Aces of Thunder – Aerial Catastrophe Or a High‑Altitude Masterpiece Born From Chaos PS VR2 Review…
One of PSVR2’s crown jewels — and a GOTY contender, no question
Aces of Thunder shouldn’t exist in the shape it finally arrived in. Not after the development rollercoaster it went through.
This thing changed direction so many times it could’ve been classified as a flight test all on its own. First a PSVR2 exclusive, then PCVR, then flat‑screen, then briefly “online‑only” before Gaijin wisely pulled the eject handle. Features came and went like stray clouds on a windy day. Honestly, it looked like a project destined to stall out.
And yet… here we are. Not with a wreck, but with one of the best VR dogfighting games ever made.
Aces of Thunder – Aerial Catastrophe Or a High‑Altitude Masterpiece Born From Chaos PS VR2 Review…
Gaijin has built something special here. Aces of Thunder hits that rare middle ground where:
It feels like a sim
It plays like a simcade
It welcomes newcomers without insulting veterans
Real pilots have praised the flight model, and you can tell. The planes have weight, personality, and just enough unpredictability to keep you honest. Every turn, every dive, every stall feels like you’re wrestling with a real machine — not a floating camera with wings glued on.
Dogfights are sweaty, frantic, and wonderfully readable. When you lose, you know exactly why. When you win, you feel like you earned it. It’s the kind of game where you catch yourself leaning your body into turns like that’s going to help.
🎮 Controls – Demanding, But Deliciously So
This is not Ace Combat. There are no lock‑on missiles, no “press X to win,” no arcade shortcuts.
Aces of Thunder expects you to fly. And when it clicks, it’s magic.
Both PSVR2 Sense controllers and the HOTAS 4 are supported. The HOTAS setup has a few quirks — mainly having to swap back to Sense controllers between missions — but Gaijin has already acknowledged this and is working on it. And honestly, once you’re in the air, the immersion is worth every menu inconvenience.
🎨 Visuals & Sound – Clean, Sharp, and Atmospheric
The game looks great in PSVR2. Cockpits are detailed, the sense of altitude is excellent, and the lighting does a lot of heavy lifting. The sound design is even better: engines roar, bullets snap past your canopy, and the spatial audio gives you that “I’m actually in this tin can” feeling.
PSVR2 features aren’t fully tapped yet — no adaptive triggers, no PS5 Pro patch — but the foundation is strong, and the game runs at native resolution. There’s room to grow, and knowing Gaijin, it will grow.
🔧 Constant Updates – A Living, Breathing Dogfighter
One of the most impressive things about Aces of Thunder is how quickly it evolves. Gaijin is patching, tweaking, and adding features at a pace that puts bigger studios to shame. Community requests — even the odd ones — often end up implemented.
Yes, there’s some jank. But try a few different setups, and you’ll find one that feels just right. And once you do, the game becomes dangerously addictive.
🛩️ Final Verdict – A Must‑Play for PSVR2
Aces of Thunder is a superb simcade dogfighter with an authentic flight model, excellent presentation, and some of the most rewarding aerial combat you can experience in VR. It demands patience, but it pays you back with moments that feel genuinely unforgettable.
Ignore the Steam review bombing. Ignore the noise. Play the game, enjoy the game.
Aces of Thunder is one of PSVR2’s finest titles — and absolutely a Game of the Year contender. Some jank, very fun and very unforgiving.
Launch Trailer below, the game has changed considerably since then, although no new official trailer seems to exist after all those…
Ignore the Steam review bombing. Ignore the noise. Play the game, enjoy the game.
