Aces of Thunder

I went into Aces of Thunder excited: a Gaijin-built, cockpit-first WWII sim that promised fully interactive cockpits and native OpenXR VR support sounded like my kind of project. On paper it hits many of the right notes — legendary aircraft roster, cockpit-only dogfights and hangar roaming — but in practice the launch build feels uneven. There are genuine moments of shine (beautiful cockpits, satisfying flight feel at times) and some maddening design choices (menus, limited interactables). If you like War Thunder but wanted a leaner, VR-centric experience, this will look dangerously close to that dream — just with a few nails sticking out.

Dogfights From the Seat of Your Pants

The core of Aces of Thunder is simple and immediate: you sit in the cockpit, you look, you fly, you fight. Matches and missions are presented strictly from the cockpit view — no third-person vultures here — which gives duels a tense and personal feel. Flying the P-51 or the Spitfire in VR is unexpectedly satisfying: the models are weighted, control response is believable and you can feel when a turn bleeds speed. That said, the available player actions are narrower than I hoped. Most interactions boil down to stick, throttle and a handful of toggles; many systems (radiators, nuanced engine management) are abstracted away or handled via radial menus. After a few sorties that lack of physical switches starts to itch for anyone used to fully interactive sims.

When the Cockpit Is Gorgeous — But Partly Frozen

What truly sets the game apart is its attention to cockpit detail: instrument faces, wear marks, and the tactile scale of gauges are lovingly reproduced. Walking around the hangar between missions is a neat touch and the VR-ready cockpits sell presence better than their pancake screenshots. But that polish is inconsistent. Several players (and I experienced this too) noted limited in-cockpit interactivity — many levers remain decorative — and the VR hand collisions can feel fiddly. Menus and radial UI designed for motion controllers are often awkward with HOTAS setups, so you find yourself juggling control schemes instead of flying. It’s a clear case of ambition (fully modeled cockpits) bumping into rushed or incomplete interaction systems.

Graphics, Sound and Stability — A Mixed Bag

Visually the planes and cockpits look very good up close, with convincing materials and readable dials when you lean in. Outside the canopy, terrain, vegetation and distant models sometimes suffer from aggressive post-processing, aliasing and LOD pop — especially noticeable in VR. Audio is competent: engine roar, wind and weapons have punch and directionality. Unfortunately performance and stability at launch are shaky for some users; I saw reports of stutters, crashes and inconsistent framerates even on modern rigs. OpenXR and broad headset support are a win, and HOTAS can be bound, but the lack of polished binding UI or axis curve tools makes fine-tuning frustrating. In short: memorable cockpit fidelity, bumpy exterior visuals, and tech issues that will need follow-up patches.

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 unless you’re willing to tolerate rough edges. If Gaijin backs it with rapid fixes and better input tools, it could become a top-tier VR air combat sim; for now, consider waiting for a polish patch.