10 – Aces of Thunder
Aces of Thunder is a full VR World War I and World War II flight combat game featuring multiplayer support, PvE missions, and a complete single-player campaign. It is scheduled to launch on PC and PSVR2.
On Steam discussion forums, some players question why they shouldn’t simply play War Thunder. The answer is straightforward: not everyone wants a microtransaction-heavy, always-online experience that may disappear once servers are shut down. Aces of Thunder is built as a more self-contained experience and, crucially, offers full VR cockpit controls, which is my preferred way to play VR flight games.
While I own a HOTAS setup, I still prefer the immersive feeling of being inside a cockpit, physically interacting with instruments and controls, rather than constantly peeking through a headset to find keyboard commands. The user interface reminds me of the Warplanes series, another personal favorite, but Aces of Thunder appears to offer a deeper campaign structure and more authentic simulation mechanics.
My main concern is content scope. At the moment, it looks like only an Allied World War II campaign will be available at launch. I also hope the voice acting avoids the generic, modern-sounding performances found in Warplanes: Battles Over Pacific, which often broke immersion and didn’t feel convincingly 1940s. Fortunately, in multiplayer and PvE modes, players will be able to fly aircraft from multiple nations.
9 – Kriegsfront Tactics
As someone who loved the Front Mission series back in the PS1 era, Kriegsfront Tactics immediately caught my attention. It takes that familiar formula, removes much of the frustrating RNG, and places it within a compelling Vietnam-era Southeast Asia storyline. I played the demo, and it was engaging enough to genuinely raise my expectations for the full release. Read Nuno’s preview here!
8 – Chronicles: Medieval
This is another under-the-radar medieval strategy title. Think Mount & Blade, but with better visuals and smoother mechanics.
That said, there’s limited information about the development team, which raises some concerns about long-term support and modding potential. Still, if the developers deliver, Chronicles: Medieval could become something special. For now, it’s a cautious “wait and see.”
7 – Beyond Astra
Imagine Stellaris with beautiful zoomed-in visuals, actual tactical combat, and city-building elements, all wrapped into a 4X RTS with real bite.
There isn’t much publicly available information about the developers’ previous experience, so expectations should be tempered. Still, the concept of Beyond Astra alone is strong enough to keep this firmly on my radar. Strategy and Wargaming did an interview with the developers, which you can read here.
6 – War in Spain 1936-1939
I’ll admit it: games like War in the Pacific or WarPlan Orange still intimidate me with their sheer complexity. I admire them from afar, watch YouTube videos, and marvel at the counters, often without fully understanding how to play.
That’s why War in Spain 1936–39 excites me. Joint Warfare Simulation appears to be releasing a smaller-scale entry that lets players learn the engine’s mechanics without being overwhelmed. After spending much of last year reading about the Spanish Civil War, I’m more than ready to dive in.
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