War Thunder

 PC
User Score
3.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1908 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 590 out of 1908
  2. Mixed: 203 out of 1908
  3. Negative: 1,115 out of 1908

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  1. Gallantin
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Greedy devs decided to milk the already small amount of players that stayed and endured the horrible economy.
  2. Die-ene
    May 22, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game has gotten waay to grindy. Top tier nears pay to play.

    Some br's just make you bleed sl    … Expand
  3. Thommygun
    May 21, 2023
    0
    The progression in this game has become insane, i cannot recommend playing this game until this issue is fixed.
  4. Luka17
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Don't let the free ti play fool you a greedy company will ruin all the fun forcing you to spend money
  5. gladwalker
    May 21, 2023
    0
    at the time of writing I have 4,542 hrs of playtime in this terrible game, I for one no longer play as much as I used too because they chew out veteran players because why the hell not? as a person with this many hrs please please PLEASE take it from me DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME EVER. they screw the player over at every possible turn. through economy changes or just premiums that destroy theat the time of writing I have 4,542 hrs of playtime in this terrible game, I for one no longer play as much as I used too because they chew out veteran players because why the hell not? as a person with this many hrs please please PLEASE take it from me DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME EVER. they screw the player over at every possible turn. through economy changes or just premiums that destroy the game for months. ive had my fair time in war thunder and at no point has it been fun the grind out flares, repair kits, fire extinguishers or anything to make the vehicle your using bearable. dont play this game if you want your sanity. or friends

    DO NOT PLAY    … Expand
  6. NickoMSicko
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Devs have been slowly turning game to Pay 2 Play.

    Even the strong suits to stay - graphics, realism, sound - are at best meh and at worse ****
  7. zlounberg
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Making the same mistakes several years in a row and treating the community with utter contempt. Something's gotta change. And quick.
  8. realifY
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Absolutely trash developers have ruined the game, you can't last long if you dont pay greedy developers lots of money.
  9. Lumpy87
    May 21, 2023
    0
    The Grind will kill you....

    Rewards are horrible (even with premium), getting to the very top vehicles can take over a year of you time and the game just isn't fun.
  10. Savage_Cabbage_
    May 21, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Terrible economy, it takes years to unlock top tier. You're essentially forced to pay money to get an experience that is bearable and not be broke in game because you make a loss in in game currency every game without a premium account. I have 2700+ hours in the game and it's sad to see the state of this game, it has so much potential… Expand
  11. WTisbad
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Used to be a great game but the developers got to greedy and made the game unplayable if you don't spend money.
  12. Justvibin1
    May 21, 2023
    0
    I reached leopard 2a4 without buying anything (with real money) in between 1000-1100 hours.Yea,economy system doesn't let you reach the top tier(modern tanks)easily.So dont be fooled by modern tanks in the photos,it wont be easy.Gaijin,pls fix.
  13. Haizocker2o2o
    May 21, 2023
    0
    The Economy is bad

    Too much pay to win

    Too high Repair cost

    too little Reward

    Too many premium Farming Vehicles

    too much grind

    They dont play there own game!
  14. NoFou
    May 21, 2023
    0
    I'm willing to pay ~15 bucks for a good game, but to regularly pay 10 and on top of that 40 for a premium plane for progress to still be impossibly slow, then it's definitely not an enjoyable game
  15. juiced224
    May 21, 2023
    0
    As a community, we asked this developer politely for 10 years to make the game better. They won't listen. Save your mental health, save your money and your time and play something more worthwhile.
    - Tanks still use 3 circles/wheels on each side so tracks arent simulated
    - Torque is not simulated, gearboxes are not simulated (the developers have to add double or triple the gears to try to    As a community, we asked this developer politely for 10 years to make the game better. They won't listen. Save your mental health, save your money and your time and play something more worthwhile.
    - Tanks still use 3 circles/wheels on each side so tracks arent simulated
    - Torque is not simulated, gearboxes are not simulated (the developers have to add double or triple the gears to try to simulate the real life gearbox, and fail)
    - Gearbox loss is not simulated
    - Water stops everything in this game. Take a 500 ton train, make it go 1000 kmh, the moment it hits a puddle, it stops the train in half a second.
    - Grinding the smallest, neglected tree in this game, it took me 2.5 years to go from 1930's tanks to a 2016 tank. This was before the economy was extra destroyed.

    - Air battles went from 60 minutes to 25 minutes, destroying all profits and completely removing 1:1 maps from the matchmaking
    - Assists were made harder
    - 2x, 3x and 5x victory multipliers for the first win or match was removed
    - Air battles have "activity" (you get rewarded for not being afk in plane battles basically) it went from 20 minutes activity to 20 seconds, because you have to be 1m and actively shooting the enemy plane, so teamwork is nonexistent (like using yourself as a bait for a teammate plane to shoot the enemy plane) because you dont get rewarded at all.

    Theres so much more to talk about but I'd have to hire editors and publish a book on all the failures this game.    … Expand
  16. Dhnvgy
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Bad game a robbery under the name of modern realistic vehicles and fun not fun nor realistoc
  17. Myrkkysika
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Greedy developers. Can't play the game at all in high tiers because repair costs are more than you earn even if you have premium account.
  18. Jagggerman
    May 21, 2023
    0
    If you want any amount of fun the devs will ask for all your money and then some.
  19. Shadow_King
    May 21, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Been playing the game for over 6 years and recently Gaijin hasn't been improving the game in terms of economy, quality of life, etc. I've personally gone to the forums and suggested great ideas that would improve gameplay a lot but my posts just get deleted. Gaijin has also stated that you need premiums to make money in game and that research-based vehicles should not be able to make profit. All Gaijin cares about is adding more vehicles and improving visual rather than adding more game modes, improving the interface to make things like repairing easier, or the economy. Sure these things don't really bring them in money but in the long run it will because with an improved game they'll be able to keep players into the game actually want to spend real money instead of twisting their arm with a **** economy that practically forces us to spend real money.… Expand
  20. Apollo1641
    May 21, 2023
    0
    War Thunder is a game like no other, with a comprehensive damage system, combined arms, and variety of beautifully modeled tanks, aircraft and ships.

    Unfortunately, this "uniqueness" has left Gaijin with little real competition over the years. What started off as a "free to play" title has over time become less and less free. Gaijin keeps adding nations and vehicles, while at the same    War Thunder is a game like no other, with a comprehensive damage system, combined arms, and variety of beautifully modeled tanks, aircraft and ships.

    Unfortunately, this "uniqueness" has left Gaijin with little real competition over the years. What started off as a "free to play" title has over time become less and less free. Gaijin keeps adding nations and vehicles, while at the same time increasing repair costs and lowering player rewards. A premium account isn't enough to comfortably progress anymore, now you also have to buy premium vehicles in every nation.

    For the new players reading this, Gaijin has recently admitted that they balance free vehicles around a negative income. That means they WANT you to lose money by playing, so you'll be forced to buy microtransactions, for example overpowered premium vehicles.

    This isn't just greedy, it also destroys the matchmaker and the balance of the game. Since you only profit using premium vehicles they often end up being spammed. In battlerating 8.7, more than half the players on each team are in premium tanks. This results in rampant "one death leaving". These players only spawn their premium tank and leave when it's destroyed, leaving their team in a bad situation. Sometimes the premium is their only tank for the tier, othertimes it's because "free" tanks aren't worth the high cost to repair.

    Gaijin and their purposefully frustrating economy is ultimately to blame for this. There's so many other issues and scandals I could bring up, like how you can't repair or extinguish flames on your new tank before unlocking "parts" and "FPE". Gaijin wants you to pay gold to skip the grind for these essential tools.

    In it's current state, I wouldn't recommend this game to anybody. That might seem hypocritical considering my hours spent in this game, but believe me. It's new players who suffer the most. Gaijin doesn't care about me, you, or the playerbase. Don't make the same mistake as me. Find another game that values your input, and respects your time.    … Expand
  21. mightymaggie
    May 21, 2023
    0
    I am extremely disappointed with the direction the company has gone in regard to the management of its vehicle balancing and economy. you cannot play a single mid or high tier game without the majority of your team being made up of premium vehicles. beyond that, the progression is grueling and beyond stupid, and the fact that they want to make said grind even more grueling is just horrible.
  22. neuropathical
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Fueled by their greed, Gaijin Entertainment has once again destroyed the economy and treated players like rubbish
  23. OmegaZeta
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Great concept gameplay wise, beautiful 3d models, insane variety of vehicles. Economy is absolutely mobile gaming tier trash. 1000s of hours of slow progression to even get the chance to stock grind modern aircraft. Balance is a joke, which fuels their model of making you pay for premium account, vehicles, and talismans to even have a chance at unlocking things in one lifetime. Shame onGreat concept gameplay wise, beautiful 3d models, insane variety of vehicles. Economy is absolutely mobile gaming tier trash. 1000s of hours of slow progression to even get the chance to stock grind modern aircraft. Balance is a joke, which fuels their model of making you pay for premium account, vehicles, and talismans to even have a chance at unlocking things in one lifetime. Shame on you Gaijin.… Expand
  24. Deashar
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Due to Gaijin's blatant disregard for the player base's feedback, and absolute disconnect with the timeframes it should a player to achieve somewhat of a high-tier progress within a given game, I can only give a negative review to this title, despite it's good aspects.

    Blind, stubborn greed kills games, and we are at a critical point were dramatic changes need to take place for War    Due to Gaijin's blatant disregard for the player base's feedback, and absolute disconnect with the timeframes it should a player to achieve somewhat of a high-tier progress within a given game, I can only give a negative review to this title, despite it's good aspects.

    Blind, stubborn greed kills games, and we are at a critical point were dramatic changes need to take place for War Thunder's survival. Gaijin needs to listen to the player base, openly acknowledge the problem (broken economy, insultingly long progression of tech trees, nontransferable progress between crews or nations, bad alternative game modes). Their obscene monetization attempts is a scourge that will be the company's demise. Change needs to happen NOW.    … Expand
  25. Legi29827
    May 21, 2023
    0
    If your new to the game it is impossible for you to grind to the top without scraficing every singel second of your free time to the snail
  26. Smartiboi
    May 21, 2023
    0
    I Have been a longer-time player of war thunder, I am also a paying player who has bought premium vehicles and premium time from Gajian.

    As for the actual core gameplay, it is amazing, there is no other game that is quite like it, but the economy that Gajian has made for the game is absolutely unbearable and unacceptable. It takes an incredibly long time to make any progress in the    I Have been a longer-time player of war thunder, I am also a paying player who has bought premium vehicles and premium time from Gajian.

    As for the actual core gameplay, it is amazing, there is no other game that is quite like it, but the economy that Gajian has made for the game is absolutely unbearable and unacceptable. It takes an incredibly long time to make any progress in the game, and the in-game currency of Silver Lions is a pain to get. All of their advertising contains stuff about the very high-tier modern vehicles but if you join now it will take you genuinely years to actually get there unless you pay, and even once you get to higher tiers you will be hemorrhaging in the in-game currency in ridiculous repair costs. They have zero respect for the community. I cannot recommend this game for anyone in its current state.    … Expand
  27. Fahboy_Man2023
    May 21, 2023
    0
    Nothing breaks the game more than lazy, ignorant, greedy and powertripping devs.
  28. Brenr0
    May 21, 2023
    0
    It is literally over 1000 hours of grinding to finish a tech tree (air and ground). This is assuming also that you have a $60 premium tank and are paying for premium time. This game calling itself free to play is a lie. You will never get to the modern vehicles this game highlights in advertisements without paying, it would be like 5,000 hours of grinding.
  29. Paracheirodon
    May 21, 2023
    0
    The game economy is taking hit after hit every update and it only gets worse for the player. Warning for new players, if you want to play top tier tanks and planes be ready for an overwhelmingly long and tiresome grind. Realistically to play top tier vehicles you HAVE TO buy a premium account and premium vehicles to keep a somewhat positive income
  30. PiranhaV
    May 21, 2023
    0
    The management of the company behind this game is the defintion of greed they **** over the playerbase every update except if you ofc. With the most recent changes, they ****ed the economy so bad that even in premium vehicles it's hard to make profit.
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Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Best PC Game of 2013
10
#10 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
18
#18 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 25, 2017
    87
    One of the cornerstones of War Thunder is that player’s skill is more important than his wallet. Premium vehicles offer no combat advantages, there is no “microtransaction-only” ammo or consumables, so no amount of cash will buy you a spot on the top of the food chain. [Issue#216, p.56]
  2. GRYOnline.pl
    Jan 13, 2017
    75
    The official launch of War Thunder reminded me why I like this game so much. It's adorably chaotic - in contrast to the reliably designed World of Tanks. That's why it can be really fun and frustrating at the same time. There's tons of great vehicles (and the planes are superb!) and a difficult simulation mode, but there are also balance and technical issues.
    Read full review
  3. CalmDownTom
    Aug 14, 2014
    90
    Overall the War Thunder tank battles are great even at this early stage.
    Read full review
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