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Games like Aces of Thunder

Gaijin Entertainment · 2026 · Windows

Steam: 58 % positive of 1,218 reviews, as of Oct 29

Experience the thrill of aerial combat with Aces of Thunder, the ultimate flight simulation game with high fidelity graphics that looks perfect both with and without VR HMDs.

24 games that play like Aces of Thunder and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: War Thunder, Warplanes: WW1 Fighters and ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN.

Map region: Flight & Air Combat
Our review: 6.0/10 →Open on Steam ↗

Steam reviews

What players say

Mixed reception: VR players and HOTAS users who get past setup find a fun WWII dogfighting sim, but many are stopped by clunky controls, poor onboarding and thin online play.

Many players praise the flight feel and VR experience, saying the planes handle convincingly, the damage model and force feedback impress, and the game runs smoothly even on modest hardware. Players with HOTAS setups report it works once bindings are set, and some see it as a middle ground between arcade and simulation. The criticism centres on the first hour. Many find menus and binding screens clumsy, with VR controllers needed for tasks that a mouse or HOTAS should handle, and some must adjust axes and throttle before the aircraft behaves properly. Other common complaints are the missing tutorial, few cockpit interactions, crashes at launch, few online players and bot-filled lobbies. Recent reviews are harsher about launch problems and missing features such as crossplay and head tracking, while some long-time players say patches have helped.

Praised

  • Flight feel and damage model

    Players find the aircraft handle convincingly, with good flight physics, sound and a damage model that makes hits visible.

    Many players
  • VR experience and performance

    Reviewers say the game looks good and runs smoothly in VR, even on older PCs, with immersive cockpits and feedback.

    Many players
  • HOTAS support once set up

    Players with HOTAS setups say the hardware works well after manual binding, with some calling the axis setup quick.

    Some players
  • Fun arcade-sim balance

    Reviewers value the middle ground between arcade ease and simulation depth, with quick takeoffs and dogfights.

    Some players

Criticised

  • Clunky menus and VR controls

    Menus and binding screens often require VR controllers, and players find the interface blurry, unintuitive and hard to use.

    Many players
  • Poor onboarding and setup

    No tutorial and confusing HOTAS and axis setup mean many players struggle to fly before they give up.

    Many players
  • Crashes and launch problems

    Players cannot start the game or see crashes in flight, and several asked for refunds because of it.

    Some players
  • Few online players and bots

    Lobbies are often nearly empty or filled with AI bots, and crossplay is missing, so multiplayer is hard to find.

    Some players
Who it suits
Suits flight sim fans with HOTAS or VR who enjoy WWII dogfighting and are willing to spend time on setup and patches.
Who should skip it
Should skip it if you want an easy start, a guided tutorial, reliable online matches or a deep campaign, as those are missing at launch.

Short vs. long playtime: Players with 20 to 200 hours mostly recommend the game, mainly for the flight feel and VR experience, while newer players more often stop at setup and menus.

Summarised by AI from 62 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 18, 2026.

Best matches

Plays and looks like Aces of Thunder

These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.

By gameplay

Plays like Aces of Thunder

Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.

More matches

  1. Dogfight 194280 % positive of 712
  2. Project Wingman94 % positive of 18,817
  3. Aces High III58 % positive of 438
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  5. Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders79 % positive of 239
  6. Nuclear Option95 % positive of 10,770
  7. Sopwith VR85 % positive of 341
  8. DCS World Steam Edition85 % positive of 41,447
  9. Red Wings: Aces of the Sky59 % positive of 89
  10. Scramble: Battle of Britain86 % positive of 212
  11. Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition85 % positive of 23,399
  12. Korea. IL-2 Series74 % positive of 490

By look

Looks like Aces of Thunder

Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.

More matches

  1. Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China69 % positive of 695
  2. Warplanes: WW2 Dogfight86 % positive of 1,810
  3. Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles87 % positive of 657
  4. Easy Red 289 % positive of 14,688
  5. Battlestations Pacific69 % positive of 2,276
  6. Flyout84 % positive of 2,153
  7. Squad 4477 % positive of 18,990
  8. Plane Mechanic Simulator56 % positive of 1,566
  9. War Thunder70 % positive of 795,089
  10. Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age90 % positive of 6,408
  11. Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront84 % positive of 33,072
  12. UBOAT83 % positive of 25,773

At a glance

What games like Aces of Thunder have in common

  • They came out between 2009 and 2026, none of them after Aces of Thunder (2026).
  • Best rated by Steam players: VTOL VR (98 % positive of 20,004).

On bestof.games

More about Aces of Thunder

Our review

Aces of Thunder Review – Cockpits, VR and Rough Edges

Aces of Thunder is a promising cockpit-first flight sim that lands awkwardly at launch. I enjoyed the close-up cockpit work and occasional satisfying dogfights, but clumsy VR menus, spotty HOTAS support and technical hiccups make this a buy-for-later title…

Published February 3, 2026

Read the review →
6.0/10Verdict from sources

How these matches work

Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.

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