Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Views: 841

Xbox Games Studios

Microsoft Flight Simulator from Xbox Game Studios and developer Asobo Studio is an ambitious expansion to a previous hit that attempts to do things no other game has—or will.

Namely, that means setting players loose in a huge number of realistic aircraft with simulation gameplay to go literally anywhere in the world.

A sequel to the 2020 game of the same name and technically the 12th entry in a series dating back to the early ’80s, the 2024 edition offers expansive, great-sounding upgrades to the proven formula.

But what the game sets out to accomplish is so gargantuan in scope that, as expected, there are technical hurdles and hiccups that come with the territory of a game asking for an always-online, cloud-based connection.

Graphics and Gameplay

Microsoft Flight Simulator, when it isn’t battling graphical hiccups like artifacts and messy textures likely due to the streaming nature of the game, is gorgeous.

The series’ aptly-named digital twin is an impressive mirror of the real world in many respects. The sheer scope it is able to achieve as players reach higher elevations and can enjoy both the staggering detail of the world below while seeing the land stretch out to the horizon is downright stunning.

As expected, this new effort uses the new horsepower to pull off more immersive feats in environments such as herds of animals navigating the world, dynamic weather, and natural-occurring seasons. This leads to new features like herds of animals actually visible, not just a text popups in the past, and little details like forests of trees realistically swaying.

But the game also loops in new world happenings such as tornadoes, wildfires and more for players to navigate, too. Beyond the iffy-looking and sounding human character models and hitches likely due to streaming and/or hardware limitations, it’s a captivating experience.

While those more knowledgeable about aircraft might find accuracy problems, the interior cockpits seem immensely detailed and varied. And it’s neat to see little details, like imperfections, like small scratches on the window, when looking out it to say, see, the yawning breadth of the Grand Canyon stretching to the horizon.

This new rendition marries the visuals in a fun way with gameplay, first and foremost apparently revamping physics … Read More