War Thunder reviews

Needed a reliable pick-me-up for WFH mornings — delivery actually arrived early and the rep I messaged was clear and chill, now this thing lives on my counter and saves my 9 a.m.; small smug joy.

Needed for back pain, sceptical then relieved.

Bought it to unwind after work; decent visuals, but matchmaking balance ruins matches, kinda slipped.

Love the aerial combat, really fun but top-tier hitboxes feel off, sometimes flew low and still got locked

bring patience and a coffee too.

Feels slick in use, actually — controls are mostly responsive, a few hiccups but enjoyable overall, would tell friends to give it a try

Bought it last month after a sale. Feels really clunky, menus slow. Custom sights won't save; had to redo them every session. Frustrating, not worth the money.

Needed a VPN for work and to call family in Ukraine. Kept me secure, but it slowed my PC a lot. Still glad it helped.

Caught it on a streamer, recommended it to my brother. Order arrived on time; support was slow but eventually fixed my login. Not perfect, some grind, but works fine.

That evening after work, headset on during dishes, one smooth match and I actually smiled — that's when I knew it was worth keeping. I use it to unwind nightly, quick sessions between chores.

Booted it up one late night — thought one quick round; felt clingy and pushy, kept asking for cash, first impression was "meh", kinda draining after an hour, weirdly frustrating

Needed something to distract me after a string of buggy apps, so I bought it despite doubts about fairness. After some play my worries haven't vanished — feels skewed at times — but it's playable and I kept coming back, oddly.

I like it — honestly, it's solid. I only grabbed it 'cause I was stuck on the couch after a bad back tweak and in the middle of a move, needed something free-ish to play. I was skeptical at first, figured 'free game, lots of nonsense' but, wow, I ended up addicted. I've been on and off since 2020, big chunk of hours, mobile and desktop. People cry 'bias' about certain nations — nah, some vehicles are just tougher, learn the weak spots. Not flawless, but for F2P it's really, really good.

I first spotted this on a buddy's Twitch stream and bought in because it looked promising, but honestly it took a while. The turning of the German turrets annoyed me for ages, yet the moment I finally got a clean flank and the turret actually tracked — that's when I felt satisfied, weirdly relieved. I still think balance leans toward Russia and planes rarely one‑shot tanks, but I keep coming back.

matches feel unfair, and cheaters make it worse. I've had worse and I've had better from other sellers, so it's mixed. Bit disappointed. Not a total lost cause, though.

squad up early and be patient.

mismatched ranks, slow tech trees and a clear nudge to buy premium. Still, after following a few tips from that same friend, tweaking my loadout and grabbing a small premium pack, one session just clicked — I mean it really clicked — I was penning things more, making plays, and suddenly the progression felt usable. It didn’t fix everything, there are annoying matches and the grind is real, but that moment turned my view around. Low expectations helped; if a friend told you to try it, give it a couple of rounds first.

teamwork mattered, hits counted, and I could tell balance tweaks did something. I got that warm “this works” feeling, and yeah, I’m grateful — devs, keep going. Not perfect yet, sure, but this was the moment I realised it's heading the right way. Feels good to be happy about this game again. Also, matches are less rage-inducing lately, which helps.

great fun, just unfair at times. In practice Germany often feels weaker than history suggests; I was surprised to see T-34s one-shot Panthers and Tigers from angles that would be laughable IRL, and it's not a one-off. At the same time a bunch of German tanks turn into slow, awkward targets because of painfully slow turret rotation (pz IV F2/G, Panther D and later pz IVs) — that clunkiness matters. Another odd bit is Soviet vehicles sitting around BR 3 to 6.7, which throws matches in weird ways. The pay-to-win stuff is probably the biggest sore point: emergency repairs, faster reloads and other paid advantages are obvious in play. Still, maps, sound and core combat keep me playing, and there are lots of great moments. My advice to other players: enjoy it, but expect uneven matches. To the devs: please rebalance turrets/BRs and tone down the most blatant paid perks — that would make this near-perfect.

I was sitting there, coffee gone cold, when I finally landed a tricky approach without panicking. That was the moment it shifted for me. Not a grand revelation. Just a quiet, steady click that said this is working. I’ve put in almost 300 hours and I’m only halfway through the progression. Yes, it takes time. Yes, it can feel grindy. But once the little wins started to outnumber the frustrating deaths, I enjoyed it more. That’s the point where I felt satisfied. I’ve had other games where you basically pay to skip the learning curve and it felt empty. This one keeps you grinding, sure, but you also learn stuff. Developers could nudge monetisation differently. They did not force anything on me and I didn’t buy extras. There are clear choices in game modes too. Want casual? Arcade. Want more depth? Realistic. If one mode annoys you, try the other before writing it off. The complaint it’s “too hard” is often just the wrong mode or not enough time invested. So yeah, it’s a slow burn. The day I stopped needing a manual every five minutes was the day I stopped being annoyed and started coming back because it was actually fun, not because I had to.