World Of Warships Review

Despite the wide variety of genres in modern MMOs, decent military vehicle simulators can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The most famous projects in this genre are, of course, World of Tanks and War Thunder. However, World of Warships differs from its famous counterparts only in its more niche focus on naval battles, not in the quality of execution.

World of Warships transports players to the epicenter of the fierce naval battles of the 20th century. By the way, if you're interested not only in the battles of the last century but also in adventures involving boarding, treasure hunts, and ships flying the black flag, don't miss our selection of best pirate and ship games on PC and consoles.

The game is a semi-arcade simulator with an emphasis on tactics and teamwork. At the same time, gameplay in World of Warships is quite measured, as every main battery shot requires careful calculation, as do maneuvers, which also require planning in advance. This is the foundation for all technology. However, despite the general attributes of naval gameplay, its pace and tactical component vary significantly depending on the chosen class — more on that later.

First, you need to unlock online battles — to do this, new players must complete several tutorial missions. Each one is a simulation of an online battle, albeit a greatly simplified one, where the opponents are bots. These missions will explain the main objectives, demonstrate the controls, and help you master basic gameplay features such as shooting and maneuvering. The design is user-friendly and accessible, significantly reducing the entry barrier.

After completing these training missions, you'll gain access to online battles. It's worth noting that after playing a few battles with other players, you'll be able to take on advanced training challenges. These are far more challenging than the basic training, but completing them will reward you with various useful bonuses. After a little practice, you can move on to the main game mode with other players. By the way, if you're looking for a game you can play with friends, check out our selection of the best co-op games 2026 for PC, PS4, PS5 and Xbox.

The main and most popular online battle type is called "Random Battle" Two teams of players appear on a random map, and each team's goal is to either destroy all enemy vehicles or be the first to score 1,000 points, which are awarded for destroying enemy vehicles and capturing and holding territory.

At first glance, the gameplay seems too simple — not in terms of difficulty, but in terms of mechanics. But after playing a dozen matches, you realize that the combat and tactical aspects have many important nuances worth exploring. To learn how to "pull the steamrollers," you need to master map movement tactics, keep your distance wisely, select the right shells for each target, and preemptively fire at the weak points of enemy battleships and cruisers. By the way, advanced training tests help a lot with this.

Each class has its own specific positioning and attack patterns. Cruisers are support ships: average speed, maneuverability, and damage, making them quite comfortable for beginners. Giant battleships fire from afar. Although they have a large reserve of hit points, they are slow and very unwieldy, and their impressive size makes them easy targets. Destroyers, on the other hand, are easily disabled with a couple of well-aimed salvos, but this is no easy task: they are relatively small, therefore extremely fast and maneuverable, and can use smoke screens to escape. These ships can inflict massive damage if properly executed with a hit-and-run tactic. While each of the classes presented above differs in their core characteristics, they share a common gameplay core, which is not the case with the other two classes.

The aircraft carrier doesn't directly participate in combat; its primary weapons are aircraft, which are useful for spotting ships and providing support. Aircraft control is arcade-style and very simple, as flight occurs in a single plane, and altitude changes automatically depending on the terrain and during attacks. Attacks, in turn, are carried out by attack aircraft, torpedo bombers, and bombers. The latter are quite effective at destroying destroyers if they manage to hit them. Overall, this gameplay is vaguely reminiscent of artillery from World of Tanks.

Each ship has an enemy detection radius and its own stealth characteristics. The combination of these parameters makes up the stealth system, as enemy ships remain invisible until spotted. These mechanics are secondary for most classes, but for submarines, stealth is paramount. Submarines are the most vulnerable class and, in most cases, perform a reconnaissance role, keeping enemy ships spotted and providing light fire support to allies.

Despite its effective stealth, this is still the most difficult class to master and one that is unforgiving of mistakes. To fully utilize its advantages, you need to be well-versed in combat. It's advisable to anticipate enemy routes, planning your tactics in advance to choose the right targets and attack moments, and then retreat painlessly. It's important to note that diving time is limited by battery power, so simply diving underwater in any dangerous situation isn't an option — it's a balancing act.

Overall, all vehicle types are quite diverse and well-balanced — there's no sense that any one is significantly stronger than the others. And thanks to the gameplay differences, you can choose a class to suit every taste. For example, as a newbie, I liked the easy-to-learn cruisers and aircraft carriers. And when I wanted a challenge, I went into battle in a submarine, trying to influence the course of the battle more and more with each attempt.

Aircraft carriers are unlocked at level four in the upgrade tree (there are eleven in total), and submarines are at level six, but you can get the ships you want after just a few battles. The game offers a huge number of bonuses and rewards, so after just a few dozen battles, you'll have accumulated hundreds of free experience points for upgrading almost any vehicle and tens of millions of silver for purchasing it.

New ships can be upgraded by replacing parts and reinforced with modules. To fully unlock a vessel's potential, you also need to level up your captain's perks. Combining upgrades and skills creates entire builds tailored to different gameplay styles. Importantly, redistributing perks and removing installed modules costs gold (a paid currency), so it's best to decide on a build right away. Captains can also be retrained for free using Elite Experience. It will be awarded to each commander upon reaching skill level 19.

In summary, I'd like to highlight the pleasing visuals of World of Warships. The game features beautiful landscapes, changing weather, realistic water, and a detailed underwater environment. The ships' exteriors are realistically rendered, and in combat, the dynamic damage inflicted on vehicles by various calibers and torpedoes is clearly visible.

At the same time, the game is well optimized, and running it at high settings doesn't require modern hardware, just like the games featured in our top of the best games for low-end PCs and laptops.

The lack of direct analogues and the huge number of highly detailed vehicles to upgrade make World of Warships an ideal choice for naval battle fans. However, if you don't consider yourself one of them, you'll likely find the project boring and monotonous. In that case, check out our top of the best free PC games in 2026 – you might find an equally worthy alternative there.