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GAMES War Thunder
War Thunder Review
Posted: 2 years ago, last updated 14 months ago.
Author: @GeekDadGamer and Jo Robertson.
Overview
War Thunder is a shooting game where you drive a range of vehicles in warfare combat. Similar to Wargaming's World of Warplanes it creates realistic battles on air, land, and sea. The attraction of the combat is that each vehicle or craft’s constituent parts can be targeted and damaged. Rather than having one energy bar for each vehicles you need to aim for weak spots or positions where pilots and drivers are exposed.
Each battle is divided between aviation, ground forces or fleet, rather than mixing these elements. This includes vehicles from different eras: pre-World War I naval vessels, tanks and aircraft from the Spanish Civil War and even the Iraq war and beyond. As you progress game brings in more elements fromWorld War II, Vietnam and the Cold War. You can control aircraft, ground vehicles and warships from USA, Germany, Russia, Britain, and Japan. You can also play as nations with smaller militaries or less prominence in conflicts, such as Italy, France, China and Sweden.
The land, air and sea are divided into different game modes:
A single player mode is available focusing on historical settings as well as a cooperative mode against waves of computer controlled ground vehicles and aircraft.
Each battle is divided between aviation, ground forces or fleet, rather than mixing these elements. This includes vehicles from different eras: pre-World War I naval vessels, tanks and aircraft from the Spanish Civil War and even the Iraq war and beyond. As you progress game brings in more elements fromWorld War II, Vietnam and the Cold War. You can control aircraft, ground vehicles and warships from USA, Germany, Russia, Britain, and Japan. You can also play as nations with smaller militaries or less prominence in conflicts, such as Italy, France, China and Sweden.
The land, air and sea are divided into different game modes:
- Arcade Battles has two teams of up to 16 with vehicles from different nations. Damage is simplified although still aims to be realistic.
- Realistic Battles are more advanced, simulating realistic physics and damage modelling. With this comes more rewards and upgrades as well as more strategic encounters. This mode can recreate historic battles.
- Simulator Battles add more restrictions to create a believable experience, with no head up display or exterior view of the action.
A single player mode is available focusing on historical settings as well as a cooperative mode against waves of computer controlled ground vehicles and aircraft.
Game Details
Release Date: 21/12/2016, updated in 2018
Price: Free
Platforms: Mac, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
Content Rating: PEGI 12
Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds
Players: 1 (16 online)
Genres: Shooting, Traversal (Open World, Simulation and Strategy)
Developer: Gaijin Ent (@GaijinEnt)
Lists
View our choice of games like War Thunder. This game is good if you want to:
Duration
Play Time: It takes between half an hour and 45 minutes to play a round of this game. The length of each battle varies depending on the type of battle.
Play Style
You can play this by yourself or as a 16-player online game. Cross-Platform: You can play cross-platform between PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
You can play this game in the following styles:
This has been enjoyed by families in the following styles:
Benefits
This game has helped players develop their Skill as part of the following pathways:
This game has been the inspiration for the following activities:
This game has been the inspiration for the following activities:
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MAKING AND DESIGNING
Age Ratings
Content Rating
Users Interact: The game enables players to interact and communicate with each other, so may expose players to language usually associated with older rated games.
Rated for younger players in Australia. Rated Parental Guidance (PG) for Mild Violence.
Skill Rating
12+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game.
Our Game Pathways reveal how 11-year-olds play this game:
- 11-year-old: Flying War Planes
Account Rating
- You need be 18-years-old to to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold for online play, but can then configure family accounts for younger players to play online with Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S.
- You need be 18-years-old to subscribe to PlayStation Plus for online play, but can create sub-accounts for younger players of 7-years or older to play online with PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5.
Costs
War Thunder usually costs £0 to £37.49.
You can buy the game and some content to get started:
You can buy packs of Golden Eagle and Silver Lions currency which enables you to access new vehicles and speeds research. You can also buy packs of content:
The following in-game purchases are available:
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
War Thunder
 | Xbox Series X|S | Free | – | – |
| Xbox One | Free | – | – |
 | PS5 | Free | – | – |
| PS4 | Free | – | – |
 | PC | Free | – | – |
| PC | Free | – | – |
 | Mac | Free | – | – |
| Mac | Free | – | – |
War Thunder: Full Alert Bundle
This game is free to play, but there are other costs associated with this game:- In-Game Purchases: Additional in-game purchases are offered for items that enhance the experience.
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You need a subscription to play online:
- You need to purchase a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online with PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5.
- You need to purchase a Xbox Live Gold subscription to play online with Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S.
You can buy the game and some content to get started:
- Beginner's Bundle - M3A1 Stuart, Rasmussen's P-36A Hawk, Premium for 7 days, 500 Golden Eagles, 120 000 Silver Lions.
- T-72AV (TURMS-T) - Premium for 15 days, 2000 Golden Eagles.
- Full Alert Bundle - T14, BTD-1, Elco 80 ft PT-556, 1000 Golden Eagles, Premium for 7 days, 120 000 Silver Lions.
You can buy packs of Golden Eagle and Silver Lions currency which enables you to access new vehicles and speeds research. You can also buy packs of content:
- US Beginner's Pack
- German Starter Pack
- USSR Starter Pack
- USA Pacific Campaign Pack
- Japanese Pacific Campaign
- T-55AM-1 Pack
- Super AMX-30 Pack
- AV-8A Harrier Pack
The following in-game purchases are available:
War Thunder: Apache Bundle
War Thunder: Beginner's Bundle
War Thunder: Early Access Advanced Bundle
War Thunder: Early Access Starter Bundle
War Thunder: Prinz Eugen Bundle
War Thunder: Strv 103-0 Bundle
War Thunder: T-72Av (Turms-T) Bundle
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
Accessibility
We haven't documented accessibility features for this game yet. Our War Thunder Accessibility Report details system-wide settings that may help, and suggests similar games with accessibility features. Tweet the developer (@GaijinEnt) to let them know about our Accessibility Questionnaire.
Diversity and Inclusion
We haven't documented diversity and inclusion information for this game yet.
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Our experts have hand-picked the following similar games. These are similar to War Thunder in how they play or their theme. These are good alternative games to War Thunder, or are a younger rated alternative for players not ready for PEGI 12 or ESRB TEEN games.
