IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz Edition
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz Edition
Game
Game2008
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946
Developer 1C: Maddox Games
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 (Russian: Ил-2 Штурмовик: Платиновая коллекция), also called IL-2: 1946) is both the title of an add-on and a compilation release of the combat flight simulation game IL-2 Sturmovik. In that latter case, it is sometimes called IL-2 Sturmovik: Complete Edition. Created by the Russian games developer 1C:Maddox Games and published by Ubisoft, IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 takes place during World War II.… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
199 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
73
Fresh
128 positive · 48 negative
95% range 66–79%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 128 | 48 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 8 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,706 of 1,970 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
73% recommend · 127 yes, 48 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 175 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (2,822 of 3,226 positive).
Players praise the game's realism, content, and modding community, calling it a legendary flight sim. [1][2][3][4] Some reviewers report launch issues on modern systems, especially Windows 11, requiring manual fixes. [5][6][7][8] A few players criticize the game for Soviet aircraft bias or lack of developer support. [9][10]
Liked
Representative posts
- [15]
got the game on sale excited to play again after playing it when i was a kid. the dang game wont even launch such a waste.
- [1]
IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 is a legendary flight simulator with an incredible level of realism for its time. The game still holds up in terms of atmosphere and content, but the controls are where many players—especially newcomers—struggle. Unlike modern titles such as War Thunder, which allow easier keyboard input and offer a balance between realism and accessibility, IL-2 requires far more precise control mapping. Flying …
- [3]
From a different era, belongs in a different league. Still works on modern hardware no issues Win 10. BAT mod has kept this alive - 2100+ planes WW1, WW2, Korean War, Jet Age, Cold War... 10/10 - 2025 Old but Gold
- [4]
Old Is Gold The first thing that surprised me is how immensely satisfying the flying and physics still feel, especially considering how old this game is. The aircraft have weight, momentum, and character. Flying feels like you're actually controlling a machine rather than just moving a camera around the sky. Dogfights, takeoffs, landings, and simply getting a feel for an aircraft can be incredibly rewarding. there's …
- [2]
I don't understand why people bother with War Blunder when this game exists, sure the graphics and game are kind of dated but you can get this game for dirt cheap and install a modpack and now you have hundreds and hundreds of hours of quality WWII content.
Summarised from 34 of the 199 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 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 talk about legendary flight sim with realistic physics and atmosphere; those who didn't talk about launch issues on Windows 11 require manual configuration. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game was met with positive reception upon release. Review aggregator Metacritic gave IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 a score of 86 out of 100, while another review aggregator, GameRankings, gave it 85.38%.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 199 · most liked firstHuh.. I am genuinely surprised that War Thunder is adding infantry. The end result kinda looks like serious milsim Battlefield? Wild considering that War Thunder started out as an IL-2 Sturmovik spinoff and was retrofit into a F2P game. You can still find some of the old campaign missions in there!
neutral · AI labelView post →u have to change the screen resolution in sum notepad file to make it work on anything that isnt an albanian steam-powered automaton
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →To fix the launch issues, search up "B.A.T. v4.0 "RED CORE" - The World At War pack". Scroll down on the page at sas1946.com until you reach "Here is an example of a good universal CONF.ini;" Copy this code. Then open the file "conf.ini" in your game directory (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\IL 2 Sturmovik 1946 Replace the contents of this config with what you copied. If you need to change the resolution from 1920x1080, edit the width and height lines. If you open…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Weekend PC Game Deals: Award winners, VR festivals, new choices and more. - Cyberpunk 2077 – $29.99 on Steam - No Man's Sky – $29.99 on Steam - Resident Evil 4 – $29.99 on Steam - HITMAN World of Assassination – $27.99 on Steam - Medieval Dynasty – $26.24 on Steam - BONEWORKS – $23.99 on Steam - GTFO – $23.99 on Steam - VTOL VR – $20.99 on Steam - Tetris Effect: Connected – $19.99 on Steam - Automobilista 2 – $19.99 on Steam - Red Dead Redemption 2 – $19.79 on Steam - Hi-Fi RUSH – $19.12 on…
neutral · AI labelView post →First things first: this game absolutely works on Windows 11. If it does not open (just jumps back to main library screen) then you PC resolution is too high. You need to do 2 things - change the resolution in the config file (just right click to view game files and it’s like halfway down), and the next thing is to manually change your screen resolution (right click on desktop and change screen setting). I don’t know all of the resolutions that work, but for sure the 1280x768 works. As long as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →got the game on sale excited to play again after playing it when i was a kid. the dang game wont even launch such a waste.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game sucks, no micro transactions or $70 Planes to buy.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't understand why people bother with War Blunder when this game exists, sure the graphics and game are kind of dated but you can get this game for dirt cheap and install a modpack and now you have hundreds and hundreds of hours of quality WWII content.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 is a legendary flight simulator with an incredible level of realism for its time. The game still holds up in terms of atmosphere and content, but the controls are where many players—especially newcomers—struggle. Unlike modern titles such as War Thunder, which allow easier keyboard input and offer a balance between realism and accessibility, IL-2 requires far more precise control mapping. Flying with just a keyboard feels clunky and unnatural, since aircraft demand smooth…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →> Gorelkin said that Russian consoles aren't being designed only to play ports of hundreds of old, less-demanding games. He added that they should primarily serve the purpose of promoting and popularizing domestic video game products. The fundamental problem here is that software is an example of a product that has high [fixed costs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_cost), low [variable costs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_cost). For products like that, scale matters a lot,…
neutral · AI labelView post →From a different era, belongs in a different league. Still works on modern hardware no issues Win 10. BAT mod has kept this alive - 2100+ planes WW1, WW2, Korean War, Jet Age, Cold War... 10/10 - 2025 Old but Gold
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →no longer runs without a lot of work on windows 11. Answer from devs is to re-buy the game on their launcher
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old Is Gold The first thing that surprised me is how immensely satisfying the flying and physics still feel, especially considering how old this game is. The aircraft have weight, momentum, and character. Flying feels like you're actually controlling a machine rather than just moving a camera around the sky. Dogfights, takeoffs, landings, and simply getting a feel for an aircraft can be incredibly rewarding. there's the ABSURD amount of mods and content With the right mods, you can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The quintessential combat flight sim. This, a blunt, and a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ joystick.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Classic Second World War flight sim with an amazing modding community keeping it alive to this day. Absolute cinema.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legendary WWII flight sim. Google "how to install 1946 BAT mod" to massively expand on nations, aircraft, and other content. Then download DGen for BAT to get new dynamic campaigns. You can thank me later ;)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ok unfortunately there is no middle ground in these reviews. I do enjoy the game and that's all it is. There is a very clear bias to Soviet aircraft. I put Ai Vs Ai and noticed that in many cases even "veteran" Ai loses in fights against Normal Ai as long as the normal Ai has Soviet airplanes. Also noticed virtually all allied aircraft spin when surfaces are maxed out and the Soviet ones.. rarely if ever do. Apparently most Soviet aircraft had fuel pumps...which is untrue while many allied…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would highly recommend that game to every ww2 enjoyer, but since a year its not launching anymore. I tried many fixes for hours and nothing has changed. (There are many other people who have the same problem) There are also no patches from the developers since years so its kinda abandoned. I still hope they gonna fix the game on steam. So if you want to buy the game, you should wait until its fixed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game works and runs great on Windows 11. If you're having trouble launching it, this is what worked for me: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3395497930
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is not compatible with windows 11. Don't buy it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Perfect WW2 combat flight sim, if you've even considered this one at all get it. Infinite modding potential. Endlessly configurable. If you can make it past the old graphics its the best deal for a WW2 combat flight sim you can get.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This Game is the OG and still holds up fligthsim and for those who cant play it here is the fix: Set your Screen Icons to 100% not less not more and then lunch as admin works for me and slowly increasse Resulution. Or for the more easy fix switch to linux.(Arch Linux for example with Cashyos) For help Just ask here:
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Image War thunder but you keep your soul
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →IL-2 1946 isn't half the game it could be without mods. If so, and even own its own, it is enough to rival modern flight simulators. Simply the best flight simulator ever made.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is to this day the best flight simulator on the market. Vanilla game itself offers hundreds of flyable planes from WW2, including some prototypes altogether with scenarios of war lasting to 1946, giving you opportunity to fly early jet planes of both Axis and Allies/Comintern. Flight models aswell as technical details of all the planes were greatly researched, giving you accurate depiction of its limits and the difficulty of maneuveres. Dozen of dynamic and story campaigns with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game does still run people saying it doesnt are incapable of following basic instructions
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Incredible amount of content beautifully complemented by a dynamic campaign. And it runs perfectly on the Steam Deck.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →on win 11 ♥♥♥♥ doesnt start
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Used to work fine.Now it's unplayable.Won't even launch.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game won't launch no matter what I do. The SAS 46 folks who keep the game running apparently cannot keep the game running.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it doesnt start
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →> I will try to add every single thing suggested here I wouldn't, if you want the game to do well. And I'd rather not constrain you to do so, because I don't want to negatively-impact your game. But I think that the discussion is an interesting one to have. Let's see. What are some of the things that I've missed or wanted? **Stale Genres** There are some genres that were once bigger, haven't had a lot going on for a while. I kind of miss these. * **Space-based fighter combat**.…
neutral · AI labelView post →This game brings back so much nostalgia of watching "crash and fail compilations" for this game on youtube in 2010's
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pure nostalgia, loved it as kid when it was new and still have soft spot for it. :3 Great for people who want something less arcade-y than Ace Combat but not as overly complex as DCS and don't mind how much is the game showing it's age - at this point it's historical not just by it's theme. :D Be advised - if you have monitor better than 720p you'll have to manually edit config file in the game's folder to set your monitor's resolution, otherwise the game won't even start. Other than that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →used to work great. These days, at least on windows 11 it is completely broken. I've tried absolutely everything. edit: ok so apparently re-installing it for the billionth time and trying windows 7 compatibility instead of XP made it magically start working. wtf...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game wont work on modern computers ive tried verifing the files still wont work
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unplayable on modern systems, don't bother.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the game and used to play it tons back in the day and have really liked it. There is not really nothing wrong with the game but Fulqrum Publishing who is the publisher decided to go full nuclear with this statement. If your mod uses anything from a game that has "Faces of War/Men of War" in the name, we need your mods to be updated by the end of the week to remove any copyright-infringing content. Great so since you ♥♥♥♥♥♥ over MOW 2 and Bestway and legally fought them now you screw…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best WWII Flight sim to this day. Without question.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT BUY IF YOU HAVE NEWER HARDWARE game used to be fantastic when it was working on order hardware. after switching to 50 series the game just will not work after hours of troubleshooting but works fine on the 30 series GPUS if you have anything newer then the 30 series dont get the game and switch to Great battles or cliff of dover.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →removed a bunch of stuff I WANT but I could play earlier games in the series first or they're IL-2 Sturmovik DLC also removed that Star Trek Voyager game and its DLC, which I want a lot b/c Voyager was my first Star Trek and the game is apparently good, but no :(
neutral · AI labelView post →If you are going to use a stick and throttle for this game: DO NOT BUY The game only assigns one of them and there is no way to assign the throttle while also having the joystick assigned, and the entirety of my playtime was trying to fix this. waste of money, would not recommend
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's incredibly hard to set up. barely works on modern systems, sure its gameplay nice but its too hard to set up
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This combat flight sim is excellent. While there are many other iterations of the series that have been released since, I would still say confidently that this particular sim has aged well. Currently, this is the only ‘true’ combat flight sim featuring the Pacific theatre, and is a brilliant source of satisfaction for those who, like me, are highly interested in carrier warfare/naval aviation. There is a project underway called ‘Combat Pilot’ and I am keeping tabs on that. With the inclusion…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had to give up War Thunder and the newer Il-2 Sturmovik because of their ties to Russia, because I can't in good consience give any more money to Russian game developers. Which sucks even though it's a small sacrifice. I really liked those games!
positive · AI labelView post →woks well for steamdeck around 300 of aircraft around 10 or more early jet aircraft ,flying the me 263 is very fun especialley when you do formaions,the radio chatter is imerssive ,i prefer doing strafes in this game over cliffs of dover its more fun,10/10 love trying the weird expirmental aircraft
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly an amazing flight sim, especially for weaker PCs. It has a great community that keeps the game alive with mods, but even the vanilla game is fantastic. I hate Gaijin.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A classic. An old game that gives testament to the original work by passionate and dedicated designers. Thank you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best combat flight sim out there its almost 20 years old and still beats everything not in terms of realism but in sheer content and very cool and satisfying crash physics. The new IL-2 games are great but this game wins content wise, especially with how moddable it is. You can basically play WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, modern ♥♥♥♥, helicopters, atom bombs, etc. And its so cheap. Super worth it, and very underrated.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not playable without a joystick. Maybe will change my opinion if buy one.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game not working
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THIS GAME IS NOT LAUNCHINGGG
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →>you have to start by creating a witcher 1 before you can dream I mean, there are good Russian games out there (at least in my opinion). Off-the-cuff, *Il-2 Sturmovik* is one of the better flight sims, though the 1946 game, while greatly-extended and possessing a real dynamic campaign, is elderly. I brought it up a while back, because I was concerned about the fact that if someone has the game installed and Steam can push out updates to the thing, then it's basically a non-isolated binary…
neutral · AI labelView post →the ai is great and makes it well worth it. if your having trouble getting this to work on windows 11 then download the B.A.T mod and launch it from that folder. i have windows 11 and i cant launch it from steam but it works fine when launched from the modded/BAT folder.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played nearly 290 hours, now simply won`t load
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As good a flight simulator as I have flown. The best air combat flight simulator I've flown. Flight modeling is very realistic including spins and spin recovery. Damage modeling seems also quite realistic. If there's a better one, I haven't found it. One caveat. At present I am flying against AI, and AI accuracy is quite high, and I'm not sure AI has realistic engine limitations, e.g., overheating. Currently I am flying a P-40E in the South Pacific against Japanese planes.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i have played 11 hours on this and now it will not load what so ever i know my pc can run it very well and i have tryed many methods to get it to work and nothing has, i dont know if it is a problem with the game or not but yeah. other than that it was a good game when i could actually play it
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played this game religiously for years and now after an "update" it simply doesn't start. Gutted.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The greatest flight sim ever made recipe: -Get a flight stick or a HOTAS -Get this game -Select "beta 4.12.2" -get a modpack like BAT or VP That's it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, still holds up.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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