War thunder has some of the most advanced anti-user mechanics with the intention of frustrating you into paying for an otherwise free game. No other game has made me as angry at the game itself. It also has some of the best modeled armor and weapon mechanics out there so I’m constantly drawn back in. Constantly uninstalling and reinstalling this piece of shit. It’s like a more in depth slots machine. Highly unrecommended

is it actually good?

if you like pouring months of your life into a game where most players use the most toxic methods of getting kills and then shame you for complaining about them, then yes.

if not? hell the fuck NO

Genuinely, I commented on a youtuber's video (wherein he was talking about issues with the BR system, and how it's not great for new and casual players) that I had limited time to play the game every day, and after doing the math I found that it would take me nearly half a year to unlock the next tank in my tree, even with XP buffs. I got so many replies, including one from the youtuber (then an offhanded mention by the youtuber in a toxic af follow-up video complaining about the casual player base) telling me to just "get good" and "stop whining".

Honestly, if you're not willing to spend your rent money to just buy vehicles, it's just not enjoyable long term. I played the game every day all day for about three straight months and got seriously burnt out with it, then picked it back up years later and played about an hour every day for about a month, still got dreadfully burnt out.

I know that some people do genuinely enjoy the game without buying premium, but I just can't see eye to eye with them. I just think the game's horrid, pretty much entirely because of the community.

Do you want to play air sim and get into skill based dog-fights with a wide range of war-birds?

Then yeah its good, the sim mode is underdeveloped though but the fun is improving how you use energy and how you fly.

The rest of the modes? nah they're classic f2p bullshit.