're looking for a combat flight simulator you'll probably be a tad disappointed and I'd advise that you save your money.
    I should've known better given my previous experience with 1946 and CloD ... but there you go, I'm a slow learner. I won't be touching the IL2 franchise again.    … Expand
  41. Mhiester
    Mar 5, 2015
    0
    Maybe if there were actual graphics options, this could be ok. Add that to an already dead multiplayer community, this is just a pile of crap. The input lag also makes precise flying and using trackIR a joke. I thought that flight sims had hope, but this will make me put my HOTAS away for years.
  42. SirBenn21
    Mar 4, 2015
    6
    It's okay, but it could have been so much more.
    I can't understand why they could not have made click-able cockpits and why oh why no proper support for triple screens! The viewing system is just plain poor and had me pulling my hair out in frustration.
    Then the story is acceptable but it just does not draw you in, Like the whole staff were just developers and story tellers. You have to    It's okay, but it could have been so much more.
    I can't understand why they could not have made click-able cockpits and why oh why no proper support for triple screens! The viewing system is just plain poor and had me pulling my hair out in frustration.
    Then the story is acceptable but it just does not draw you in, Like the whole staff were just developers and story tellers. You have to draw your gamers in like a good book or a movie.
    Sorry 1C all that effort for just an okay simulator. :(    … Expand
  43. Toxin1
    Feb 4, 2015
    5
    Good looking planes, weather, tracers, flight and damage models. Released without mission builder or ability to host multiplayer games unless you have a Dedicated server (still pending release to rest of the customers). No Oculus support and limited Single player content as mentioned already.
  44. Buddeye
    Jan 24, 2015
    5
    IL2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad (BoS) in 10 words or less

    It’s a PC flight game being released November 2014. OK, I'll tell you more: BoS in 100 words or less It’s set in WW2, 1942, in Russia, with planes from Germany flying against planes from Russia. You can buy a version with 8 planes for 50 bucks/Euros, or with ten planes for 90 bucks/Euros. You can play in either ‘normal’    IL2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad (BoS) in 10 words or less

    It’s a PC flight game being released November 2014.

    OK, I'll tell you more: BoS in 100 words or less

    It’s set in WW2, 1942, in Russia, with planes from Germany flying against planes from Russia. You can buy a version with 8 planes for 50 bucks/Euros, or with ten planes for 90 bucks/Euros. You can play in either ‘normal’ or expert mode. Normal mode is like War Thunder Arcade mode, and Expert mode is like Realistic mode, just even more realistic.

    The Stalingrad map is flat, white, and snowy, with flat, white snowy bits, and icy rivers. And snow. Great for framerates on older PCs, a bit boring after you have flown over it a few times.

    You love War Thunder/World of Warplanes, so why would you buy this?

    If you have a gaming PC, mouse and a joystick (needs programmable joystick), you have 50+ bucks burning a hole in your pocket, and are looking for a more ‘realistic’ flight game than WT/WOW, this could be worth a look.

    But buy it on sale. For what you get, it is overpriced: 8-10 aircraft and you are forced to play the crappy offline campaign in order to be able to get all the aircraft options in multiplayer. Seriously dumb idea, ruins an otherwise good flight game.    … Expand
  45. Anthroban
    Jan 8, 2015
    3
    I made a huge mistake buying this. I don't see how it is any better than War Thunder except it costs $70. I was expecting IL-2 1946 v2, instead I got this steaming pile of turd. Where did Oleg go? Who wrote this flight model? Awful. Just bloody awful.

    For anyone who reads this: You're better off with War Thunder if you enjoy flight combat games and if you enjoy flight simulators then go    I made a huge mistake buying this. I don't see how it is any better than War Thunder except it costs $70. I was expecting IL-2 1946 v2, instead I got this steaming pile of turd. Where did Oleg go? Who wrote this flight model? Awful. Just bloody awful.

    For anyone who reads this: You're better off with War Thunder if you enjoy flight combat games and if you enjoy flight simulators then go with DCS. This is just.. bad. Very very bad.    … Expand
  46. Godofredor
    Jan 6, 2015
    0
    Just an IL-2 Sturmovik wannabe that ended more like one arcadish "Wings of Prey" or "War Thunder" game. The sad thing behind this tittle is the betrayal to the true IL2 fans and that the developers are using the IL2 name this way. 1C had the best WWII simulator, now they have this mess. If you are looking for a good WWII sim you should stay with CLoD or move to DCS.
  47. LKS1990
    Jan 5, 2015
    9
    A good simulator with very good visuals. The graphics options are quite limited, but probably best for competitive online play. You have to fiddle with the control settings a little but luckily you can do that during the flight.

    The single player is good, but the Quick Missions + Campaign + Missions is a bit misleading, since they essentially offer the same scenarios. Campaign just    A good simulator with very good visuals. The graphics options are quite limited, but probably best for competitive online play. You have to fiddle with the control settings a little but luckily you can do that during the flight.

    The single player is good, but the Quick Missions + Campaign + Missions is a bit misleading, since they essentially offer the same scenarios. Campaign just gives you the option to progress with your profile, so the other two are kind of unnecessary.

    Online is a lot of fun with a good server browser and fluent gameplay. True, it needs some balancing, but nerfing the planes is not really an option for this quite realistic simulator.

    I would definitely recommend this game for people familiar with Rise of Flight or WarThunder. If DCS World is too complicated for you or you just want a quick and dirty dogfight, the game might also be an option for you.    … Expand
  48. DonKojote
    Dec 28, 2014
    5
    It's a decent effort , unfortunately there are design decisions that are truly unexplainable. First of all there are unlocks here that you can only achieve through playing rather dull single player campaign.

    There is no custom graphics options or a way to customise HUD. There is no mission editor yet , and there is no way to host your own servers. Both of these features are on the    It's a decent effort , unfortunately there are design decisions that are truly unexplainable. First of all there are unlocks here that you can only achieve through playing rather dull single player campaign.

    There is no custom graphics options or a way to customise HUD.

    There is no mission editor yet , and there is no way to host your own servers. Both of these features are on the way sometime in 2015 and will hopefully revitalise online experience.

    Oculus Rift support was promised but there is just excuses currently.    … Expand
  49. nivam
    Dec 23, 2014
    8
    Its a great sim, very fun to play with it, after al long day at work. Sure it has some issues but Im sure the devs will deal with them. My biggest issue is the weird unlock system (is it a sim or not? why I have to unlock things) and the singe winter map. Needs more content for the enviroment, say a summer map.
    I think this sim is a great effort from the developers, I sure support them    Its a great sim, very fun to play with it, after al long day at work. Sure it has some issues but Im sure the devs will deal with them. My biggest issue is the weird unlock system (is it a sim or not? why I have to unlock things) and the singe winter map. Needs more content for the enviroment, say a summer map.
    I think this sim is a great effort from the developers, I sure support them in the near future. We still need though a creal development roadmap.
    Keep up the good work    … Expand
  50. LosT_SouL_VL
    Dec 23, 2014
    0
    This arcade sim is overpriced, to arcade, to unfinished, slow progress and with limited planes, AI planes and ground objects, premium planes/pay to win, and for the older ones amongst us: remembering the CLOD debacle and the broken promise that BOS would be a free patch for those owning CLOD, and that part of the CLOD team is working on BOS and what not else. This game could be named CLOD2!!!
  51. Con
    Dec 20, 2014
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The long awaited WWII flight sim from 777 , for me this is a hit and miss flight sim ,

    The Good ..........
    We have good graphics especially at night dawn and dusk .
    decent sound but needs work on impact sounds on aircraft .
    Good quick mission builder. Easy to use .
    Good flight models tweak your joystick settings .
    eight aircraft to choose from with tail gunners for multiplayer .
    Large map .
    Easy setup GUI.
    Good for the new comer to flight sims .

    The Bad ........
    poor campaign and the unlocks ,
    no ground war going on ,historical
    no squadron historical
    no pilot ranks historical
    no real history to connect too .
    Basic hit boxes on FM .
    visuals in combat ..seem Arcaded

    The Ugly........
    Unlocks .

    For me it's all about history , this is nothing like Rise of flight , were you had good campaigns and real mission history involved . Squadrons , pilot skins ect , ect .... The more I play this game the more frustrated I become , of what should of been , could of been . Shouldn't of been .    … Expand
  52. Caustical
    Dec 19, 2014
    3
    Do not get fooled by the IL2 name in front of it. This is NOT a true IL2 successor but rather a repackaging of the Rise of Flight game with different planes.
    The game is OK if you just like to fly FPS style but is not even near to being able to call it self a simulator.
    Most of the "feeling of flight" praises you'll read are from artificial effects like motion blur, cockpit shaking etc.    Do not get fooled by the IL2 name in front of it. This is NOT a true IL2 successor but rather a repackaging of the Rise of Flight game with different planes.
    The game is OK if you just like to fly FPS style but is not even near to being able to call it self a simulator.
    Most of the "feeling of flight" praises you'll read are from artificial effects like motion blur, cockpit shaking etc.

    Although I gave the game a 3, I would give a -10 to the company behind it and their dirty tactics.    … Expand
  53. charliereddog
    Dec 16, 2014
    0
    Absolute pile of crap and insult to the legacy of IL2.

    grinding xp to gain "unlocks", borked FM's and a laughably naïve damage model. Lack of any sort of FMB.

    This is a huge step back from Cliffs of Dover, and from the guys who stabbed Oleg Maddox's team and vision in the back.
  54. bf109
    Dec 13, 2014
    0
    Bad game, so much flaws...

    Poor performance, bad AI, very bad ugly damage model, poor multiplayer, horrible single player...

    This game worth 10 bucks, maybe.
  55. Kellothar
    Dec 12, 2014
    2
    Плюсы:
    Хорошая физика.
    Минусы: Требование проходить кампанию, для открытия модификаций и скинов. Кампания - простой генеретор миссий, который на второй вечер приедается. Нет настроек графики. Пересвеченная картинка. Завышенные системные требования. Даже на рекомендованных настройках на среднем пресете, игра тормозит. Нет масштабности.    Плюсы:
    Хорошая физика.

    Минусы:
    Требование проходить кампанию, для открытия модификаций и скинов.
    Кампания - простой генеретор миссий, который на второй вечер приедается.
    Нет настроек графики.
    Пересвеченная картинка.
    Завышенные системные требования. Даже на рекомендованных настройках на среднем пресете, игра тормозит.
    Нет масштабности.
  56. Jingle_Bellz
    Dec 10, 2014
    0
    Genuinely poor effort. Really bad design decisions and intransigent and combative devs.

    Money down the drain. Wish I could get my money back but not going to happen.
  57. WillyZ
    Dec 9, 2014
    9
    Comparable to Cliffs of Dover with team fusion. Top notch multiplayer WW2 flight sim.
    Loses a point for forcing everyone to play single player campaign to unlock features in multiplayer.
    I am only interested in multiplayer and don't want to play single player against bot.

    Multiplayer is fantastic on a 3d screen with trackIR.
  58. Hermodur
    Dec 7, 2014
    10
    Die Kampagne ist leider langweilig gehalten aber das wird noch überarbeitet. Im multiplayer macht das Spiel eine sehr gute Figur.
    Man hat wirklich das Gefühl in einem Flugzeug zu sitzen. Die Luftkämpfe sehen dabei auch noch sehr gut aus.... es macht mir viel Spaß nach der Arbeit. Es gibt noch viel zu tun um damit das Spiel, aber die Entwickler liefern kontinuierlich patches nach. Das    Die Kampagne ist leider langweilig gehalten aber das wird noch überarbeitet. Im multiplayer macht das Spiel eine sehr gute Figur.
    Man hat wirklich das Gefühl in einem Flugzeug zu sitzen. Die Luftkämpfe sehen dabei auch noch sehr gut aus.... es macht mir viel Spaß nach der Arbeit. Es gibt noch viel zu tun um damit das Spiel, aber die Entwickler liefern kontinuierlich patches nach. Das einzigste was schade ist, ist das die Server auf 32 Spieler begrenzt wurden aber dies wird nach und nach vergrößert und soll zum schluß auf 100 Spieler kommen. Ich kann nur jedem enpfehlen der Il2 liebt dieses Spiel zu kaufen.... von mir gibt es 5 Sterne :)    … Expand
  59. CWMV
    Dec 6, 2014
    0
    In early access I was super stoked, but then it was released and the devs showed the utter contempt they have for us, the end user.
    This game, and I do mean game as it is not a simulator of the same level as CoD, was released with awful options that force boring game play with a crap campaign that is not historical in any way, more a series of unrelated single missions.
    Further you must    In early access I was super stoked, but then it was released and the devs showed the utter contempt they have for us, the end user.
    This game, and I do mean game as it is not a simulator of the same level as CoD, was released with awful options that force boring game play with a crap campaign that is not historical in any way, more a series of unrelated single missions.
    Further you must play through this abortion in order to unlock equipment and even skins for the aircraft. None of which are available for single or multiplayer use until you have ground them all out in the previously mentioned terrible campaign that is included in the release.
    And whats more it is impossible to tailor this game to your system. Your options are low, balanced, high and ultra. That is it. Apparently Loft has it in his head that we as a community are too stupid to use this software properly.
    In summation, here is an excerpt from one of my posts at BoS forums:

    "I can't select the best graphics settings for my rig.
    I cannot play a coherent unit based historical campaign.
    I cannot create a coherent unit based historical campaign.
    I cannot play the coherent unit based campaigns created by others.
    I am forced to play a garbage campaign in order to unlock common front line mission essential equipment and skins.
    When a work around is found to the above by running at x16 speed the devs punish us by limiting it to x2.
    I cannot create skins (to my knowledge anyhow, might be wrong).
    I dislike online play.

    So what, exactly, is there left for me to do with this 100 usd boondoggle?"

    I should have used the $100 somewhere else.    … Expand
  60. dburne
    Dec 6, 2014
    3
    I have been playing combat flight sims for many years, started with the original Red Baron for DOS. I owned the original IL2, along with all it's expansions up to Il2 1946, along with many other WWII combat sims. The IL2 series remained my favorite.

    I purchased the Early Access Premium version of BOS when it became available, and participated all throughout the Early Access period.    I have been playing combat flight sims for many years, started with the original Red Baron for DOS. I owned the original IL2, along with all it's expansions up to Il2 1946, along with many other WWII combat sims. The IL2 series remained my favorite.

    I purchased the Early Access Premium version of BOS when it became available, and participated all throughout the Early Access period. While I had some smaller concerns, I really liked what I saw, and had very high hopes for this sim. I was and am a fan of ROF, and with BOS being developed by the same guys, I was very excited. Until they released the Single Player system upon us, shortly before the official release. Last time I played it , was the day after the SP was released to us.

    The XP grinding, unlocking items, unlocking airfields, no continuity of a player's career, only what appear to be some QMG missions thrown together, just does not do anything for me - in fact, turns me off to the sim completely. Throw in the graphics presets only in the options - 4 presets one has to choose, with no ability to customize any individual items like bloom, hdr, shadows, terrain, etc. Plus no ability to customize globally difficulty settings for the SP campaign. Want to fly with unlimited ammo while you are cutting your teeth on the sim? Not going to happen.

    If one likes power ups, unlocking items ( that you have already paid for), etc - then you will likely like this sim. If you are more used to what you got with previous WWII combat flight sims in terms of campaigns, careers, then you may well be disappointed like myself. Especially if you are coming from the IL-2 Series itself. I myself just can not see this sim as they have billed it " The continuation of the legendary IL-2 Series".

    I am giving BOS a score of 3 here. I feel that is generous on my part, it does have nice graphics and for the most part the flight physics seem really good, but what pulls that score down from me is - I no longer play it, and have no desire to play it in it's current state. I will keep an eye on it going forward and see if maybe something changes that might lure me back to it.    … Expand
  61. il2_player
    Dec 5, 2014
    1
    Terrible for a sim, ok for a game. Trouble is it was sold as a sim, with the developers only dropping the unlock and xp bombshell just before the release.
    No point in complaining on the forum, or asking for a refund, because its ban city over there. Now we wait to see if the lead developer follows thru with his threat to cancel the game later this month...
  62. Tektolnes
    Dec 4, 2014
    6
    Have to revise my score down from 8 to 6. Looks like the Devs just don't want to listen to people and make some quick common sense decision to improve this game's reception. Unlocks shouldn't apply to those who pay full price. Custom graphic options not being present and with no plans to change this policy is ludicrous. Badly implemented SSAO ruining the game's looks at high / ultraHave to revise my score down from 8 to 6. Looks like the Devs just don't want to listen to people and make some quick common sense decision to improve this game's reception. Unlocks shouldn't apply to those who pay full price. Custom graphic options not being present and with no plans to change this policy is ludicrous. Badly implemented SSAO ruining the game's looks at high / ultra settings. Autopilot stuck to 2x time compression so the cheaper Russian buyers can't blaze through the dull campaign unlocks.

    There's a good core game here but Loft has made some very bad calls about some major aspects of the game design. It would be easy for the devs to remedy these decisions with virtually no work on their side but Loft appears to be digging his heels in as he knows better than everybody voicing their complaints apparently. Hopefully somebody can make him come to his senses and things can turn around but I'm not overly hopeful at this point. If they keep these same policies I won't be buying any future releases and with DCS WW2 and CloD TF 5.0 on the way there's plenty of other quality choices in the market.    … Expand
  63. Siggi
    Dec 3, 2014
    1
    Soviet biased FMs, broken German plane FMs, a laughably shallow DM, an arcade campaign that requires the player to unlock components he's already paid for, no mission editor, hit-sounds that still don't work, inability to tune graphics to best suit ones personal computer hardware and nobody playing online. This arcade game is a travesty and a cynical betrayal of the revered IL2 name itSoviet biased FMs, broken German plane FMs, a laughably shallow DM, an arcade campaign that requires the player to unlock components he's already paid for, no mission editor, hit-sounds that still don't work, inability to tune graphics to best suit ones personal computer hardware and nobody playing online. This arcade game is a travesty and a cynical betrayal of the revered IL2 name it stole to try and con sales. Avoid it.… Expand
  64. RedToo
    Dec 2, 2014
    1
    Not good. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
  65. mjbroot
    Dec 2, 2014
    5
    --GRAPHICS-- 8.5/10

    Very good with the exception of forced SSAO and other postprocessing. There are NO custom settings. Just 3 console like presets. Workarounds to switch off SSAO's and other PP have been actively stopped and patched by Devs. --SINGLE PLAYER-- 2/10 Game features unlockable field modifications for your aircraft. These apply in SP & MP. You need to grind your way    --GRAPHICS-- 8.5/10

    Very good with the exception of forced SSAO and other postprocessing. There are NO custom settings. Just 3 console like presets. Workarounds to switch off SSAO's and other PP have been actively stopped and patched by Devs.

    --SINGLE PLAYER-- 2/10

    Game features unlockable field modifications for your aircraft. These apply in SP & MP. You need to grind your way through them if you want to use them in MP which is not much fun at all.

    There is NO traditional campaign with a backstory, continual career progress or medals. Only a quick mission builder and "campaign".

    The "campaign" is a simplified quick mission builder. A series of disjointed, generated missions. You choose your side, airplane, airfield, mission type & duration for each mission. The only purpose of this is so you can grind through to earn XP to unlock aforementioned unlockable field mods. Without exception, every mission has 4 waypoints.

    1. Start at Airfield (or in air)
    2. Enter "Mission"
    3. Target Area
    4 . Exit "Mission"

    The waypoint system enforces the XP grinding system - you need to fly through waypoints to earn XP. You earn XP only on easy or realistic difficulty. The custom setting doesn't give you any XP points.

    Many people didn't like this fun killing feature that was introduced at release (not being there during early access). So they set their plane at autopilot and 16x time compression and let the pc do the grind for them.

    At the same time the devs decided to reduce time compression to 2x maximum(!). These 2 events are apparently unrelated. However this made auto-grinding unfeasible and also makes the flight through waypoints on longer missions (more XP) boring.

    A "Autopilot off when enemy is near" feature would have made more sense.

    All of the above makes singleplayer in it's current form an utterly boring experience.

    --THE COMING MISSION EDITOR-- ?

    There is light at the end of the tunnel however as a proper Mission Editor is in the works. It will allow players to script, place objectives, waypoints, etc. When this tool is released, new and complex missions are expected to be released by members of the community, with one already in existence.

    It is a sad new paradigm where the players have to do the devs job to bring about a creative campaign. And don't have the tools to do it at release none the less.

    --MULTI PLAYER-- 7/10

    Multiplayer can be good solid fun, especially on a good server and with friends. There is no dedicated server tool for all players yet(will be in future) to host their own server so current choice is limited.

    BoS can host a limited number of players on a server. Originaly 64, then reduced to 32 and now again lifted to a slightly larger number of 48. Don't expect 100 player servers any time soon.

    --FLIGHT MODEL-- 6.5/10

    The flight model received a lot of praise and part of it is justified. The game recreates a feeling of flight like no other. Visual and audio clues give you a feeling like you're in the air. Alas - you're in the wrong aircraft. The feeling of flight is based on the dev's previous work on Rise of Flight and it does show. The airplanes feel like they are 500KG and not 2500KG. Your airplane rarely stays still. It's constantly jittering as if it had partially and asymmetrically deployed flaps (or indeed was a light airplane) The planes from WW2 were more then capable to fly in a straight line without jittering, the thrust to weight of these planes,and their design and construction allowed for it. Watch a POV flight video that had a properly mounted camera (no vibration) and you'll see what I mean.

    In short you always feel like you're in turbulence, which is appealing to some people but doesn't reflect reality of what it was like to fly a metal plane at 400kmh. The actual turbulence and wind is however nicely modeled, it's just that it never completely goes away for one second.

    There are squabbles over roll rates, turn circles and climbing performance of various planes, but that's the way it is with every sim.

    --DAMAGE MODEL-- 6/10

    Eye candy. Lots of smoke, lots of explosions, fire, etc. But it is effects for the sake of physical/historical accuracy. Machine gun fire lights up fuesalages. Single cannon round hits cause critical damage where they wouldn't and every other hit results in some sort of smoke coming of the enemy a/c. It's nice to look at, but not very accurate.
    --SUMMARY-- I've played the original IL2 Sturmovik. I was hoping for this to be a continuation of the IL2 spirit. It's not. I'm disillusioned. A lot of good features have been forcibly taken out and fun killing features introduced for no reason. If you've been expecting a new il2 sturmovik then this is not the game for you. If you're new to the genre and want a good place to start or coming from WT then yes this is a good game to get started.    … Expand
  66. meunomeeninguem
    Nov 25, 2014
    0
    This game is just too awful. It is a failed copy of war thunder (not reaching war thunder success) and a failed successor of IL2 series. Honestly I would never suggest this game to anyone who is looking for a combat flight simulator. They just betrayed who bought this game during pre-alpha, I find very hard to trust 777, 1c in the future, specially for how they treated their customers.
  67. Osis
    Nov 24, 2014
    5
    Initially I thought I was getting a updated version of the classic version of il-2 Sturmovik and it appeared during development that we were on the right track. But at the 11th hour the developers added an unlock system that has completely killed my interest, safe to say that if you are a Multiplayer only type then this is not the game for you.

    I do see potential, but frankly I am just    Initially I thought I was getting a updated version of the classic version of il-2 Sturmovik and it appeared during development that we were on the right track. But at the 11th hour the developers added an unlock system that has completely killed my interest, safe to say that if you are a Multiplayer only type then this is not the game for you.

    I do see potential, but frankly I am just not playing the game and the reaction to the playerbase by the developers is troubling. Overall it is probably the best game I will not play and I think at least has had a positive effect of moving people to Cliffs of Dover. Keep in mind I have flown in excess of 1500 organized Multiplayer missions in the original il-2 as pilot Lipfert.

    If they are going to force a single player unlock system on you, then they really should had made it a very interesting experience. The word on the street is it is frustratingly boring in it's present form and I have basically been in a holding pattern.

    I am giving this a 5, because of the reaction from the development team during the release to the playbase in question. Will give an updated review in one month and see if anything interesting develops.    … Expand
  68. ChiefRedCloud
    Nov 22, 2014
    9
    You have to question any review that starts with a comment like "Disregard and positive or negative ratings as being FanBoys or Nay sayers". A review should be about the facts (as each of us see them) and NOT on feelings or anger.

    Battle of Stalingrad in a nut shell gives you a stable platform to fly one of the biggest historical battles in the books. Is it perfect? Most likely not. But    You have to question any review that starts with a comment like "Disregard and positive or negative ratings as being FanBoys or Nay sayers". A review should be about the facts (as each of us see them) and NOT on feelings or anger.

    Battle of Stalingrad in a nut shell gives you a stable platform to fly one of the biggest historical battles in the books. Is it perfect? Most likely not. But then what game is perfect?    … Expand
  69. Skoots
    Nov 22, 2014
    0
    Until the developers listen to their core community, this title is not going to the be successor of IL2. It really is a shame. If they wanted to blow the doors off of the sim genre, they should have taken all the things everyone loves about IL2 and CLoD with the TF mods and implemented them into this title. I understand change is hard for some people and the ones frustrated with this titleUntil the developers listen to their core community, this title is not going to the be successor of IL2. It really is a shame. If they wanted to blow the doors off of the sim genre, they should have taken all the things everyone loves about IL2 and CLoD with the TF mods and implemented them into this title. I understand change is hard for some people and the ones frustrated with this title might seem that way, but it really is just a case of bad implementation of non sim ideas into a "sim" game.

    Instead of trying to draw in the WT crowd or think they know how to draw in the younger gamers, could you imagine if they put that time into building an out of this world immersive SP campaign?

    I play lots of games, from the late Darkfall Online to the FPS Insurgency to titles on the WII U to RO. The bottom line is GAMEPLAY will always win. If you don't have solid gameplay and depth to your game it will fail.    … Expand
  70. Tree_uk
    Nov 22, 2014
    2
    Good graphics is about all this has going for it. Rubbish offline campaign, xp points, grinding for unlocks, online is dead, devs treating the fanbase with contempt and threatening to close the game unless things improve.
    Not worth the $60/$90 they are asking, when war thunder is free and with a lot more content.
  71. bigsilverhotdog
    Nov 19, 2014
    0
    IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad is basically just a scam. It was not made by the geniuses that made IL2, it was made by the Rise of Flight developer who has attempted to hide this fact by stealing the good name of IL-2, the good name of which took over a decade to cultivate with ONE core product, for THIS product. Simply shameful. Their only intention is to gouge their playerbase with expensiveIL-2 Battle of Stalingrad is basically just a scam. It was not made by the geniuses that made IL2, it was made by the Rise of Flight developer who has attempted to hide this fact by stealing the good name of IL-2, the good name of which took over a decade to cultivate with ONE core product, for THIS product. Simply shameful. Their only intention is to gouge their playerbase with expensive DLC, as they have proved for years with Rise of Flight, of which I was a day-1 player (hardcore simmer). Today, Rise of Flight currently costs $265 on Steam for the game + all DLC, and it isn't even worth half that. Rise of Flight is not high quality. It's basically just a WWI mod using the IL-2 Sturmovik (original game) engine. Many of the original problems at launch persist today. These developers care far more about money and PR than about simulator gaming, or even video gaming. Don't fund this scam. Don't fund these scammers. Stay far, far away. Besides, the original IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 + mods is still, even now in 2014, FAR better than any other WWII flight sim currently available.… Expand
  72. Rebel352
    Nov 16, 2014
    0
    Take the positive scores, and throw them all away- the developers of this team are threatening to shut the entire project down with no refund to anyone if the score didn't improve. They have consistently made poor design choices from the "early access" consisting of afternoons in the middle of the week, to incorporating an unlock system a-la world of tanks that perpetually brokeTake the positive scores, and throw them all away- the developers of this team are threatening to shut the entire project down with no refund to anyone if the score didn't improve. They have consistently made poor design choices from the "early access" consisting of afternoons in the middle of the week, to incorporating an unlock system a-la world of tanks that perpetually broke multiplayer.

    Everything they do, and everything they are, is a direct contradiction of what they promised to deliver. When called on it, they hold a gun to the sim that you paid money for's head, and tell you to write good reviews because they need "comrades, not customers".

    We haven't even broached the technical aspects of the game yet. Massive biases to the Russian aircraft (in every aspect- flight stability, performance, firepower), coupled with bombers that can do infinite loops right from the runway, huge holes in the damage and flight modelling, ballistics, all contributing to a 180 degree turn from what the original was billed as.

    This is not a flight sim, and you can barely call it a game. If, however, you still subscribe to the antiquated notion that games are supposed to be "fun", then you can't really call it that, either. It is by far the greatest insult ever levied against the flight sim market, and only made worse by its creators' treatment of the community. These people make Oleg Maddox look kind and flexible, and Putin benevolent.

    I wish I had rolled up my money and smoked it rather than give even a stinky ruble to these...."gentlemen".

    Good day.    … Expand
  73. Maax
    Nov 16, 2014
    4
    BoS may be a good flight sim in the core but the behavior and outright contempt for their core players, who has been around for years enjoying the true IL2 Sturmovik series takes away any good that can be found, with a bit of searching mind you, from the game.

    Wont repeat the negatives as you only have to read all the other scores that are not 8-10.
  74. loubard
    Nov 14, 2014
    10
    This is how a good simulation should feel like!
    The game is making constantly more fun each day. The producers seem to update it regulary and they reply very fast to nearly every suggestions, questions or critics in the official game forum. Thumbs up!
  75. EddieElNino
    Nov 5, 2014
    10
    Great game, fun to play and looks fantastic. I have weathered through the good times and the bad with Il2 and this is definitely a high mark. Mulltiplayer is loads of fun and so is the campaign. I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of playing and would tell anyone to try it!
  76. pilotpierre
    Nov 2, 2014
    10
    As a aerobatic pilot in real life, this is the closest to actual flying I have experienced on any flight sim starting with Falcon on an Atari 500 around 30? Years ago.
    The aircraft have weight and are a delight to fly.
    Graphics are outstanding. Sounds are great. I could wax lyrical about this BoS ad nauseum, but I suggest potential buyers see for yourselves via the plethora of videos    As a aerobatic pilot in real life, this is the closest to actual flying I have experienced on any flight sim starting with Falcon on an Atari 500 around 30? Years ago.
    The aircraft have weight and are a delight to fly.
    Graphics are outstanding.
    Sounds are great.
    I could wax lyrical about this BoS ad nauseum, but I suggest potential buyers see for yourselves via the plethora of videos on youtube and the BoS sight. Also check out independent reviews now available.
    I have been playing this since the early release was first released and the weekly updates during that period and the regular updates since actual release give me confidence that this sim will surpass the original IL2 in longevity.    … Expand
  77. Arealsimmer
    Nov 1, 2014
    5
    This game is an Arcade with a dash of simulation. The unlocks IMO are a joke and a ploy to target a certain audience. I think this game could have been better and its a shame it has the IL2 stamp on it.
  78. x15
    Oct 31, 2014
    1
    This is a far cry from the il2 series. They only milked the that name to mislead people about what this game is.
    They had available to them two flight sim engines with almost everything done. They chose to go with the most limited six years old engine.
    That's fine, as long you at least get what was already available in the engine. But looks instead of developing the Rise of flight engine    This is a far cry from the il2 series. They only milked the that name to mislead people about what this game is.
    They had available to them two flight sim engines with almost everything done. They chose to go with the most limited six years old engine.
    That's fine, as long you at least get what was already available in the engine. But looks instead of developing the Rise of flight engine and add more features to it, they decided to chop off stuff as time went on. At this point Battle of Stalingrad is an extremely limited game, where players are forced to play a certain absurd way.
    Gone are the custom skins, gone is the mission, builder, gone is the ability to customize your graphics settings and they even removed the f11 free camera for some obscure reason.
    The career is boring to tears and the players have to focus on the unlocks instead of getting immersed in the action.
    The multiplayer also got a hard hit recently. The maximum number of players allowed in a server being reduced to 32.
    But the worst part about this game is the patronizing and borderline dictatorial attitude of the developers. From deleting thousands of posts on the forums, to locking game content paid at premium price in an absurd offline only unlock system, to threatening to shut down everything if users don't post stellar reviews.
    I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone.    … Expand
  79. Priller
    Oct 30, 2014
    1
    Early-access purchasers were promised a sim, what we have now is an arcade game with shallow DMs, soviet-biased FMs, broken MP and an SP campaign about as interesting as watching paint dry. And never mind "soviet-biased" FMs, the FM allows planes like the He111 to do infinite loops. In expert-mode! And then the unlocks. This is where you cannot use the content you PAID for until you'veEarly-access purchasers were promised a sim, what we have now is an arcade game with shallow DMs, soviet-biased FMs, broken MP and an SP campaign about as interesting as watching paint dry. And never mind "soviet-biased" FMs, the FM allows planes like the He111 to do infinite loops. In expert-mode! And then the unlocks. This is where you cannot use the content you PAID for until you've grinded your way through the dreadful SP 'campaign'. It's not a campaign, the campaign is nothing more than a QMB-generator, in which you're lucky to see more than a handful of planes and tanks to shoot at. That's because the Digital Nature engine cannot handle AI objects very well.
    Then we have the absence of the ability to set-up graphics settings. That's because BoS is basically a console-game dressed up for the PC. The lack of a mission-editor, even a basic one.
    This game brings nothing to the PC. It belongs on the consoles. Shallow arcade dreck and the worst betrayal of the IL2 name since 1C dumped Cliffs of Dover.    … Expand
  80. rss334
    Oct 30, 2014
    3
    Single Player is pretty bad. Bought and backed this primarily for the single player, did not turn out as expected and the end development was rushed to get it out. The company who made this was 1C, same company who abandoned Cliffs of Dover. They will tell you it was a different set of people but it's the same company, the same drama, and the same results. Official forums are NaziSingle Player is pretty bad. Bought and backed this primarily for the single player, did not turn out as expected and the end development was rushed to get it out. The company who made this was 1C, same company who abandoned Cliffs of Dover. They will tell you it was a different set of people but it's the same company, the same drama, and the same results. Official forums are Nazi style moderation and anyone who has anything negative to say is moderated and removed.

    While the graphics are decent, the flight model and damage model are not up to par. Additionally the single player campaign is tedious and boring. Whoever decided to charge 80 dollars for a game then make you unlock everything is out of their minds. Buy Cliff of Dover with the Team Fusion Mod, it's a better game at a much cheaper price.

    Due to the single player experience this game fails at what it tried to set out to do.    … Expand
  81. JG1_Tomas
    Oct 30, 2014
    10
    Simply one of the best between WWII Simulators today. Very good and realistic flight model, beautifull graphics.and so on... It is must have for hardcore players. Thumbs up.
  82. Monte28
    Oct 28, 2014
    10
    Before reading my review or anyone else's, take a second to look up a video of this game. If you can accomplish that simple task, you will realize none if these reviews mean anything because the game is what you make of it, and it provides you with everything to make the game the best you can play, or you can look at minor flaws and give it a zero because you can't live with even one smallBefore reading my review or anyone else's, take a second to look up a video of this game. If you can accomplish that simple task, you will realize none if these reviews mean anything because the game is what you make of it, and it provides you with everything to make the game the best you can play, or you can look at minor flaws and give it a zero because you can't live with even one small feature that isn't
    Made just for you.
    Alright so let me start off by saying I am a licensed pilot for gliders and single engine aircraft. I have been flying for 7 years now and I have hundreds of hours of flight time. I know what it feels like to fly an aircraft. So I was a founder of the game when it first came out and loved it. There was a lot of improvements with each update and it was extremely promising. Towards the end, however; the development started turning into a disaster. A lot of user input was ignored and many decisions were based off of pure developer opinions versus the user opinions. The reason I am giving the game a 10 is to counter the lies a lot of reviews here claim. People are giving this game a zero because of a simple system that has NOTHING to do with the simulator as a whole. How does unlocking stuff make a great game into an awful game. People are over dramatic and I'm not saying the game is perfect, but it is the best flight SIM out right now. When you buy a flight simulator, that is what you are buying. It simulates flight! A lot of people are giving negative reviews because the game has "bad flight models?" And you Mr.I give games zeros because I can, have flown an aircraft before? Didn't think so. The flight models are amazing. You can feel the speed, turbulence, and weight of the plane. I understand why a lot of people are upset about this. It's actually hard to fly and shoot at the same time! The original Il2 had no turbulence and the physics at the time could not simulate lift.Battle of Stalingrad does a great job of simulating every aspect of aviation. In terms of visuals the game is the best I've ever seen. Even better than DCS in terms of plane models(DCS wins for environment though) and the combat is so compelling. You are gripping your stick as hard as you can as you fight in a rolling scissors and ballistics are on point. Do not listen to all the zero reviews. And if you think I'm a fanboy then look up videos and see for yourself! The game is awesome and multiplayer is a blast with a lot of custom missions already and large scale servers. The game can only get better with support and these devs are the only ones willing to make us WW2 flight Sims anymore. Like I said. Look up videos and see how much this game accomplishes.    … Expand
  83. Pigmachine
    Oct 28, 2014
    8
    IL2:BoS have a very solid platform, and great flight-models, a real feeling that you are in an old WWII bird, and an incredible sensation of real flight, that I can't remember when the last time I felt.
    It looks good, it plays good. And mainly I really want it to take over the coming 10+ years as the New IL2 in the ..ehh.. IL2 series.
    I've been an owner of the game for quite some time,    IL2:BoS have a very solid platform, and great flight-models, a real feeling that you are in an old WWII bird, and an incredible sensation of real flight, that I can't remember when the last time I felt.
    It looks good, it plays good. And mainly I really want it to take over the coming 10+ years as the New IL2 in the ..ehh.. IL2 series.
    I've been an owner of the game for quite some time, and I already got my 100$ worth out of it, several times over.

    I'm not really bitter anymore about the forced SP campaign, to unlock stuff for MP and QM's.
    I tried some positive thinking, and pretend I have to attend flight-school against my will.
    This title will only grow stronger in time, but I recommend you to voice your opinions about the unlocks were the devs can see it, not immediately feel it in their pockets.

    This is my greatest fear about the project.. the unlocks. If I would today stand between buying a 100$ sim.. and then having to unlock weapons I would just laugh, and browse on, I'm 42 years old.. I don't 'Gotta catch them all'
    But I'm glad I bought it when I did, since now I have it, instead it being showed to me today, I would take the word 'unlock' on the same page as simulator as an insult.
    But see it as being forced to learn your surroundings, identify planes etc etc. that you will benefit from a lot in MP While being 'rewarded' for doing it

    The dedicated server and full mission builder will be out sooner then later

    I will make a re-review after I finish my first campaign, so this score is not set in stone

    Since I can't even force myself to play the 'unlock game' and not even playing it at all right now, I changed my rating    … Expand
  84. HaggisHunter
    Oct 28, 2014
    8
    I would definitely recommend this flight sim. The feeling of flight is quite different to other simulators and while the aircraft can behave a little oddly at times other simulators feel stilted by comparison. A couple of interesting design decisions pull down the score one or two points, preset graphics options and un-lockable content, but it is otherwise very solid and makes up for it inI would definitely recommend this flight sim. The feeling of flight is quite different to other simulators and while the aircraft can behave a little oddly at times other simulators feel stilted by comparison. A couple of interesting design decisions pull down the score one or two points, preset graphics options and un-lockable content, but it is otherwise very solid and makes up for it in other areas.
    One important factor often forgotten is that Battle of Stalingrad, like Rise of Flight before it mature over the space of a couple of years, with regular updates and improvements. What might upset some people now may very well be old news in a few months, or even weeks, time.

    If you are still swithering then I urge you to try the free version of Rise of Flight, a WW1 flight sim by the same company, it will give you a good feel for the overall qualities of the sim, remembering that Rise of Flight is now some four years old and a generation behind Battle of Stalingrad. It wasn't perfect out of the box, but never bad and over the last four years it has developed into a solid mainstay of the flight sim genre. I'm sure Battle of Stalingrad give half a chance will also set new standards in years to come.    … Expand
  85. ultimatemann
    Oct 28, 2014
    0
    I am very sad to buy this game. Bad flight model, bad damage model.
    I thuoght this game is successor of IL2:STURMOVIK 1946.BUT IT ISIN'T!
    Overall I cant recommend this game at all. If you have any love for the genera then your money would be best spent elsewhere supporting people who make flight simulations instead of junk like this.
  86. JPRuri
    Oct 28, 2014
    3
    Synopsis: a mediocre game based on an old but solid engine (RoF), dumbed down to dumb for the masses.

    BoS is a bit muddled and feels as though it has suffered from a development tug of war between making a simple blaster to appeal to the masses, or a flight simulator for the smaller core audience. As it stands it on release, BoS does neither element well and unfortunately falls foul to    Synopsis: a mediocre game based on an old but solid engine (RoF), dumbed down to dumb for the masses.

    BoS is a bit muddled and feels as though it has suffered from a development tug of war between making a simple blaster to appeal to the masses, or a flight simulator for the smaller core audience. As it stands it on release, BoS does neither element well and unfortunately falls foul to mediocrity. It doesn’t help that it is based on an old direct x9 game engine that is already showing its age (RoF engine).

    The IL-2 brand name, the developers previous RoF tittle and PR suggest a good solid ww2 flight simulator but simple engine start-ups and management, unlocks and experience points for munitions and skins, the ‘Michael Bay Hollywood’ damage model and air-quake style servers limited to 32 players smacks more of a simple but flashy arcade game. Single player content is poor and revolves around getting the aforementioned experience points needed in both single and multiplayer and what’s worse is there is no public mission editor for players to make new content. Worse still, the developers have attempted to hold players to ransom, no mission editor in the future for groups that critique and even a now deleted threat that the game would be cancelled if negative critical scores prevailed hence the many 9 and 10 scores here.

    There are some positives, the graphics aren’t at all bad and the general feeling of flight is rendered ok (despite some colourful bugs), however there just isn’t enough to this title to make it stand-out against the competition never mind justify the price tag for an ageing game engine. Simply put War Thunder does the arcade thing better and Cliffs of Dover and DCS are more detailed simulators - BoS feels lost in the wilderness.

    I bought in as a “Founder” to support BoS and I wanted to like this game. BoS is not terrible but it doesn’t do anything particularly well either and taking into account the contempt the developers have shown for much of their fanbase I give this a 3/10.    … Expand
  87. trident_109
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    I've been an early access member of the IL2:BoS flight sim since the beginning. I wholeheartedly jumped in based upon my previous experience with 777 Studios' Rise of Flight game. It was a product I greatly enjoyed and despite some short falls they weren't anything that affected my enjoyment of the game. Eventually a decent campaign system was released and I was a relatively happy camper.I've been an early access member of the IL2:BoS flight sim since the beginning. I wholeheartedly jumped in based upon my previous experience with 777 Studios' Rise of Flight game. It was a product I greatly enjoyed and despite some short falls they weren't anything that affected my enjoyment of the game. Eventually a decent campaign system was released and I was a relatively happy camper. So when 777 Studios was tasked with creating the next iteration of the venerable IL2 I was confident I'd get a quality product that would provide years of entertainment.

    Where do I begin with this game? Well the obvious is the graphics. It's the first thing you notice and for the most part they look satisfactory to very good. I'm not fond of the cockpits but find that the atmosphere effects and ground details are pretty nice.

    Flight models? They are very functional and remove my disbelief enough so that I CAN imagine I'm flying a LaGG 3 on the western front. Most of the sounds are excellent, but as has been noted on several posts, the hit sounds of bullets striking your craft are inconsistent. Plane engines all sound realistic. Subtle things like the sounds of brake pistons and canopy hatches add to the realism.

    AI is a mixed bag. I don't consider my talent to be expert flyer/marksmen so I do get a challenge from the fighters, but not so much the bombers. Take it for what you will. AI is subjective and one man's hard may be another's easy.

    Where I fault the game (and it is a big fault because I'm a single player) is the campaign. I feel the game is Head and Shoulders above others because the it feels like the campaign has me applying, lathering, rinsing, and repeating over and over again. The campaign generator is just that, but instead of in-depth, living, breathing missions I get quick missions with three access points and minimal enemy interaction. The runways are thread bare and lifeless. I lead a flight of four and intercept two 111s and maybe one or two 109. Go home, land, and do it all over again.

    I can live with the unlocks, though I hope they don't continue this trend on further releases.

    There have been numerous ideas on the IL2:BoS forum where improvements can be made and I hope 1C/777 look into them.

    There is no mission editor yet and I hope that when it's released the community will get the plethora of user made campaigns we enjoyed in the original IL2. We'll see. Originally 777 wasn't going to release it at all but after community uproar they changed their mind. We'll see.

    My personal and final grade would be a 6. The campaign really does affect my desire to play and as it is I only fire up IL2:BoS a few times a week. I longingly look at my Track IR and CH Products HOTAS and just say, "Naw. I'm not interested." So much is good to very good, and my SIX is a subjective grade, so I rate it based on my likes and how they affect my desire to play.

    My NUMBERED Metacritic grade is 7. I'd like to see if 777 takes the opinions and desires of the community and improves on the good solid base of this game to the status of the original IL2.    … Expand
  88. Terribleone
    Oct 27, 2014
    3
    I have played flight games and sims since falcon 3.0. I like many others backed Il2 BOS because of 777 studios great work with Rise of Flight. I thought it would be a reskinned ROF set in WW2. I would expect movement forward, new ideas, and new improvements to what Il2 1946, and ROF offered.

    Instead it is a step backwards. Instead of focusing of making a complete study sim, they    I have played flight games and sims since falcon 3.0. I like many others backed Il2 BOS because of 777 studios great work with Rise of Flight. I thought it would be a reskinned ROF set in WW2. I would expect movement forward, new ideas, and new improvements to what Il2 1946, and ROF offered.

    Instead it is a step backwards. Instead of focusing of making a complete study sim, they focused on game elements, unlocks tied to a quick mission style campaign. You are part of no squadron, and can pick and choose randomly what you fly. It really is a quick mission generator with a skin trying to give you the impression of a campaign. Calling it that almost feels generous.

    The camera effects are great, head movement from G forces and maneuvering are great. Combat is over the top Hollywood. Everything burns instantly. There is no such thing as a self sealing fuel tank in BOS. Planes go down very fast, AI seems about as good as ROF. Feeling of flight is not on par with Cliffs of dover or DCS. In fact the feeling of flight is the #1 issue with the game for me. It feels wrong, but the camera masks it well. Sound is good, graphics are alright, good lighting, and textures which seem 4 years old.

    It could be a good game for a fast 10 min quick mission, but the feeling of flight, unlocks, and mediocre cockpits keep me away. Whats left with the price of extra aircraft doesn't the ability to stand on it's own. Modders have made Cliffs of dover superior in every way....and they don't get paid.    … Expand
  89. Blade_Meister
    Oct 27, 2014
    4
    Okay, this is my second review for IL2 Battle of Stalingrad. My first review, along with ever other review of BOS 90% complete was deleted at 1C/777 insistence. It seems the devs didn't like the backlash of negative reviews after some of the final rounds of updates. So, here we go again.
    1. Game Engine = 7 Bos works right out of the box. The updating system works well and is easy. The    Okay, this is my second review for IL2 Battle of Stalingrad. My first review, along with ever other review of BOS 90% complete was deleted at 1C/777 insistence. It seems the devs didn't like the backlash of negative reviews after some of the final rounds of updates. So, here we go again.
    1. Game Engine = 7 Bos works right out of the box. The updating system works well and is easy. The true strength has not been thoroughly tested in the consumer market because the D Server has just been released, so this remains to be seen. How many player and AI planes and objects that can be used in a functional mission is not known yet. Once FME is released, which may be up to 6 months from now per 1C/777, the strength of the DNE good or bad will be displayed.
    2. Graphics and Sound = 6 The games looks nice and gives pretty good frame rates(40 FPS for me on Ultra). There is nothing new here graphically(dx9c) except that BOS uses a full snow map with vary little on it in the way of objects, which is probably correct for Stalingrad during WWII.Graphics are set through 1C/777 designated presets, no custom graphics settings. Low, Balanced, High, and Ultra are the presets. Antialaising and Gama-correction are available. The sound in BOS is good with the usual setting of low, medium and high bit rate.
    3. Plane models = 7 They are nice but they do not compare to either DCS or CLOD plane models. The damage modeling again is nice, but does not compare with either of the above mentioned Sims. As of now only 1C/777 can add skins to BOS. There are 10 skins per plane that have to be unlocked through SP missions.(more on this later). No Nose art.
    4. Flight Model = 6 BOS gives a good feeling of flying but it still feels something like flying the ROF FMs. a very lite feeling. It is not a convincing metal plane heavyweight feel. It is very bouncy unless you set deep curves in the control settings. Landings are quite bad. BOS is way to bouncy on each plane, this really needs attention IMHO.
    5..Map = 5 Here again it looks nice. It has very little in the way of trees(trees do have collision model, a +)or other objects. Stalingrad itself is modeled and looks average at best. The sky and depiction of the 24 hour lighting(Sun) cycle are absolutely excellent, one of the best in any Sim yet. The weather effects are standard.
    6.Gui = 4 The Gui looks very "Arcade" and plain. There is no theme once you are in the SP, MP , QMB or Campaign selection screens. The Campaign has a tiny theme in the Campaign selection screens, and video intros for each stage of the Campaign. These videos are CG graphics and while good graphic quality is there, they are quite unrealistic and plastic feeling. In game videos would have been much better.
    7. SP, QMB and Campaign. = 2 There are 14 SP missions, they are fair at best. QMB is straight forward and a good place to practice, but no meat as far as building immersive missions. The Campaign is awful, that is the only true way to describe it. Non Historical Squads at non Historical Airfields, cannot custom name your pilot, there is no storyline and the missions are non connected and generated by the QMB. The way points are Home Field, Action point and Exit points(completely arcade). All planes come with basic weapons for SP and MP. During the Campaign you accumulate Xpoints by flying missions, Intercept, Escort, Ground attack, Ground Support and Bombing. These missions either consist of takeoff start or air start and fly to action point and fight enemy there. You may encounter some miscellaneous flights to fight, but that is rare. It is estimated to take about 60-80 hours of flying in Campaign mode to unlock all plane upgrades(see BOS Forums). THIS IS REQUIRED IF YOU WANT TO USE PLANE UPGRADES IN MP. This Single player and Campaign mode is very "Arcade" and does not even measure up to the original IL2 Single player and Campaign immersion or challenge. IMHO, this is the worst Campaign in a Flight Sim I have ever played.
    8. Replay Ability = 2 Other than MP, BOS has no replay ability as of now. Of course if and when user content can be added to BOS this could change. The Campaign mode is just plain boring and is best flown in very small doses.
    Conclusion: Score = 4(at best) THIS IS NOT THE IL2 SUCCESSOR THAT THE DEVS PROMISED, NOT EVEN CLOSE. The cover art for BOSs DVD box says," IL2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, The Legend Returns." IMHO, The Legend is not back. A quote from one of Lofts' initial interviews during the beginning of pre-purchase but before production of BOS had begun,"And to the experienced avia-sim players I want to say: “Don’t worry! We know how to make our sim the way you’ll like it." I have owned and flown every IL2 iteration from the first IL2 to BOS, and I can comfortably say 1C/777 have not lived up to there word. I supported BOS from a before production start EA purchase and 1C/777 had a pretty good game going until 3 weeks ago when they locked everything down. This is an Arcade game.    … Expand
  90. Covert_Death
    Oct 27, 2014
    10
    This is THE simulator for prop flight and WWII combat. there is nothing that comes close to the realism, both graphically and physically that this game has to offer.
  91. Otto_von_Otto
    Oct 27, 2014
    2
    I give BoS a 3, for the graphics (although the cockpits are nowhere near as good as Cliffs of Dover) and the fact that it works with only a few CTD's. It had a lot going for it, but seems to have fallen at the final hurdle with unlocks, XP points, and some questionable flight models.
    If you want a game, this is it, although it will cost you $50-$100. War Thunder, which it is similar to,    I give BoS a 3, for the graphics (although the cockpits are nowhere near as good as Cliffs of Dover) and the fact that it works with only a few CTD's. It had a lot going for it, but seems to have fallen at the final hurdle with unlocks, XP points, and some questionable flight models.
    If you want a game, this is it, although it will cost you $50-$100. War Thunder, which it is similar to, is free.
    If you want a sim, Cliffs of Dover is where its at.    … Expand
  92. SharpeXB
    Oct 27, 2014
    10
    This is the best WWII combat flight sim to be released in over a decade. Developed by the same team which brought the successful sim Rise of Flight. It is accessible to players who are new to this genre and offers complex features for more hardcore simulation enthusiasts as well. The aircraft are faithfully and accurately modeled with detailed animated cockpits and correct flight modeling.This is the best WWII combat flight sim to be released in over a decade. Developed by the same team which brought the successful sim Rise of Flight. It is accessible to players who are new to this genre and offers complex features for more hardcore simulation enthusiasts as well. The aircraft are faithfully and accurately modeled with detailed animated cockpits and correct flight modeling. It's important to realize this game has just been launched. It's normal for flight sims to be developed over time with additional content and improvements. As it is now the game works very solid and runs well. If BoS follows the same course as Rise of Flight it's certain to add more aircraft, maps, campaigns etc. there are a few good servers now for multiplayer and this number will certainly increase.… Expand
  93. ErBro
    Oct 27, 2014
    9
    Really enjoyed the game. The only thing that kinda disappointed me was the number of planes. I wish the developers added some more of those. Apart from that this is one of those games, real simulations, that gives you such a high level of immersion. You really believe that you're inside a plane. And at the same time this is no flight trainer, it's fun to play. Thanks a lot for keeping theReally enjoyed the game. The only thing that kinda disappointed me was the number of planes. I wish the developers added some more of those. Apart from that this is one of those games, real simulations, that gives you such a high level of immersion. You really believe that you're inside a plane. And at the same time this is no flight trainer, it's fun to play. Thanks a lot for keeping the flight sim genre alive!… Expand
  94. Flying_Penguin
    Oct 27, 2014
    2
    I've bought or played every IL-2 product ever produced, but this is the first time I can't bring myself to recommend one. At every step in the evolution of the IL-2 franchise there has been a sense of ambition, of a desire to make the "next big thing" in flight simulation, the original (even on release) blew the competition out of the water in terms of fidelity and capability, Birds/WingsI've bought or played every IL-2 product ever produced, but this is the first time I can't bring myself to recommend one. At every step in the evolution of the IL-2 franchise there has been a sense of ambition, of a desire to make the "next big thing" in flight simulation, the original (even on release) blew the competition out of the water in terms of fidelity and capability, Birds/Wings of Prey were good simcade games, Il-2: CLoD aimed to be more realistic, more in depth and more beautiful than everything that had come before. CLoD was let down by shoddy project management and a restless publisher and it took a while for Team Fusions to rescue it, but at least there was the ambition to be the final word in WW2 flight sims.

    BoS, whilst pretty, seems to have lost that ambition. The fidelity level is somewhere between CLoD and War Thunder, the single player is lacklustre and arcade inspired (even the original Il-2 linear story driven campaign would be preferable), the community is in an unhealthy state and the developers seem to be aiming for the mid-core War Thunder Air Quake crowd.

    This is not what I (and many people) hoped for in an Il-2 successor, and that makes me sad. :-(    … Expand
  95. mrcelsius
    Oct 27, 2014
    6
    Game is great. Multiplayer is full of players if the time is right, but those servers not suitable for US/Asian users due to high ping problem.
    Downside of this game is campaign and unlock system.
    Campaign looks pretty on the outside, but it's inside is ugly. Due to engine's limitation, there's no large scale battle between you and AI, only small sized missions. About the AI, they are    Game is great. Multiplayer is full of players if the time is right, but those servers not suitable for US/Asian users due to high ping problem.
    Downside of this game is campaign and unlock system.
    Campaign looks pretty on the outside, but it's inside is ugly.
    Due to engine's limitation, there's no large scale battle between you and AI, only small sized missions.
    About the AI, they are not that challenging. But difficulty is not what I want to criticize.
    There's no communication between you and the AI.
    Of course you can order them to attack or cover, but to do that, first you need to memorize all the shortcuts.
    Also it seems like AI don't know how to attack ground targets. They use guns rather than drop bombs.
    This game force you to play campaign to unlock things(which is ridiculous), but the campaign is boring.

    This game has potential, but for now, I can only give 6.    … Expand
  96. Reality-Check
    Oct 27, 2014
    8
    First off, there exists a very negative crowd of individuals who for some unknown reason have taken it upon themselves to create a hate campaign against this product. Many do not even own this title and are just spewing forth the party line.

    Take a reality check and do not believe any review with zero's or one's. The flip-side is that people who want to see this combat flight    First off, there exists a very negative crowd of individuals who for some unknown reason have taken it upon themselves to create a hate campaign against this product. Many do not even own this title and are just spewing forth the party line.

    Take a reality check and do not believe any review with zero's or one's. The flip-side is that people who want to see this combat flight simulator grow and add features for players (only possible with business success, after all it's the 'reality' of our world) are posting 9's and 10's to offset the hate campaign. Be smart and figure it out for yourself, go to the game forum and browse the threads.

    Some developer decisions are not popular, such as the single player unlocks, but I refuse to throw the baby out with the bath water. BoS will only improve and become feature rich with future development and the support of player community.    … Expand
  97. Remontti
    Oct 27, 2014
    8
    After a rather long break (IL2 Forgotten battles...) I got interested in flight sims again. First War Thunder, but then Rise of Flight has been keeping me busy.

    I was excepting IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad to be like Rise of Flight, but in Word War 2 era. This was the first game I funded pre-release, but ROF gave great confidence about the abilities of developers. I'm still learning to    After a rather long break (IL2 Forgotten battles...) I got interested in flight sims again. First War Thunder, but then Rise of Flight has been keeping me busy.

    I was excepting IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad to be like Rise of Flight, but in Word War 2 era. This was the first game I funded pre-release, but ROF gave great confidence about the abilities of developers.

    I'm still learning to fight in these birds, but so far I've enjoyed the ride. I've no real life experience from these planes, but they feel good. Graphics are good and it sounds good.

    Like in ROF, I play mostly multiplayer and sometimes a quick mission against AI. I've tried the campaign and that seems to be a series of random missions. I flew about 10 campaign missions to get few unlocks for the multiplayer. I would rather have this game without un-lockable content. My opinion about unlocks in general are that they are just designed to keep you hooked to the game. In a flight simulation the challenge comes from flying and fighting other humans in multiplayer. The thrill and satisfaction of shooting someone down after a hard fight is the reward I want. Learning to fly and fight better is keeping me hooked. I don't need un-lockable stuff for that.

    I would also want more customability for the graphic options and a manual but besides that I'm very pleased with the game. I'm sure we will see more maps and a better campaign system in the future.    … Expand
  98. ShamrockOneFive
    Oct 27, 2014
    9
    IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad is every bit the spiritual successor to the original IL-2 Sturmovik flight simulator series. This is a serious attempt at a serious flight simulator but the design of the game does get it wrong in a few places.

    The aircraft themselves are faithfully modelled. Rivet counters will probably enjoy most aspects of this and the expert mode lets you really get into    IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad is every bit the spiritual successor to the original IL-2 Sturmovik flight simulator series. This is a serious attempt at a serious flight simulator but the design of the game does get it wrong in a few places.

    The aircraft themselves are faithfully modelled. Rivet counters will probably enjoy most aspects of this and the expert mode lets you really get into the nuts and bolts of operating the aircraft. The developers still eliminate some of the mundane things like a detailed start-up sequence and checklist but aside from that it's there. This game is somewhere in between casual War Thunder and DCS World War II offerings. It's more DCS than War Thunder in realism and detail but not quite at the DCS level of detail.

    The little details are fantastic. Machine guns powered by the engine don't function when the engine is off or destroyed for example. Aircraft rock back and forth realistically while taxiing or sitting on the ground waiting for a scramble. The games graphics go almost without saying as some of the best I've experienced and flying has the distinct feeling of flight... both the sound and the physics come together here to really give you the sensation. This is as good as it can feel on a flat screen sitting a meter away from your face.

    Where Battle of Stalingrad fails is in the gameplay execution and some of the settings. The developers have, despite community outcry, stuck to their guns in implementing an RPG-lite style system of unlocks and levelling up. Call of Duty players would be at home with this type of system but flight simulator fans are not grinders - they fly aircraft for the pure enjoyment and they want every single thing unlocked. Simmers want their sandbox and they want to enjoy it however they like. I'm a fan of CoD type games and I can manage the grind but it feels out of place and not nearly rewarding enough.

    The are other issues - in campaign mode you can only speed up time by 2x. Presumably so that people can't grind too quickly through the missions. We know from earlier tests that higher levels of acceleration are possible. The graphical detail settings are restricted to three settings - you can't fiddle to find your favourite sweet spot. The developers claim this is better with just the three settings but I think they are being artificially restrictive.

    IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad is a good product. It has gameplay and design issues but the core fundamentals of flying a WWII combat aircraft do not get better than this. If you can ignore some of the design decisions that are ultimately annoying then you're going to really enjoy this. If you can't then maybe it's time to take a pass and wait and see if the devs can still get it right in time.    … Expand
  99. The_truth_2014
    Oct 27, 2014
    6
    This game is not worth to call it a simulation. The sovjet planes are so overmodelled, Stalin had won the war within days with just a few of them :-) Seriously, the German planes, which were famous for their topnotch engineering and quality fly like crap, whereas the sovjet planes fly like on rails. And all evidence brought to the developers during early access phase didn't better theThis game is not worth to call it a simulation. The sovjet planes are so overmodelled, Stalin had won the war within days with just a few of them :-) Seriously, the German planes, which were famous for their topnotch engineering and quality fly like crap, whereas the sovjet planes fly like on rails. And all evidence brought to the developers during early access phase didn't better the situation at all. Quite the contrary was the case. They demanded documents for each single bit the community claimed (although it is common knowledge), but never proved themselves with supporting documents for their phantasy flight models.

    So if you want to have a gamey game, get it. But if you are looking for a proper flight simulation which reflects the true history, then you better wait for another try of a development studio. DCS has a big potential in terms of honest flight models, and has probably a better chance to be sincere and honest, because the development isn’t Russian…    … Expand
  100. OldJew
    Oct 27, 2014
    9
    If you want a perfect mix between a hard-core simulator and an arcade game, IL-2 BoS is for you. Some people see that as disadvantage, they complain there are no clickable cockpits and engine start procedure isn't done manually, so if you're one of them maybe you should skip this title. But personally I enjoy the easiness it provides to actually play it and not read endless manuals. ButIf you want a perfect mix between a hard-core simulator and an arcade game, IL-2 BoS is for you. Some people see that as disadvantage, they complain there are no clickable cockpits and engine start procedure isn't done manually, so if you're one of them maybe you should skip this title. But personally I enjoy the easiness it provides to actually play it and not read endless manuals. But don't get me wrong these few simplifications doesn't make it an arcade game. Everything else is there - advanced physics and flight model, complete engine management, realistic ballistics and so on. I don't mention the graphics cause you may look at it yourself on youtube.
    The only thing that upsets me is the lack of a proper single player campaign with a storyline. Right now it's just a bunch of generated missions not connected with each other, so it kinda takes away the immersion, but having said that, they are quite fun to play. Also the developers said that they plan on further developing the game, adding new content and so on. They also promise to give the full mission editor soon, so hopefully there'll be lots of new campaigns in the future either made by the team or by the community.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
53
#53 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Jun 14, 2015
    74
    Il-2: Battle of Stalingrad boldly seeks to renew the genre by adding modern game design elements to the admittedly often sterile genre of flight simulators. Unfortunately not only does the bold attempt fail spectacularly, the developers also seem to have completely forgotten what made the original Il-2 a legend. The Rise of Flight legacy shows in the rather impressive visuals and physics modeling, but strangely a lot of its nice features didn't make the cut either and the “sequel” falls short of its predecessor in many ways. [June 2015]
  2. GameOver.gr
    Feb 10, 2015
    70
    The excellent handling and the immense realism that Battle of Stalingrad offers, manages to balance out the poor single player campaign and some of its design flaws.
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  3. PC PowerPlay
    Feb 8, 2015
    70
    The lack of content and generous helping of bugs can be easily forgiven thanks to the developer's high reputation. [Feb 2015, p.16]
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