Deadly 30
Deadly 30
Game
Game2013
Thunder Wolves
Developer Most Wanted Entertainment
Thunder Wolves is a 2013 video game developed by Budapest-based studio Most Wanted Entertainment. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
214 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 2, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
78
LovedLoved
148 positive · 41 negative
95% range 72–84%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 148 | 41 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 25 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
349 of 428 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
79% recommend · 151 yes, 40 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 191 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (696 of 825 positive).
Players praise Thunder Wolves as a fun, arcade-style helicopter shooter reminiscent of classic 90s action movies and games like Desert Strike. [1][2][3] Many reviewers note the game is short but enjoyable, with some completing it in about 3-6 hours. [4][2][3] Some players report technical issues preventing the game from launching on modern systems, leading to negative reviews. [5][6][7]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
The game doesn't even launch, it just says "Failed to Initialize Engine." I tried searching for a fix and all the posts are 10 years old, the only fixes seem to be if you have multiple GPUs or multiple monitors to disable everything except for the GPU/monitor you're playing on. I'm not going into device manager and disabling things just to get a game engine to load, nor should you.
- [2]
It's the over-the-top arcade version of Desert Strike, and it's much, much better than I was expecting. If you've ever played Renegade Ops (excellent game BTW), this felt similar. This is the chopper game I've wanted to play since I was a kid. You get to blow up stuff with different choppers with unlimited ammo across 13 story missions which takes about 3 hours to complete. Some may complain about that, but I …
- [3]
actually this one is surprisingly good and fun to play. you remember these '90s action movies? the ones with unnecessary explosions, cheap slo-mo, pitiful story, mediocre action and cringy one-liners? this is it! it's like playing a steven seagal movie!! not a work of art but fun and for all the wrong reasons. the game was completed in about 6 hours and some extra time went into getting the achievements done. plenty …
- [17]
this game was a massive pain in the behind to get running. I had to disable my onboard graphics card, and lose access to my third screen every time I wanted to play it. Also despite being verified on Deck it crashed in the first level on Steam Deck (I later learned that changing to a different Proton version fixed this) I was determined to write a negative review no matter how much I enjoyed the game because no game …
- [1]
Thunder Wolves Thunder Wolves is a fun lite hearted arcade flight shooter. For a dollar am surprised that his game delivers a lot of content. For being a hearted arcady game from the early 2000s this was a pretty enjoyable experience. Released on Steam back in 2013 by the publisher HandyGames and developed by Most Wanted Entertainment. I really enjoy the hectic and chaotic arcade-style gameplay. …
Summarised from 34 of the 218 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
Thunder Wolves sits at 78% positive across 189 opinionated reactions from 2 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Writing for PlayStation Magazine, Phil Iwaniuk criticized the game's graphics, repetitive gameplay, and tone. Gamespot wrote that "this game is more than the sum of its parts, creating something refreshing among so many modern military games' imposed political undertones. Insubstantial, fun, and politically insensitive, Thunder Wolves would feel more at home in a different time. It doesn't last long, and there are not a lot of complex or nuanced mechanics, but those aren't really needed here." Scott Butterworth of IGN described the game as repetitive, and wrote that "Thunder Wolves isn't so much a wolf as a one-trick pony. And while that one trick – frantic, adrenaline-pumping action served…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 214 · most liked firstLu Dort makes for sure the biggest defensive play of the game two seconds before Anthony Edwards makes for sure the biggest defensive play of the game. Thunder-Wolves is an obscene basketball game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Thunder Wolves was the weirdest/most chaotic regular season game in a long time
neutral · AI labelView post →The Thunder-Wolves series has a +1 point differential in favor of the Wolves, with no game decided by fewer than 15 points. The Pacers-Knicks series has a +2 point differential in favor of the Pacers with no game decided by more than 6 points.
neutral · AI labelView post →I finally crashed out in Portugal and missed the Thunder-Wolves game, saw the score in the middle of the night and was happy I didn't stay awake the whole night for that one.
neutral · AI labelView post →Thunder Wolves Thunder Wolves is a fun lite hearted arcade flight shooter. For a dollar am surprised that his game delivers a lot of content. For being a hearted arcady game from the early 2000s this was a pretty enjoyable experience. Released on Steam back in 2013 by the publisher HandyGames and developed by Most Wanted Entertainment. I really enjoy the hectic and chaotic arcade-style gameplay. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2197951622 Thunder Wolves lets you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →games fun, but wont work on windows 11
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game doesn't even launch, it just says "Failed to Initialize Engine." I tried searching for a fix and all the posts are 10 years old, the only fixes seem to be if you have multiple GPUs or multiple monitors to disable everything except for the GPU/monitor you're playing on. I'm not going into device manager and disabling things just to get a game engine to load, nor should you.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A short but super sweet arcade heli shooter. The music was good, the missions were fun, and the visuals are fairly nice.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As others have said, the game won't even launch. Tried a few fixes to no avail. I left the game open on the error pop-up for awhile so I could write this review then forgot about it so it says I have two hours when really I never got it to run
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →• Karl-Anthony Towns saves the Knicks' season • A Thunder-Wolves Game 4 lookahead • All-NBA selections, Indy 500, 'Mission: Impossible' review 👏 ɴᴇᴡ 👏 ɴᴏ 👏 ᴅᴜɴᴋꜱ 👏 YouTube 📺: bit.ly/43xIhpo Apple 🍎: apple.co/3CUsJOD Spotify ✳️: bit.ly/ndspot
neutral · AI labelView post →Hello! @motorcityhoops.bsky.social and I are going live to talk about Game 3 of the Knicks-Pacers series and Game 3 of Thunder-Wolves. Come hang out! youtube.com/live/J2oruhE...
neutral · AI labelView post →I played a bit of this game years ago and enjoyed it. Unfortunately it's recently become unplayable due to crashing when launching the game. If you read some of the reviews on the steam page and check the forums you can see other people complaining about this, and there doesn't seem to be a fix (trust me I tried and nothing worked). I would hold off on buying until this issue is fixed, if it ever is...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⚖️ Grade = B. Worth a buy, if you enjoy Shooting infinite rockets. However, if you're looking for Exciting Explosion, it doesn't have CONTENT AVAILABLE: ✔️ Local co-op mission ✔️ Variety Game Mode ✔️ Infinite machinegun ammo ✔️ Infinite rockets with cooldown ✔️ Score Attack for replay value ❌ Vulnerable Enemy Tank & Turret ❌ Variety of Enemy & Location ❌ Online PvE ❌ Rebind Control Button GRADE MATCHED WORTH BUYING? DISCOUNT? COMMUNITY…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It used to be a fun game, but is not playable anymore for many players on modern systems (take a look at the community discussions). I've contacted the publisher on Discord and they confirmed there are no plans for an update, so unfortunately I have to leave a negative review: since the game is still being sold on the store while I'm writing this review, I believe it should be maintained in a playable state. If you want to give it a try, make sure you test it right away so you can ask for a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Terrence Shannon Jr rocking the Balkan themed Brad Underwood shirt before game three of Thunder-Wolves
neutral · AI labelView post →An extremely good special worth your time, and made available on the day of Thunder-Wolves Game 2? God makes no mistakes.
neutral · AI labelView post →Game won't even start. Apparently the fix is to disable extra display drivers you have on your system, then launch the game. Yeah, no thanks. How about you just fix the game?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crunch time of the Thunder-Wolves game has been like the end of a Rocky fight. Knockout punch after knockout punch after knockout punch
neutral · AI labelView post →KAT saves the Knicks' season. A lookahead to tonight's Game 4 between the Thunder-Wolves. Takeaways from the All-NBA Teams + more! New No Dunks podcast live on YT at 10 a.m. ET! Click, like, subscribe ➡️ bit.ly/43xIhpo
neutral · AI labelView post →Game won't launch, recommend not buying until it's fixed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the over-the-top arcade version of Desert Strike, and it's much, much better than I was expecting. If you've ever played Renegade Ops (excellent game BTW), this felt similar. This is the chopper game I've wanted to play since I was a kid. You get to blow up stuff with different choppers with unlimited ammo across 13 story missions which takes about 3 hours to complete. Some may complain about that, but I enjoyed every minute, well worth it! You can even go back to any mission to replay on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unable to launch the **** game!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Jump Ball show will be live today at 11am pt on Twitch to breakdown the end of the Thunder-Wolves game last night. Come through and subscribe to the channel. www.twitch.tv/modakhil_nba
neutral · AI labelView post →NEW NBA Game Notes are up on The Basketball Bulletin! Observations and clips from: 🏀Thunder-Wolves 🏀Cavs-Grizzlies 🏀Pistons-Hawks 🏀Bucks-Heat basketballbulletin.substack.com/p/nba-game-n...
neutral · AI labelView post →Wanted to play this game but hey, dont buy. You cant even start the game now, sad.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT BUY The game is broken with a "failed to initialize game engine" error. The developer has been made aware but stated there is no plans to solve or fix this issue
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not sure "Doesn't work on current versions of Windows" is an accurate measure of what constitutes a retro game anymore where Windows 11 is concerned. Then again, 2013 was a long time ago. I dunno. My point is, Thunder Wolves should still be able to run.
neutral · AI labelView post →Can't even start the game. Get the error: "Failed to initialize the engine"
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →nice helicopters game its arcade/ps2 style for me you can local/remote coop as pilot or gunner awesome adventure , i dont think i will get another chance to coop helicopters games like this "sadly"
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GET TO DAH CHOPA! Says Arnold.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game doesn't launch. Tried everything. Don't buy it. Check the discussion board I'm not the only one. If the dev fixes I'll be happy to re-review. Bummed it looked cool.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The in laws are going and it cost them more to get into that game that it does to get into Thunder-Wolves
neutral · AI labelView post →Shop says the game supports Xbox controllers, but it doesn't. Spent endless retries to get it to work, but it's not possible (no, disabling controller support in steam doesn't work either). The forums are full of this issue, the devs didn't adress this for years and there's no indication they ever will. An arcade shooter with no cotroller support in 2025: No way, just safe your money, skip this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you remember Blue Thunder? How about Airwolf? If so, you're old just like me, but you'll probably love this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Forget about open worlds, inventory, crafting, skill trees, dialog trees, all that useless crap. You are a helicopter. You mow down everything, whether it moves or not. No bullsh*t, straight to the point, I love it. Some complaints: - Questionable choice of font - too many metaphors involving female genitalia
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unnecessary cursing, non-stop cursing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →actually this one is surprisingly good and fun to play. you remember these '90s action movies? the ones with unnecessary explosions, cheap slo-mo, pitiful story, mediocre action and cringy one-liners? this is it! it's like playing a steven seagal movie!! not a work of art but fun and for all the wrong reasons. the game was completed in about 6 hours and some extra time went into getting the achievements done. plenty good for a weekend of low budget carnage.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun, arcadey spiritual successor to the Desert/Jungle Strike games. Dialogue's a bit cheesy but that's really the only criticism I have. Definitely worth picking up if you're just looking for a fun time blowing stuff up.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mega cool game. Had me smiling like an idiot child who just discovered lollipops with the powder that makes them pop when you give 'em a lick. This game feels doper than if you gathered up all the Fast and Furious movies, revived Paul Walker and stuck him in the Starship Enterprise and said, "Race you to the moon Skeletor!" You know, like a great game should be! Explosions. Check. Comedy. Check. Kaboom. Check. Metal music. Check. More comedy. Check. Sick fast paced action. Check. Dope…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having played this game, my hands are still vibrating, my ears are ringing from imaginary machine guns, and somewhere in the distance, a military general is staring at a spreadsheet wondering why one helicopter pilot has single-handedly reduced the global construction industry to rubble. This game is a ACTION MOVIE disguised as a video game. You get into a helicopter, fly around, shoot approximately seven million bullets, launch enough rockets to make NASA jealous, and blow up everything that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An excellent, fast-paced arcade helicopter shooter straight out of childhood—a great way to while away an evening destroying hordes of enemies by furiously clicking the left mouse button.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dropped some thoughts after Game 1 of Thunder-Wolves: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-i...
neutral · AI labelView post →A fun little game full of Hell Yeahs and Yo Mamas. Reminded me of Renegade Ops, but with helicopters. Beware that you have to play the campaign 3 times for 100%. Multiplayer achievements are soloable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was in my library for YEARS. I dont know where or how I even got it. I recently randomly decided to try it... And OH BOY did I not regret a single minute I played! Real good game, give it a try!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun, action-packed third-person arcade helicopter shooter that does not take itself too seriously like many modern releases. Game clearly inspired by arcade games and cheesy 90s action movies with its over the top story and explosive gameplay. Can be recommended for people who want some simple fun. Pros: - Great soundtrack; - Good controls; - Co-op; - Decent humour; - Colorful visuals; - Some gameplay variety; - Good voice acting; - Non-stop action; - Great optimisation; Cons: - Short length;
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game was a massive pain in the behind to get running. I had to disable my onboard graphics card, and lose access to my third screen every time I wanted to play it. Also despite being verified on Deck it crashed in the first level on Steam Deck (I later learned that changing to a different Proton version fixed this) I was determined to write a negative review no matter how much I enjoyed the game because no game should be in that state... But then I enjoyed it a lot.. I REALLY liked the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THUNDER WOLVES https://youtu.be/g29eXR_nZc8?si=l8N50k2bLQP-BcIu I ride the storm, a lone machine, A ghost in the sky, cloaked unseen. Through emerald canopies and broken haze, I carve my path in the twilight's blaze. The rotors hum a warlike hymn, Guiding me through this jungle grim. ESP whispers where shadows creep, Through foliage thick and secrets deep. Eyes wide open, the unseen I trace, A thousand soldiers, but they know not my face. Machine gun tracers stitch the night, I dance through…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quality bundle fodder. Considering you can get this game for under a dollar from Fanatical or similar bundle websites, it provides a sufficient three or four hours of fun. Controls are a bit wonky but the visuals are nice for a game of its era. There is a 'scale model' quality to the game that gives you the sense you're in an actual world with action taking place outside of your helicopter.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the best game on Steam, lol. I mean everything except the APC controls are perfect. Play on Expert as others have said.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Haven't played the game in over a year. Went to launch it and got "failed to initialize the engine". Tried all the easy fixes. Not going to use some third party program to play an arcade helicopter game. Booo
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Need to gives this a thumbs up. There are reviews saying the game does not launch and does not work on gamepad. I did not have any problems. Completed the first few missions on a 360 controller. It was great. Took me less than two minutes to get used to the controls. Classic aim down the sites, lock on with left trigger. Lets you focus on pulling of insane maneuvers at high speed to avoid the bullet hell. Instead of focusing on aiming you just light em up. One of the better budget helicopter…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Highly recommended. Great arcade fun with good variety and great levels. Bite sized with not much replay value but probably great for co-op. Kinda felt like a kid playing with my micro machines, which is a great compliment.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beaten -About 3 hours A game reminiscent of the "Strike" games on SNES, etc (Nuclear Strike, Jungle Strike, etc) with a PS2 era feel and an 80's action movie flair. It isn't perfect and it is short, but what is there is certainly a fun couple of hours. Not the worst way to spend an afternoon. - Multiple vehicles to choose from/unlock - Some on rail sections - B movie 80's action motif
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a 52 yo father, probably one of the oldest people playing Thunder Wolves. I am a single father to my Son, who is 14 now. My son found this game at Christmas, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So i decided to make a Steam account and get this game to see if…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun (and absurd at times) shooter where you get to destroy entire country's military as a single helicopter pilot. If you like unhealthy amount explosions in video games, Thunder Wolves is for you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just good dumb fun. 90% fly around in a chopper shootin hordes of mostly ground-based enemies, 10% other random missions (on-rails shooter, sniper mission, etc). Played via remote play with a friend, worked great - one player is the pilot & gets to shoot a machine gun, 2nd player is gunner with their own machine gun and missiles. It is a bit on the short side, only took 3 hours on normal, could take a little longer if you go for max difficulty or achievement hunting. This isn't a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unplayable PIECE OF JUNK Utterly stupid controls No cockpit view and USELESS follow-cam
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Take Desert Strike and make it 3D, take it down to just "mostly destructible environments", give it really floaty controls (no pun intended) and only one 15 second song that loops constantly while you're in a mission and here you go. It's not baaad, per se, but it's far from great either. Would recommend on a sale, I suppose.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a great,fun little title! Put me in mind of a cross between Just Cause destruction and the 'back in the day' game Desert Strike. All for just over £1 in the current Steam Summer Sale. Bargain! Tbh would recommend game even if not on sale, it's that much fun. I miss titles like this nowadays. Played on Steam Deck
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tried to give this game a second chance years after I set down initially and it won't launch now.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.