Echelon: Wind Warriors
Echelon: Wind Warriors
Game
Game2014
Echelon
Developer MADia Entertainment
Echelon (Russian: «Шторм») is a 3-D science fiction flight simulator video game developed by Saint Petersburg developers MADia Entertainment. It was published in Russia by Buka Entertainment, and in all other territories by Bethesda Softworks. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
58 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 20, 2026 · last updated Oct 21, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
34
Rotten
14 positive · 27 negative
95% range 22–49%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 14 | 27 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Negative
19 of 49 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
37% recommend · 16 yes, 27 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 43 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (79 of 158 positive).
Many reviewers report the game is broken and requires extensive fixes to launch. [1][2][3] Some players blame Bethesda for the game's stability issues and lack of support. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
I'm adding my two cents because a handful of were too challenged to check the 'Guides' section to get this running, so they decided to review bomb this absolute gem. Echelon is fun. Echelon is ARMA meets the original Ghost Recon BUT WITH SPACESHIPS. Really, I can't downplay how damn tactical this game is. It released in 2001? No way. Echelon is STILL ahead of it's time - and it's been two decades. If you enjoy …
- [10]
Faulty game launcher - but that's NOTHING! I was unable to play this game for over a decade! It's originally was made for Win 98 and XP patch not always worked. So setting BAT file launcher to admin permission is forgivable for me. Game is FREAKING AMAZING, both it good and bad sense. There is some parts that are outdated more than the poop of the dinosaur, but the gameplay is still AWESOME! Really complaining old …
- [1]
Won't start at all. Had to use a tool to get 5 minutes for this review. Don't buy till they fix it (probably never). edit: Yes, I've tried runing it as administrator, but it still won't start.
- [12]
Echelon is a classic flight sim similar to X-Wing, Tie-Fighter or Crimson Skies. It's fun, but often unreasonably difficult. This release, however, is broken. It runs, but requires a lot of work to get running. Buy at your own risk. Also, for some reason they replaced the old menu music with something awful.
- [6]
Warning: Broken Game!This game has design/implementation defects that will render this unplayable for many gamers. The developer is aware of this and provided a workaround that doesn't, well, work. The game is unplayable even if you jump through all the hoops provided by the "developer" here. Echelon is an ancient game from 2001. It's a whopping 22 years old at the time of this review. The game lacks support for any …
Summarised from 34 of the 60 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Echelon sits at 34% positive across 41 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Echelon received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Steve Butts of IGN said, "In all Echelon is a very welcome addition to the flight sim genre. It takes an approach that most other developers have neglected. Still, the execution and design aren't entirely up to the possibility of the concept. You'll play it, you'll enjoy and, ultimately, put it aside for more traditional games that offer a lot more sparkle." GameSpot said, "In spite of its problems, Echelon does hit close enough to the mark to offer some fast and flashy, but ultimately shallow, thrills." However, Jim Preston of NextGen said of the game, "Credit to Buka for trying to combine…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
58 of 58 · most liked firstThere might be some nastalgia playing into my review of this game. It's recalls my favorite time in gaming, when titles like Terminal Velocity and Descent Dominated PC gaming. The tourtorial is a bit lacking so taking some time learning the controls from the options menu first will go a long way, the instant action option is a nice touch and multiplayer (with some system tweaking) is workable and entertaining at lans. To address the Negative reviews: There seems to be a trend of people…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Won't start at all. Had to use a tool to get 5 minutes for this review. Don't buy till they fix it (probably never). edit: Yes, I've tried runing it as administrator, but it still won't start.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought it for few cents, paid too much. This is ablsolute, pure, 100% non-working s***. I tested it on windows 10 x64, windows 7 x64 sp1 and windows xp sp3 (win7 and win xp via virtualbox). The only working part of it is the *.bat file, that has to be modified in order to idle cards.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty hard to evaluate a game you cannot run (cmd window disappears immediately). Tried every recommendation (admin, etc) and never got it to run on my Win7 x64 system. Paid money for this. So actually, I guess the review is easy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Echelon is a classic flight sim similar to X-Wing, Tie-Fighter or Crimson Skies. It's fun, but often unreasonably difficult. This release, however, is broken. It runs, but requires a lot of work to get running. Buy at your own risk. Also, for some reason they replaced the old menu music with something awful.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An old and, for me, classic game, something of a classic example of old Russian game-design, in both good and bad senses of the term. The graphics have not aged particularly well, and the menus are sometimes a pain to navigate, but overall it remains a solid arcade-ish "action sim", with neat gameplay and a bit of originality, some of which has remained to this day even. There aren't a whole lot of these "futuristic VTOL gunship" sims on PC nowadays for some reason. In regards to the Steam…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hard to review a game that wont run................
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Released two entries for the RPG Maker 2025 game jam! Project: Echelon, Story & character-driven sci-fi adventure w/fast-pased,turn-based battles, The Final Prayer,1st person dungeon crawler turn-based RPG w/focus on narrative & exploration! #indiedev #gamedev #rpgmaker
neutral · AI labelView post →Broken installation script. Won't launch so don't buy till devs fix it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Now live on YouTube: Formation youtu.be/yhOMzq5_wj0?... This video has been a goal of mine ever since Picard Season 3 originally aired, and with the release of the Echelon Class to game, I finally had everything I needed to make this a reality!!! Check the thread below for info on the video!
neutral · AI labelView post →Beware This game is terribly mantained. You'll probably need to edit a *.bat file in order to get it running in anything newer than Windows 7. It really show lack of care from the publishers that they don't properly maintain what otherwise is a cult game well worth playing. (The reason for that being this: https://www.bluesnews.com/a/268/open-letter-to-bethesda-softworks ) The game runs in Linux, but you'll have to put on some effort editing the .bat file and making shure all the paths go…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm adding my two cents because a handful of were too challenged to check the 'Guides' section to get this running, so they decided to review bomb this absolute gem. Echelon is fun. Echelon is ARMA meets the original Ghost Recon BUT WITH SPACESHIPS. Really, I can't downplay how damn tactical this game is. It released in 2001? No way. Echelon is STILL ahead of it's time - and it's been two decades. If you enjoy flight simulators, or tactical/combat simulators in general, Echelon offers a level…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →People easily forget unethical actions from Bethesda, which published this game in NA and compromised the stability of the game, so here it is a short reminder: https://www.bluesnews.com/a/268/open-letter-to-bethesda-softworks
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Took me about 45 minutes to get the game working after trying around 10 fixes that did nothing. The game still takes 30 seconds to open with a CMD window permanently open in the background while you play... Screenshots doesn't work and the Steam Community doesn't work in game. Now I haven't played this game before, I guess that's an old game that might have been good back then... But I don't even know what i'm looking at. I strongly do not recommend to buy this game if you haven't played it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Won't launch. Don't buy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Also the problem of how to fit the bigger games onto a CD. Some solutions were so interesting. My first play of Skies of Arcadia was via the Echelon version, which is complete and on two CDs, just like the original. They compressed the game files and wrote a tool to decompress on the fly.
neutral · AI labelView post →Project: Echelon, one of my entries for the GGG Rpg Maker 2025 game jam! A story/character-driven sci-fi RPG with fast-paced turn-based battles! Link for download in the replies! ^^ #RPGツクールMZ #indiegame #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →This is an old game; I enjoyed it back in the day. I don't have any delusions about it supporting 5.1, or modern resolutions, or my xbox controller. However, it should be sold in such a state that it launches and is playable. This game can't be launched, and is not playable. (note: there are some folks having luck with a 3rd-party patch)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun thing to do in #GoodboyGalaxy #9: Visit the Echelon arcade and play Lilac Force to try and impress Video Game Sage (a tough challenge!)
neutral · AI labelView post →In its time this game was one of the funnest flight games around. Now it needs a patch to launch single player. Just leave your memories of this great game as it is, memories of the past.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Secrets of Game Design 3: Hyper Echelon In this video I play Hyper Echelon for the second time and lightly discuss its game design. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGqJ...
neutral · AI labelView post →Echelon Is an old classic combat flight simulation in a Sci-Fi Setting where Aliens attack Earth with the help of portals and a lot of flying fighters and other Machines that the player have to fight against. To accomplish this the Player gets a a variety of different fighter planes to choose from and different sorts of Weapons to equip onto them. A positiv of the Game is clearly the easy learning curve to come into its control settings as also the nice built up missions where, depending on…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I beat Crownfall's Nest of Thorns Echelon 7 and got Imperia's "Pathetic" voice line! That was a tough game hahaha Can't wait to spam this in my pubs :D #dota2
neutral · AI labelView post →Warning: Broken Game!This game has design/implementation defects that will render this unplayable for many gamers. The developer is aware of this and provided a workaround that doesn't, well, work. The game is unplayable even if you jump through all the hoops provided by the "developer" here. Echelon is an ancient game from 2001. It's a whopping 22 years old at the time of this review. The game lacks support for any modern gaming display resolutions (or widescreen monitors), hasn't been…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 32 years old. My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old. When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another game broken on Win10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Echelon fast game with modern day graphics with easy controls that moves from location A to B to C and so on, good game. Personal Suggested Purchase Price: $0.49 Or Less During Sale
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TFB Review: Springfield Armory Echelon 4.5F 9mm COA.
neutral · AI labelView post →after you watch chapter 10 of gfl2 on youtube because its not in the game yet then you can watch Escape from Cyborg on youtube which also is not in the game yet and you'll see them in the same room. after that you can do the Coordination Drill side mode "Echelon 11" to see them more
neutral · AI labelView post →great game, but its kinda buggy, but i like it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OOOOkay.... so it took a while to get this to actually run... That was very frustrating.. But.. Once you get it to work, this game is very fun. I like the strafe left/right thrusters on the fighters and I like the levels that actually can challenge you and require skille to complete. I'm going to recommend this title, but with a stern finger wag at steam for releasing a title that requires customers to research how to get the game to actually launch...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I cannot get this to run even after trying all the fixes in the discussion forums and frankly can`t be bothered messing around with it anymore. (tried on Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 PC`s). The specs say it`ll work with windows 7 or 8.1.... Ummm sorry, but no it doesn`t. Yes I tried setting the executables as admin, yes I ran the .bat file as admin & yes I tried every compatibility setting available on all the executables. It might be a good game, but I can`t recommend it as I can`t run it, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →either Echelon (by Access Software) or Duke Nukem 1 by Apogee. Although the real "game" that got me (and my sis) into PCs, and why we begged our parents for one? Microsoft Paintbrush for Windows 3.1!
neutral · AI labelView post →Echelon! That was the first PC game I ever got
positive · AI labelView post →Another snippet of Skies of Echelon airship game for you tonight... lots of polish and gameplay going in now. #gamedev #gamedeveloper
neutral · AI labelView post →This doesen't work; tried every trick in the book (ran as admin, modifed GameLauncher.bat and everything!) and still didn't work AVOID AT ALL COSTS
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looked good, buuut... Game would not load at all. Checked discusion on hub. Tried patching game and all work arounds available on hub. No joy. Pity. Do not purchase game until, if ever, the devs get it working.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Faulty game launcher - but that's NOTHING! I was unable to play this game for over a decade! It's originally was made for Win 98 and XP patch not always worked. So setting BAT file launcher to admin permission is forgivable for me. Game is FREAKING AMAZING, both it good and bad sense. There is some parts that are outdated more than the poop of the dinosaur, but the gameplay is still AWESOME! Really complaining old good game for 1,3$ - you are insane! If you are futuristic sim-game fan - GRAB…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This "game" is not even worth getting for cards.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For flying enthusiasts, it’s pretty good and much cheaper than other similar simulators.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy Thursday and as the week draws close we want to give a shout out to Echelon Game Design for their past support of the RPG Creators Relief Fund, INC! Echelon creates and publishes supplements and expansions for Pathfinder, available on DTRPG! Find more information at www.echelongamedesign.com
neutral · AI labelView post →The best example of russian game design from Saint Petersburg. Beautiful graphics, amazing gameplay and interesting story. Best to play on Hardcore difficullty with Joystick. Some missions are a bit harder than I expected.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Requires workarounds and patches made by the community to launch, stay away from it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It came from joy memories of my childhood! Thank you, Buka. I am smiling as Gabe during the sale:) 7/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →#ffxivwrite2026 Day 3: Echelon complete! Takes place massively far in the future, beyond any current game canon. "Orn Khai craned his neck down and chuffed. It was their First Flight today." archiveofourown.org/works/918882...
neutral · AI labelView post →I have zero hope for this FB exodus. The whole #CambridgeAnalytica is hardly #PRISM-level news to a world well aware of #Echelon, and response to that had hardly any effect.
neutral · AI labelView post →Despite its age, Echelon has the potential to be an OK sort of game. The graphics are better than I expected, and the introductory videos were interesting. However, what really spoilt it for me were the controls for the aircraft. Whilst some of the game's controls could be changed, I found, when using the mouse to fly, that the up/down motions were inverted - and, as far as I could see, that situation can't be changed. So, for example, whenever I wanted to fly up, I had to use the mouse in a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It still does not run.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Steam App 311080 DisplayIcon REG_SZ C:\Steem\Steam\steam\games\1b116bbca7813266288d61df77b3baca0297aaab.ico DisplayName REG_SZ Echelon HelpLink REG_SZ http://support.steampowered.com/ InstallLocation REG_SZ C:\Steem\Steam\steamapps\common\Echelon Publisher REG_SZ MADia Entertainment UninstallString REG_SZ "C:\Steem\Steam\steam.exe"…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's one of the best arcade games I've ever played!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Check the startup guides before spending anything on this. There's an interesting sci-fi flight sim underneath, with branching missions and wingman orders, but the launcher can need admin mode or a fan patch before any of that matters.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had a great day at the range yesterday. It was good to get all of that angst out from that sorry ass Bears/Packers game. Yikes, what a lousy, embarrassing showing that was. Anyway...I started blastin...#2A #rangeday #springfieldarmory #echelon #armedequality
neutral · AI labelView post →Yep. Plus, it's a game everyone plays... Tempora, Optic Nerve, Edgehill, Echelon...
neutral · AI labelView post →Tags: 6DOF - Flight - Space Pilot Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library TLDR: Broken - Does not Launch (Win10-64bit) To be honest I am not a huge fan of flight games like these to begin with, and having to fight to get such a primitive example of the genre to even start is not worth it to me. Even if it did run it would probably just turn me off of the genre even more, I would rather save my open mind for newer titles with better ease of use, nicer graphics and sound…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horrendous experience, slight rant warning ! Was looking forward to some Nostalgia, to the good games of old, ... But i tried as good as everything to get it to run on my Win7 64bit system, but never succesfull. I was even expecting that an oldy like this wouldn't run smoothly on newer systems (tends to happen, not first time, not first game) But after going through this for an extended period of time, i'm throwing in the towel. I would love if one of these (or both) would occur in the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i was hoping this was a game that would acutually be a great fly around shoot em up game all i got was a command prompt that just disappeared i couldn't even get freaking trading cards out of this game unless i clicked the command prompt really quick and left it there for about 3 hours steam make sure the software you put on steam actually works before hundreds of people buy it im pissed :( -19/10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game still refuses to run. Tried a couple of "solutions", none of them seem to work. It's impossible to run this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game BLOWS!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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