Skies above the Great War

About

Skies above the Great War is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Puntigames and was released on July 24, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Skies above the Great War" is a First World War flight simulation game where players lead air forces on either the allied or german side. Take control of any aircraft in real-time, engage in dogfights with detailed damage models, and manage resources for missions like reconnaissance and strategic bombing. Hire manufacturers to produce and develop new aircraft as you wage war across a 10,000 square kilometer game world.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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76%

Audience ScoreBased on 104 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

graphics4 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of grand strategy and flight simulation, allowing players to manage air squadrons while also engaging in dogfights.
The developer is responsive and actively working on updates, showing commitment to improving the game based on community feedback.
The flight mechanics are enjoyable, with a satisfying damage model and the ability to customize aircraft, making it appealing for WW1 aviation enthusiasts.

The game suffers from performance issues, including frame rate drops and crashes, making it unplayable for some users.
The user interface is poorly designed, with small text and a lack of clear instructions, leading to confusion about gameplay mechanics.
There are numerous bugs that affect gameplay, including issues with AI behavior and graphical glitches, which detract from the overall experience.

story
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
84%
8%
The game's story revolves around managing a squadron, where players take on the role of a commander responsible for training pilots, ordering planes, and executing missions against the enemy. While there is a degree of freedom in mission selection, players have noted a limited variety of missions, primarily focusing on reconnaissance, which can lead to repetitive gameplay. The experience is enhanced by the strategic elements of resource management and decision-making, although the graphics and overall design feel outdated.
- “A cool aspect of the game is that you don't control the whole operation, just the air force, and so you have to fulfill missions given by high command, but have a lot of freedom to decide what missions you carry out and with what squads or pilots.”
- “You must plan and execute missions, and choose which planes to produce and use...”
- “For me, I love being a squadron commander and sitting back and watching my men carry out the missions.”
- “Not a huge variety of missions. I only played 2 hours, which could be the reason I did not see anything but mostly recon missions. I did take my fighters out to try and chase down the enemy aircraft, but there were no official missions for that sort of play. I had bombers in production, but due to another crash I experienced, I stopped playing before I could get the bombers on the map.”
- “Often after finishing the mission, they just loiter over the target until shot down, intercepted, or run out of fuel.”
- “The graphics and art design are outdated, reminiscent of the 2000s, but somehow the optimization is on par with combat missions (this is not a compliment).”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
72%
16%
The graphics in the game are criticized for being outdated and low-fidelity, reminiscent of early 2000s design, with frequent bugs and performance issues such as lag and frame rate drops. While the WW1 aesthetic is appreciated, players report significant graphical glitches, including pixelation and full-screen color errors, which detract from the overall experience. Despite some positive feedback during action sequences, the overall impression is that the graphics are poorly optimized and prone to crashing.
- “The WW1 aesthetic is spot on, and the ability to move from the strategic level to the tactical level is very cool.”
- “The graphics seem tame at first, but that is deceptive; when the action starts, there is a lot of good feedback.”
- “The graphics are low-fi, the handling of the planes is arcadey and works better with mouse and keyboard than with gamepad.”
- “I've experimented with using the AI, or controlling everything, reducing all the graphical bars and options to nil, and saving and reloading - but nothing seems to prevent lag and frame rate issues.”
- “Do not know what the problem is, but the graphics keep crashing while trying to figure out how to play the campaign.”
- “The graphic and art design are outdated, reminiscent of the 2000s, but somehow the optimization is on par with combat missions (this is not a compliment).”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
45%
44%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting poor performance even on capable machines, resulting in stuttering frame rates, particularly during flying sequences. Many users note that despite the outdated graphics and art design, the optimization issues are reminiscent of much older titles, leading to a frustrating experience overall.
- “The graphics and art design are outdated, reminiscent of the 2000s, but somehow the optimization is on par with combat missions (this is not a compliment).”
- “Performance can definitely be rough even on machines you'd think would play this easily.”
- “I've tried every setting, but the frame rates while flying are horrible and stuttering.”
- “The graphic and art design are outdated, or rather 2000s, but somehow the optimization is on par with combat missions (this is not a compliment).”
gameplay
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
22%
22%
The gameplay is designed to be accessible and enjoyable, reminiscent of classic WW1 flight sims, with engaging mechanics like manning rear guns and bomb dropping. However, players have noted issues such as bugs, rough edges, and significant lag during battles, which can detract from the overall experience. While the game is not a hardcore simulation, its arcade-style approach may limit future support for advanced controls like HOTAS.
- “This is not some hardcore sim, but offers enough fun mechanics to evoke the spirit of older WW1 flight sims.”
- “This game is a good time; it's a little rough around the edges and I've seen quite a few bugs while playing it so far, but the core gameplay is fun and it's super easy to hop into.”
- “You can man the rear guns, drop bombs, take control, or leave it to the AI to look around to find targets - really nice mechanics.”
- “The gameplay was extremely laggy, which is understandable for a game running an entire battlefront simulation in real time, but it still has to be mentioned.”
- “Unsure about future HOTAS support being possible, given how arcade the gameplay is.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many reviews highlighting persistent bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. There is a prevailing sentiment that players are hesitant to invest further until the developer addresses these issues, especially given the lack of recent updates or communication from the development team. Overall, the game's stability is viewed as a major barrier to enjoyment, with hopes for future improvements.
- “I read the reviews and many people were saying things along the lines of 'wait for the dev to fix the bugs' or 'good game but buggy.' I then noticed that there weren't any 'recent events & announcements' for the game visible on Steam after the initial release, which made me think the dev had abandoned the game.”
- “If the developer irons out the game’s glitches and issues, I will most likely repurchase.”
- “I read the reviews and many people were saying things along the lines of 'wait for the dev to fix the bugs' or 'good game but buggy.' I then noticed that there weren't any 'recent events & announcements' for the game visible on Steam after the initial release, which made me think the dev had abandoned the game.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is noted for its humor, particularly in its comedic take on World War I flight mechanics. Players have highlighted amusing bugs, such as the lack of boundaries on the map screen, allowing for endless panning into the distance, which adds to the overall comedic experience.
- “But overall, a very funny WWI flight game.”
- “A funny bug I noticed was on the map screen; there's no barrier, so you can just keep panning off into the distance forever.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Skies above the Great War is a strategy game.

Skies above the Great War is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

Skies above the Great War was released on July 24, 2024.

Skies above the Great War was developed by Puntigames.

Skies above the Great War has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

Skies above the Great War is a single player game.

Similar games include Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age, Tank Squad, Victory At Sea Pacific, SpaceBourne 2, Nuclear Option and others.

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