IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz

66%
Game Brain Score Based on 640 reviews
  • graphics
  • story
  • optimization
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz Game Cover
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IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz is a combat flight simulation game set in World War II. It offers an immersive and authentic flying experience with detailed aircraft models and realistic flight physics. The Blitz edition includes improved graphics, additional aircraft, and new gameplay mechanics for an enhanced experience. Players can engage in thrilling aerial battles over the skies of Europe and take part in historic missions and campaigns against enemy forces.

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Reviews

66%
Audience ScoreBased on 640 reviews
graphics45 positive mentions
stability21 negative mentions
  • The game offers a highly immersive experience with realistic flight mechanics and detailed aircraft models.
  • The community is supportive and helpful, providing resources for new players to learn the game.
  • The graphics and sound design are impressive, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
  • The user interface is clunky and outdated, making it difficult to navigate and set up controls.
  • Joystick support is problematic, with many players struggling to get their controllers recognized by the game.
  • The AI is often criticized for being unresponsive or poorly programmed, detracting from the single-player experience.
  • graphics102 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising their realism and detail, particularly in cockpit views and landscapes, while others note that they feel dated compared to newer titles. Many users appreciate the improvements made through updates and the game's ability to run well on average systems, but some express disappointment with performance issues and the need for further enhancements. Overall, while the visuals are generally considered good, they may not meet the expectations set by more recent flight simulators.

    • “The graphics change the gameplay so dramatically compared to the old games.”
    • “Fantastic graphics, the best cockpit views in existence.”
    • “The graphics are extremely impressive, both terrain and vehicles.”
    • “The graphics are dated and the controls and flight model are godawful.”
    • “And despite having graphics from 2011, the FPS drops a lot, sometimes to 10 FPS despite running it on a 6600 XT.”
    • “The graphics are awful; controls require mapping of hundreds of commands as there are no defaults for even the most common joysticks... what a complete waste of time.”
  • story94 mentions

    The game's story aspect has received mixed feedback, with players expressing a desire for more campaign content and dynamic missions, particularly related to historical events like the Battle of Britain. While some appreciate the immersive narrative and mission write-ups, others criticize the limited single-player options and the need for extensive mission editing skills. Overall, the potential for a richer storytelling experience exists, but current offerings feel lacking and often require players to engage in complex mission-building processes.

    • “I've only got just over two hours in the game but it's highly immersive with radio conversations and mission write-ups (in the campaign) that will really make you feel immersed.”
    • “There's a believable, well-written story that I would recommend reading properly between missions for the full experience.”
    • “In my opinion, multiplayer is better than the IL-2 box series; missions are amazing and many are historical, for example Dunkirk where the Wehrmacht is close to the city defended by the British, on the beach there is a bunch of equipment and ships on the sea, even civilian wooden boats.”
    • “The game comes with campaigns that are not dynamic and cannot be modified; they are preset and you cannot change your loadout or mission parameters.”
    • “On the other hand, single player content is lacking (there are campaigns and missions, but no career or dynamic campaign generator, which the developers promised almost a year ago).”
    • “The missions that come with the game are poor.”
  • optimization29 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has seen significant improvements, transforming it from a buggy and laggy experience into a visually stunning and smoother simulation. However, some players still report issues with controller optimization, stuttering, and performance drops, particularly in multiplayer settings. While many appreciate the enhanced graphics and performance, there are lingering concerns about server stability and occasional performance hits.

    • “To be honest, everything looks great and runs smoothly.”
    • “The game has been greatly optimized and the graphics are beautiful.”
    • “The good news is that in terms of raw performance, the game runs a lot smoother than it used to.”
    • “I have to be honest here, the negative reviews regarding the poor controller optimization are 100% valid.”
    • “Notably, this game performs ~150% worse fps-wise than IL-2 Great Battles, plus stuttering that makes air combat impossible.”
    • “Poorly optimized and barely playable.”
  • gameplay23 mentions

    The gameplay is largely reminiscent of the original, featuring improved graphics and flight mechanics, though it suffers from a poorly arranged control setup that can deter new players. While the simulation offers immersive experiences with detailed cockpit interactions and realistic flight models, it lacks in content variety and requires significant effort to master its mechanics. Overall, it appeals to those seeking a deep, realistic flight simulation, but may frustrate players expecting a more accessible arcade-style experience.

    • “The actual gameplay is pretty much identical to the original with some improvements.”
    • “Attention to details of cockpit instrument panels, sound of aircraft engines, g-force effects, fire trails from burning aircraft, etc. accurately adds realism to the gameplay.”
    • “Blitz delivers rocking gameplay on consistently crowded servers, beautifully and authentically rendered aircraft with meticulously accurate flight models and gorgeous graphics.”
    • “I tried this as I tried the IL Sturmovik 46 game years ago; nothing has changed, it still has very bad outdated gameplay and still expects you to play with a keyboard and mouse unless you are prepared to spend time altering all the necessary settings needed to get a controller to work.”
    • “I tell you what, I reckon a lot of people stopped the game after getting confused by the menus and difficult mapping, thereby becoming negatively biased towards the sim and putting the gameplay and meat of what it is in bad light: the simulation itself.”
    • “There is no clear explanation of game mechanics, plane start-up, and map navigation tools requiring the player to search for this information online, on forums, and YouTube.”
  • stability22 mentions

    The game's stability has been a significant concern among users, with many reporting persistent bugs, crashes, and performance issues, particularly with flightstick mapping and multiplayer functionality. While some improvements have been noted in recent updates, players still encounter frequent glitches and a generally unstable experience, leading to mixed feelings about the game's overall reliability. Despite its potential and visual appeal, the game's ongoing issues make it a frustrating experience for many users.

    • “Apart from that, it runs great, being able to handle a lot of in-game objects at once, more so than other current games.”
    • “I refunded this game once because of the flight stick mapping issues. I recently re-purchased the game because I believed I found a solution to the flight stick mapping... but lo and behold, the game won't even launch. It's a known issue by Team Fusion, and their answer is player troubleshooting, not fixing the known issue but rather passing it off to the players that paid for their product.”
    • “This game is a mess; the controller configuration is a mess, apart from other potential glitches and bugs.”
    • “The most buggy piece of crap I have flown in a long time.”
  • atmosphere7 mentions

    Overall, the atmosphere in the game is praised for its immersive WWII flight experience, enhanced by impressive graphics and realistic flight models. However, some users note that issues with AI detract from the single-player experience, impacting the overall ambiance. Despite these concerns, many agree that it remains one of the most atmospheric flight simulators available.

    • “If you like WWII flight with atmosphere and immersion, this is the one.”
    • “The game has great atmosphere and graphics, and I like the flight models (handling) the best.”
    • “For those who love flight sims, there is no more atmospheric and immersive sim out there than this.”
    • “If you ever felt IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad lacks some kind of WWII atmosphere.”
    • “The AI has had zero work, both in ability and giving orders, so they are still essentially useless and bug-ridden, thereby continuing to render single player a horrible experience and making it difficult to employ effectively in multiplayer to add ambience and atmosphere.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to cumbersome menu navigation and repetitive tasks required to maintain control, such as adjusting the artificial horizon. While some appreciate the game's value and the developers' efforts, the overall experience is marred by the excessive effort needed to achieve basic gameplay functions.

    • “I honestly can get past the fact that the menus look like screenshots edited in paint, but the fact that so much stuff is missing or extremely tedious is unacceptable.”
    • “After tapping 1% up or down on the elevator numerous times to get the artificial horizon centered and finally having the plane flying level without control input, you breathe a sigh of relief only to find that a minute later the plane is climbing at an alarming rate. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a great game, but it gets very tedious holding the stick forward to maintain level flight.”
    • “The menu navigation is tedious.”
  • music4 mentions

    Reviews of the game's music are mixed; while some praise the soundtrack as "absolutely incredible," others criticize it as inferior to the original IL-2 Sturmovik and note a lack of variety in the music during gameplay. Additionally, the sound menu's limited options for adjusting music and voice have drawn some frustration from users.

    • “The soundtrack is absolutely incredible.”
    • “Getting into the game, things feel a bit lazy; the UI looks like something out of a Unity game, and the music is terrible compared to the original IL-2 Sturmovik.”
    • “The sound menu only allows you to adjust voice and music.”
    • “More rotating music as we browse through all the planes and options and configurations would be nice.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    Players find the game highly replayable due to its engaging content and improved AI behavior, which adds a layer of realism to missions. Despite some concerns about accessibility and specific gameplay elements, the ongoing updates have significantly enhanced the game's longevity compared to its earlier version.

    • “The content is mind-blowingly replayable despite the game having very specific English and German planes.”
    • “Like it or not, the TF team has done a great job to keep the game more playable than the far-abandoned original version.”
    • “The AI has progressed since I last reviewed the simulation, showcasing realistic behaviors that enhance replayability.”
    • “My main issues with the game were accessibility, replay value, and the AI. Pinguim noted that the AI can be made to land by using the command 'abort mission'. Even though I couldn't yet test this, I observed the behavior of two friendly AI Hurricane MKs after being shot by enemy bombers: one had a fuel leak and the other's engine seemed to malfunction. They both returned to friendly territory and ditched their planes in a rather realistic manner. This shows to me that at least in some respects, the AI has progressed since I last reviewed the simulation.”
    • “Like it or not, the TF team has done a big job to keep the game more playable than the far-abandoned original version.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and lighthearted elements, such as the amusing portrayal of British planes and the presence of humorous bugs, like a giant steam FPS counter during loading screens. While the game has its share of bugs, they are generally seen as funny rather than detrimental to the overall experience.

    • “I like funny British planes.”
    • “A team of modders made this after 1C abandoned the original in an unplayable state. It's a great sim, albeit still very buggy. It's not game-breaking or experience-ruining, just funny, like the giant steam FPS counter in the loading screens.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    The emotional response to the game is largely negative, with users expressing disappointment and frustration, particularly due to performance issues and other significant problems that led to a complete disengagement from the game.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

2hMedian play time
2hAverage play time
2-2hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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