Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China

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FLYING TIGERS: SHADOWS OVER CHINA is an air-combat action game based on the historical events of America’s secret volunteer squadrons that defended China against Japan in the China-Burma-India theatre of World War 2.

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Play Modes

Reviews

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 231 reviews

story18 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and engaging arcade-style flight experience, reminiscent of classic titles like Crimson Skies and Blazing Angels.
Graphics and environments are visually appealing, with a variety of aircraft and mission types that keep gameplay interesting.
The controls are well-optimized for gamepads and joysticks, making it accessible for casual gamers who want a quick and enjoyable flying experience.

The game suffers from poor keyboard and mouse controls, leading to frustrating gameplay and difficulty in targeting enemies.
Many players find the campaign to be short and lacking in depth, with some missions feeling repetitive or poorly designed.
There are issues with enemy aircraft being overly resilient, requiring an unrealistic amount of firepower to bring them down, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.

story
90 mentions
20 % positive mentions
72 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game's story is centered around a series of 12 missions inspired by historical events, featuring a variety of roles and aircraft, which adds a dynamic element to gameplay. However, many players find the narrative lacking depth and engagement, with some missions feeling repetitive or poorly designed, leading to frustration. While the missions are generally enjoyable and varied, the overall campaign is criticized for being short and not offering enough secondary objectives or meaningful choices.
- “The campaign has a good variety of missions and planes.”
- “The setting is great, the missions are fun and varied, and the challenges can be good.”
- “It has a good amount of content with a campaign that has a varying degree of missions to play, a good tutorial, and it looks pretty decent too in terms of the visuals.”
- “The storyline isn't much of a story but more an emotionless game replica of WWII plane battles.”
- “The campaign just feels way too short, and wonky, with some missions lasting 4 minutes, and others lasting probably 10-20 minutes.”
- “There are audio issues that still, after several months, the developers have not yet fixed.”
graphics
56 mentions
64 % positive mentions
30 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many users praising the detailed plane models and overall visual quality, describing them as "good," "great," and even "stunning." While some players noted minor issues with performance and certain graphical elements, the consensus is that the visuals effectively enhance the arcade flight experience, contributing to an enjoyable atmosphere. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point of the game, appealing to both casual players and those with a keen interest in historical themes.
- “The graphics are absolutely stunning though and the sounds are excellent.”
- “The visuals are astounding.”
- “The graphics are top notch.”
- “The game is disappointing graphics-wise and there is really no game.”
- “Graphics are poor quality even at max settings and the game appears dull visually - Shadows Over China is a correct title as the game appears really shadowy.”
- “Graphics can cause serious framerate drops.”
gameplay
18 mentions
28 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
17 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of enjoyable arcade mechanics and engaging flight experiences, with unlimited fuel and ammo but a frustrating cooldown system. While players appreciate the variety of aircraft and solid controls, many criticize the lack of distinctiveness among planes, clunky landing mechanics, and the excessive health of enemy aircraft, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game shows potential for improvement and offers a fun, if flawed, dogfighting experience.
- “The mechanics and physics don't need to be realistic, but it is just right for the gameplay.”
- “Full controller support, easy to change views, engaging gameplay.”
- “Gameplay-wise, you are able to fly a variety of aircraft over different scenic terrains from the far east in free flight mode, which is the best feature of this game.”
- “The game mechanics are sort of the normal arcade type, but sadly every plane feels and acts the same. The landing system is atrocious, and enemy planes take far too long to neutralize. Even on normal mode, they require almost 5 to 7 belts of ammo to burn, and there’s no weak point system. This is a deal breaker, especially during time-sensitive missions where you spend most of your time emptying belts of ammo at bombers.”
- “As of now, the gameplay is poor because of the poor gunsights.”
- “Poor and random targeting mechanics make it frustrating; you can get hit by planes behind you, but there's no way to target them after evading.”
music
11 mentions
55 % positive mentions
18 % neutral mentions
27 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its cheesy and fun nature that enhances the gameplay experience, while others feel certain tracks do not fit the game's atmosphere. Overall, the soundtrack is noted for being enjoyable, with a rock focus that stands out, despite some complaints about sound quality and thematic appropriateness.
- “The soundtrack is quite nice; it's very cheesy and silly and will put you in the mood to play.”
- “I've got nothing to say, because it's really good, mostly the music.”
- “My initial thought is that the music is awesome; the graphics on max are okay while the planes look great, but the terrain needs improvement.”
- “It's strictly arcade: limitless ammo/fuel, over-the-top explosions, a cheesy soundtrack, and flight model characteristics that defy physics and gravity.”
- “Then the music starts, which is about as wrong for a squadron of mostly US pilots flying in China in 1940 as I can imagine.”
- “And finally, music and sounds.”
optimization
9 mentions
56 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
22 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it performs well on lower settings and is praised for its graphics, players report significant framerate drops and performance issues when settings are maxed out. Some aircraft abilities are criticized for unrealistic performance boosts, and there are suggestions for an auto-adjust feature to enhance compatibility with various systems. Despite these concerns, many users find the optimization satisfactory for an early access title.
- “Lots of variation and the graphics and performance is really good.”
- “Very well optimized for an early access game and the graphics are amazing.”
- “I think this game could benefit from an auto adjust graphics script to determine how well the game runs on your system and what's needed for best performance.”
- “Only gripe is the aircraft abilities; some of the allied planes have performance levels way above reality, particularly the Brewster Buffalo and Bristol Blenheim, both of which seem to be gifted an extra 50 mph in speed over what they actually had.”
- “However, the more cinematic you make the settings, the more likely you are to experience framerate issues and juddery performance.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is generally well-received, aligning with the game's theme and enhanced by engaging voice-overs and cinematics. However, the campaign's brevity and inconsistent music quality detract from the overall experience, with some missions feeling too short and the soundtrack being hit-or-miss.
- “The atmosphere is great, but the campaign just feels way too short, and wonky, with some missions lasting 4 minutes, and others lasting probably 10-20 minutes.”
- “The music is half-half; some great scores and some that, while nice, don't really fit the atmosphere, I find, but it's nitpicking.”
- “The single-player campaign is varied and interesting, and the voice-overs and cinematics really add to the atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere matches the theme, but the graphics are just okay.”
- “The single-player campaign is varied and interesting, but the atmosphere feels lacking despite the voice-overs and cinematics.”
stability
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users experiencing frequent crashes and glitches, particularly when using specific features like the free-head camera. While a few players report smooth performance on older systems, the overall consensus indicates that the game is still quite buggy and may not be reliable for all users.
- “First off to the bad reviews, I'm not sure if you are running on integrated graphics, a low-end graphics card, or have insufficient RAM. My system runs great, even though it's older.”
- “The game has been incredibly stable for me, with no crashes or major bugs during my playtime.”
- “I've experienced smooth gameplay throughout, which really enhances the overall experience.”
- “I encountered some weird glitches that caused me to crash. For example, when using the free-head camera, it locked to the back for some reason, and the plane just went straight to the ground while I pressed keys to make the camera look forward.”
- “The game is also buggy and keeps crashing, so I would not recommend it.”
- “But it is still a bit buggy.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its entertaining variety, particularly through the use of amusing English accents for characters from different Asian countries, which adds a comedic touch to the overall experience.
- “The English accents for other Asian countries are hilarious.”
- “Funny, entertaining, and full of variety—what more could we ask for?”
grinding
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect to be somewhat tedious, but generally view it as a brief and enjoyable break from the action, allowing them to appreciate the game's visuals for a few minutes.
- “Grinding feels like an endless chore that takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
- “The repetitive nature of grinding makes it feel more like a job than a fun activity.”
- “I found myself losing interest quickly due to the monotonous grinding required to progress.”