We Love It's Guide to…
Pilot near-future combat aircraft in solo or multiplayer battles, balancing flight, weapons, and threats across air, land, and sea.
Released 15 Oct 2023
Launch Nuclear Weapons
Evade Missile Defenses
Fly VTOL Aircraft
Fly near-future aircraft with immersive physics across dynamic battlefields, facing land, air, and sea threats. Wage war against AI or rival pilots using an array of advanced weaponry, including tactical and strategic nuclear weapons capable of annihilating anything in your path.
Developed by Shockfront Studios · Published by Shockfront Studios
Nuclear Option is a near-future combat flight game where you pilot a range of aircraft in battles involving air, ground, and naval forces. You can face AI opponents alone or join cooperative and competitive multiplayer.
Fly interception, air-combat, and strike sorties, or take on support roles such as electronic warfare, transport, and logistics. Choose aircraft and weapons for the task, then contend with enemy fighters, missile defenses, and other battlefield threats.
Flight physics include stalls and spins, while damage to individual aircraft parts can change how your plane handles. Cockpit HUDs help track targets and flight data; dynamic battles can escalate as match resources and ranks change what forces are available. You can also create missions with the editor.
Reviewers often enjoy Nuclear Option as a combat flight game with more tactical depth than an arcade flyer but a more approachable learning curve than a full study simulator. They praise the range of aircraft and battlefield roles, the detailed damage and flight models, and being able to jump into battles without a long unlock grind.
Nuclear Option is a combat flight game set on a dynamic and realistic battlefield of the near future. Use an array of advanced weapons to change the course of battles as you intercept bombers, duel fighters, fly under the radar, or unleash the fury of nuclear weapons on enemy formations.
Each aircraft comes with an immersive cockpit featuring a situational awareness HUD, identifying nearby targets and threats. Aircraft can be flown with various controllers or with a mouse-controlled "virtual joystick", requiring no special hardware.
Experience realistic flight dynamics, with stalls, spins and g-force effects fully implemented, as each aircraft is composed of up to 50 individually simulated physics parts . A highly detailed damage model means that the condition of each part affects the way your aircraft flies.
Build your own missions using the included mission editor, and then fly your mission solo or with friends in PVP or PVE multiplayer combat.
CI-22 "Cricket" counter-insurgency aircraft
T/A-30 "Compass" light attack/trainer aircraft
VT-7 "Vagrant" VTOL trainer
UH-90 "Ibis" utility helicopter
A-19 "Brawler" close air support aircraft
SAH-46 "Chicane" stealth attack helicopter
FS-12 "Revoker" air superiority fighter
FS-20 "Vortex" VTOL fighter
VL-49 "Tarantula" Heavy vertical lift VTOL
KR-67 "Ifrit" multirole fighter
EW-25 "Medusa" electronic warfare aircraft
SFB-81 "Darkreach" strategic bomber
"Alkyon" AB-4 strike bomber
Thirteen playable aircraft, each with scenarios highlighting their capabilities
Realistic flight physics, simulated across dozens of aerodynamic surfaces per aircraft
Detailed damage model with 30-50 detachable parts per aircraft
Player hosted multiplayer with a public lobby browser, supporting cooperative or competitive play
Various AI controlled ground vehicles and AI aircraft engaging in large, dynamic battles
Persistent battlefields with lingering wreckage and smoke
Targeting HUD and Target view screen in cockpits
Flight HUD with detailed aircraft parameters including angle of attack, velocity vector, climb rate, G force and radar altitude
Many guided and unguided weapons, including guns, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, bombs, cruise and ballistic missiles
Accurately simulated blast effects for explosions
Accurately simulated nuclear weapons with shockwave propagation
A 100km-wide map including various biomes and terrain types
A new, larger naval-themed map situated in an archipelago of occupied islands
Custom Mission Editor
Night missions with night-vision cockpit functionality
Countermeasures including IR flares and radar jammer
| Platforms | Windows |
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| Age ratings |
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| Players | 1–16 |
| Play modes |
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| Other modes |
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| Multiplayer | Nuclear Option supports single-player and online multiplayer. Official store text confirms online PvP and online co-op, with player-hosted multiplayer and a public lobby browser. Missions can be flown solo or with friends in PvP or PvE, and reviews describe dynamic frontline/conquest-style sessions, custom scenarios, and team-based play. |
| Multiplayer & mods | Steam Workshop and the included mission/editor tools allow players and modders to create and share multiplayer PvE and PvP missions, scenarios, and campaigns. Reviews indicate custom multiplayer missions are common and can affect performance depending on AI/object counts. No evidence is provided for multiplayer code mods, dedicated server mods, or required mods for multiplayer. |
| Controller support | PlayStation, Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| DLC / extras | 1 listed on Steam |
| DRM / EULA |
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| Content notices |
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| Website | Official website |
