Skip to main content

About

"Vector Thrust is a historical shooter game with fast-paced single and multiplayer combat options, using a unique cel-shaded art style. The game boasts over 260 playable aircraft and includes an extensive variety of game modes, customizable skirmishes, and story-based campaigns. With advanced tactical AI and full customization options, including user-made skins and custom battle scenarios, Vector Thrust offers a diverse and adaptable gaming experience."

Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
Vector Thrust screenshot
+14
Skip User Reviews

46%
Audience ScoreBased on 918 reviews
story52 positive mentions
stability102 negative mentions

  • Vector Thrust offers a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic Ace Combat games, with a wide variety of aircraft and engaging dogfighting mechanics.
  • The cel-shaded graphics provide a unique visual style that appeals to fans of arcade flight games.
  • The game includes a mission editor and modding support, allowing players to create custom scenarios and enhance their gameplay experience.
  • The game is plagued by frequent crashes, bugs, and unfinished content, making it frustrating and difficult to enjoy.
  • The controls are clunky and unresponsive, particularly for players using keyboard and mouse, which detracts from the overall experience.
  • The campaign lacks depth and polish, with poorly executed voice acting and mission objectives that can be confusing or broken.
  • story
    508 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is often criticized for being generic and poorly executed, resembling a typical "rookie pilot rises to ace" narrative found in many flight simulators. Players report numerous bugs and glitches that hinder campaign progression, particularly in the first mission, which is frequently unplayable due to design flaws. While there are attempts at storytelling through static images and voiceovers, the overall presentation lacks depth and engagement, leaving many players feeling frustrated and disconnected from the narrative.

    • “The story set up with real world aircraft in a fictional world just like the Ace Combat series does.”
    • “I love how the story is told. After each mission, you get a bit of art to look at while your squad talks amongst themselves and to their base comrades. It's a wonderful way of storytelling, but I do wish there was more than one slide per mission ending.”
    • “Story-wise, you can tell that the game's universe was heavily influenced by the Strangereal universe in the Ace Combat series.”
    • “The game tries to have a story which is told via tedious exposition dumps which are each voiced over a single ugly picture each time there is a new story development... and it's just ugly.”
    • “Cannot advance the main story, but after a dozen or so tries to even get past the first mission, I've lost all interest in whatever story was trying to be told here.”
    • “The dialog is long and drawn out far more than needed (especially the briefings and debriefings), and the storyline is confusing (lacking any sort of context for the events that occur, or the factions involved), uninteresting, and, as longtime fans of Ace Combat may notice, a direct copy off of the plot of Ace Combat Zero (minus back-story and plus a few twists).”
  • gameplay
    176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this title is a mixed bag, featuring solid flight mechanics and a variety of aircraft that appeal to fans of arcade-style flight games, particularly those reminiscent of the Ace Combat series. However, many players criticize the repetitive nature of combat, poor instructions, and numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience. While there is potential for growth and improvement, particularly with a more polished engine, the current state leaves much to be desired, making it a challenging recommendation for newcomers.

    • “The gameplay is where this game really excels; the combat is near perfect and with so much to do, it's difficult to get bored of this game without pouring a considerable amount of time into it.”
    • “The core gameplay is very solid.”
    • “It's a sweet love letter to Ace Combat games, particularly the PS2 trilogy, with gameplay mechanics that closely resemble those three.”
    • “Instructions are awful (almost non-existent), gameplay is boringly repetitive and missiles are almost useless.”
    • “If you've already played AC7 and Project Wingman and you're really desperate for more of that type of gameplay, it might still be worth your time, but you'll have to struggle through a whole lot of missing content, shoddy controller support, and obvious, sometimes game-breaking bugs to make your own fun.”
    • “The combat is extremely repetitive and the music doesn't really match the gameplay.”
  • graphics
    174 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game feature a cel-shaded art style that has garnered mixed reactions from players; while some appreciate its unique and colorful aesthetic reminiscent of anime and retro titles, others criticize it for being cartoonish and lacking detail, particularly in ground textures. The aircraft models are generally praised for their detail, but overall, the visuals are seen as inconsistent, with some players noting technical issues and a need for improvement in various aspects. Despite these criticisms, the graphics contribute to a nostalgic feel for fans of arcade-style flight games.

    • “The graphics are great, and for someone like myself who is not a fan of cell shading, this game does it right.”
    • “The cell-shaded graphics look and feel great, the narrative isn't bad, and the gameplay is fast and exciting.”
    • “The unique art style as well as the 'arcade' gameplay really sold it to me.”
    • “I just couldn't abide the comic book graphics style.”
    • “The game is sometimes just plain ugly in terms of the visuals.”
    • “The graphics are lackluster (especially ground textures) for a modern PC game, and whoever decided on the 'actually zero-visibility' for the desert mission needs to be smacked (you literally cannot see anything outside the plane, at any altitude, for the entire mission, it’s really boring).”
  • stability
    106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and frequent crashes that hinder gameplay. Many users describe it as unfinished and poorly optimized, leading to a frustrating experience, especially during missions. While some find enjoyment in the game, it requires significant troubleshooting skills and patience to navigate its many issues.

    • “The game is nowhere near complete, and while my experience has been relatively bug-free, some folks have definitely experienced game-breaking bugs.”
    • “It was pretty buggy, but it wasn't too buggy.”
    • “The final product is buggy and unpolished, with unintuitive controls and semi-frequent crashes.”
    • “It's a buggy mess and I can't even finish the first campaign mission since it randomly fails.”
    • “A buggy mess that shouldn't have come out of early access.”
  • music
    84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the original score as a standout feature, while others find it repetitive, generic, or poorly matched to the gameplay. Many comments highlight that while the soundtrack has its moments, it often fails to enhance the gaming experience, leading to a sense of disconnect during combat. Overall, the music is seen as a redeeming quality by some, but many agree it lacks the impact and memorability of better soundtracks in the genre.

    • “The only saving grace about Vector Thrust is its soundtrack, which was outsourced to a damn good indie composer.”
    • “The music is exquisite.”
    • “The game presents an ass-kicking soundtrack as well as a slick cell-shaded style that, while not exactly realistic, gives a polished and stylish appearance to the explosive imagery of combat.”
    • “The soundtrack is absolute ass.”
    • “The combat is extremely repetitive and the music doesn't really match the gameplay.”
    • “The music is irritating, sounds like FSX stock music or something.”
  • optimization
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting severe performance issues, bugs, and a lack of polish in both visuals and gameplay. Many players find the game runs poorly, even worse than similar titles, and express frustration over the unrefined menu design and overall experience. Despite some mentions of potential in weapon performance mechanics, the current state is marred by significant optimization flaws.

    • “+ seems well optimized”
    • “There is even a difficulty setting for 'realistic' weapon performance, which makes missiles imitate their real-world counterparts' performance in lock-on range, turning, and destructiveness.”
    • “That principle applies here but more in accordance with aircraft performance stats and weapon loadouts.”
    • “The game is poorly optimized, buggy, and only a little fun.”
    • “Sadly most of it is squandered at the moment with performance rife with bugs.”
    • “The performance is horrible.”
  • grinding
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, particularly when it comes to unlocking new planes for skirmishes. The process is marred by bugs and a cumbersome menu interface, leading to a lack of engagement and enjoyment in the campaign. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant detractor from the overall experience.

    • “Unfortunately, the game is hampered by a lot of bugs, especially in the campaign, as well as some pretty heavy grinding to unlock more planes for use in skirmishes.”
    • “The method for actually unlocking planes is tedious at best, and frustrating at worst.”
    • “If I had to sum it up in one word: tedious.”
  • humor
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its absurdly unstable mechanics, which can lead to comical situations, especially with certain aircraft like the f-104 vtol and su-74. Players find the informal and humorous voice lines delivered by military pilots in non-campaign modes to add to the comedic experience, making the game entertaining even in its more frustrating moments.

    • “It's so unstable it would be hilarious if you're not the one playing.”
    • “Voices also sound quite funny at times, and the lines are somewhat informal to be spoken by military pilots, especially in the non-campaign modes.”
    • “Some of them are interesting (e.g. fb-22 sub-family), some of them powerful (e.g. f-35x, f-15z) and some of them downright hilarious (e.g. f-104 vtol, su-74).”
  • emotional
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with players finding it lacking in depth and engagement. Many feel that the static cutscenes and poor voice acting detract from any intended emotional impact, resulting in a campaign that fails to evoke meaningful responses from players. Overall, the game is described as boring and empty, with slow pacing that hinders emotional connection to the characters and story.

    • “It's supposed to be touching and emotional, I think, but it's ruined by the voice acting since the cutscene is just a still.”
    • “Slow campaign story pacing, with little emotional response to character interaction.”
  • monetization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features a straightforward monetization model with no microtransactions or downloadable content (DLC), making it an affordable option compared to other titles. Players appreciate the lack of additional costs, but express a desire for ongoing developer support and a more active community to enhance the multiplayer experience.

    • “This game has no microtransactions or DLC and currently costs less than a single microtransaction for Ace Combat: nickel and dime.”
  • replayability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The replayability of Vector Thrust is exceptionally high, thanks to its in-game editor that offers nearly limitless mission creation possibilities, along with robust moddability features. Players can continuously engage with the game by crafting new experiences, ensuring a fresh gameplay experience each time.

    • “The in-game editor allows for nearly endless mission possibilities, and with moddability, the replayability of Vector Thrust is through the roof.”
Skip Game Offers

Buy Vector Thrust

5h Median play time
7h Average play time
3-17h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Vector Thrust

Games Like Vector Thrust

Project Wingman Image
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Image
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Image
This game contains adult content
Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China Image
This game contains adult content
Heliborne Image