DCS World Steam Edition

Became my go-to game after a while of exploring and getting tired of most fan-favourite 3A titles I've never touched onto flight sims before and therefore tried out MSFS and DCS MSFS was great, for an airliner, where I flew with a basic joystick across the globe and visited my house irl... it's a great game and only game that does it well out there. However aside from that, all the planes are just a little dull and too sim-like. I wanted something with greater detail, better immersion, something fun. I loved the f/a-18 super hornet in MSFS so I watched a few yt vids and found DCS. Oh boy do I regret it. I've since spent around 600 bucks, on 2 better joysticks, 6 planes, a map and still going strong. I've heard from people who have spent 2000 on a single vr and built a whole cockpit. And man am I amazed. Within the first hundred hours, I learned two planes. Not even into detail but only the controls, flight dynamics and surface-level systems. There is NO game that's taken me over 50 hours to complete, so far. This one's different. You'd have to remember things, jot down notes and pray that you don't forget how to fly the last plane you just learned. Flying the f18, sure, was easy once I got the hang of how the systems work, why they are set up that way, all the controls and necessary info from around a dozen tutorials and sometimes text guides. But the sheer possibilities still amaze me. Every day I can learn something new, from the forums. I can't stress about the fact that all full-fidelity modules are almost if not all FULLY FUNCTIONAL and a 1:1 to real-life. It's almost corny to say that but this is the only game that fully simulates it, perhaps apart from BMS which only really focused on the f16. All the weapons, air to ground, air to air... have different operating modes like ccip ccrp, tracking... You can learn history from this game, which I've briefly touched upon but the countless planes each have so much depth to them it takes over the time of finishing a 3A game to fully master, most times even more. The replayability's insane. You can always plan out something different, strike a sam site, bomb an enemy hangar, escort a friendly, launch off a fleet of ships, fly in formation. I'm in love with this thing, the community's also perhaps one of the most unique. There's real pilots, people who plan on becoming a pilot, retired aviation fans, everyone seems to be older than me, at least an adult. There's rarely any toxicity, playing around. You could ask a question in their discord and 5 different people could answer with passion, with people who have been playing playing from 5-20 years. I still feels so new, almost as if I would never become a 1000 hour veteran when in reality there's hundreds or even thousands who play this game seriously. I do not regret a single purchase or a single hour spent on this game, the knowledge will stay with me, although I doubt I'll ever become a pilot, this fulfilled my dream of managing a plane, whether it's a helicopter, fighter jet or WWII plane. I love pushing all the buttons to start a plane, or quite frankly, dogfighting someone with an action-filled 4th gen fighter jet. Maybe I'll come back to review this one day, in 5 years or even 10, hopefully this game sustains it's playerbase and continues the amazing development. I love all the publishers and ED. (bring back the F-15E!!!)

It took me three days to download this game and I am not able to play it at all I know the controls but nothing happens when I use them this game doesnt work and I wouldnt recommend you get it.

I really like DCS, however there is a flaw that eagle dynamics clearly does not want to address. Apparently they have a huge problem with antivirus software flagging their product. I found what I believe is a false positive and reported it to my antivirus vendor, however when going to www.digitalcombatsimulator.com to file a report there you are met with a very large notice that they will not accept virus reports and to simply whitelist the dcs folder. This is a copout and puts their user's computers at risk. They feel so strongly on this that you need to check off a button saying you read that they do not care about virus reports. I will happily remove this if ED gets serious with their product and finds the root cause of the issue.

the game is very dependant on the dlc, it is unplayable and the plane sometimes refuses to co-operate.

I only have 80 hours in game. I have been learning the UH-1H Huey. Its been a bit of work, and there is so much more to learn, but have steadily improved. I've just started picking up downed pilots in Multiplayer, and running supplies. So much fun! The single player mission packs are good too. I also recently bought the Kiowa DLC, but have only done a couple simple test flight in it. I fly in VR and it is amazing. I still need to figure out how to communicate with my team in multiplayer. Anyway, I have no regrets with DCS with the Huey DLC.

Are you a masochist? Do you enjoy sinking hundreds of hours of your life into learning a single virtual aircraft, only to fail miserably at starting the engines? Then DCS World is exactly the game for you! The concept is beautifully simple: you spend the price of a used car on a HOTAS system, rudder pedals and a VR headset, just to sit down and study an 800-page PDF manual that is drier than the Nevada desert itself. After three weeks you finally figure out how to retract the landing gear without immediately turning your aircraft into a very expensive fireball — and you feel like an absolute genius. Filled with pride, you venture into multiplayer. There the true DCS experience awaits: you fly majestically for 45 minutes, feeling like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, and then — BAM — you get shot down from somewhere. You have absolutely no idea where. Your radar was clean, your warning system let out a tired little beep, and the guy who just turned you into a debris cloud from 80 kilometers away is probably calmly sipping his morning coffee. And God forbid you try to do a ground attack. You are in the perfect dive, the target is perfectly centered, you mash the release button... and the bomb simply refuses to leave the wing. You hammer every button in the cockpit, check the Master Arm Switch for the tenth time, curse at the screen — but the thing just sits there. The existential crisis kicks in immediately. Did I arm the laser? Is the release mode correct? Am I even capable of completing basic tasks in life? At the latest six months after you started playing this game, you will need to go and look for your self-esteem. You will question yourself constantly and in every situation, dream at night about missile warning tones (BEEP BEEP BEEP), and your family will start wondering why you keep reaching for the ejection handle while driving to the supermarket. Verdict: An absolute nightmare of sweat, tears, unread manuals and pure, soul-crushing frustration. S-Tier game, 10/10 would absolutely ruin my life for it again.

DCS World is one of those rare games that I genuinely love, even though I have a few complaints. The level of detail in the aircraft is incredible. Every switch, system, and weapon feels like it was built with care, and that's what makes DCS stand out from every other combat flight simulator. I also love the flight models, the aircraft mechanics, and the steep learning curve. Learning to fly and operate a new aircraft is challenging, but that's exactly what makes it so rewarding. The modding community is another huge positive. There are some amazing mods that add even more variety to the game. Even playing on my admittedly not-so-great laptop in VR, I've had an incredible experience. My biggest complaint is how difficult it is for new players who don't have the money to buy additional modules. Without using mods, you're essentially limited to the free aircraft unless you're willing to spend around $80 on a full-fidelity module. While mods are a great part of the DCS community, many of the most popular ones require paid modules to function. For example, the F-22 mod requires the F-15C, and the Su-30SM mod requires both the free Su-25 and the paid Su-33. That means even free mods can still have a financial barrier. I'd love to see Eagle Dynamics introduce a progression system where players could unlock a few aircraft through gameplay. Maybe players could earn a basic jet fighter, an attack helicopter, and a propeller aircraft by completing a series of increasingly difficult missions. Then, after finishing an even more demanding set of challenges, they could unlock one full-fidelity aircraft, such as the F-16C, F/A-18C, or A-10C II. I think that would make DCS much more approachable for new players while still preserving the value of paid modules. My last complaint is a simple one: where's the Su-30SM? I'd buy that module the day it released. Even with those complaints, DCS World remains one of the best combat flight simulators available. If you're willing to put in the time to learn, it's an incredibly rewarding experience.