Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (2025)

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a fun but ridiculously frustrating experience. With solid visuals, new gameplay modes like aerial firefighting and on-foot sections, plus a range of customisable assist options, it makes for an exciting evolution of the series.

Gameplay:

From fast-paced, tricky time trials to relaxing photography sessions that are more chill than yoga, this simulator is an aviation fan's wet dream. While there is plenty of content to enjoy: the expansive Career mode where aircrafts can fight fires from above, search & rescue, help with aerial construction and so on.

Story:

None.

Multiplayer:

None found in review.

Graphics:

Even if the environmental graphics do look spick and span, the character modelling in this game isn't great at all. Particularly when it comes to humans, I can't count the amount of times I'd casually whip pan my camera over to a co-pilot and accidentally jump-scare myself to death.

Sound:

None.

Controls:

The controls definitely feel less 'floaty' than the 2020 version. The slightly changed controls take a bit of getting used to as well—especially coming from the 2020 version—but it won't be long until you're soaking in the sights or flying around like the top-iest of guns.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 offers upgraded visuals, a bigger hanger full of aircraft types, and more detail all around. It's a great point of entry for armchair pilots and pretty satisfying for all but the most hardcore flight enthusiasts.

Gameplay:

Like its predecessor, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is aimed at pleasing the widest range of users possible. The experience of flying can be dialed into just about every level of difficulty.

Story:

The new Career mode starts with the basics of getting a PPL and branches out, RPG-style, into other certifications, aircraft, and mission types. While you can't choose your aircraft for the specialized missions, by following the various career paths you'll end up flying just about everything.

Multiplayer:

MSFS 2024 is online only, because the majority of the game's data is streamed in from the cloud. On launch day, excited gamers were disappointed by long queues, extreme load times and disconnects.

Graphics:

MSFS 2020 was a major visual upgrade and the 2024 edition improves just about everything, especially ground textures, weather systems and water. If you have a powerful machine and fast internet that can load the textures properly, it all looks fantastic.

Sound:

Voice work, whether air traffic control or flight instructors, is done courtesy of pretty primitive AI-generated voices. It's surprising that developer Asobo settled for marginally AA-game level character models.

Controls:

My experience was that, either using a controller or flight stick, controls were very sensitive and in need of player adjustment out of the box.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 comes off as a recommended product but is in desperate need of optimization. With the in-depth career mode, the addictive Photographer mode and Challenges, the game obviously has plenty to offer.

Gameplay:

Microsoft Flight Simulator 24 features an extensive career mode where you take on a multitude of tasks. Initial missions feature simple mechanics like taking on a bunch of people for a ride for sightseeing but later on, tasks evolve into complex scenarios involving search and rescue.

Story:

The more missions you complete, the more licenses and specializations are there to unlock. This system of unlocking new missions and earning licenses is addictive and adds an intriguing gameplay loop to the proceedings.

Graphics:

The level of detail could be downright outstanding at times, almost bordering real-life visuals. You can also get out of the aircraft and walk in specific biomes and grasp in all the visual goodness.

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At launch, it's impossible to recommend Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. I'm refraining from awarding the game with a score, even a low one, because I don't feel like there's anything to assign points to.

Gameplay:

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 crashed so many times on my Xbox Series X that I stopped counting after the fifth exasperating occurrence. Some areas of the canyon would load in with higher-resolution assets, but they wouldn't remain on screen for long due to the incredible speed at which I was traveling during this challenge.

Story:

Encompassing the entire globe, players are encouraged to plan a flight across any country and continent with total freedom or opt for a set of challenges within a career mode that starts with basic instructions in a virtual flight school.

Graphics:

It started ugly and never improved, as even the jet plane itself suffered from broken textures rendered as blocky rainbows. Repeating the race a few times over, the same problems persisted, as the cloud-streaming couldn't keep up with my gameplay, and I was perpetually flying over a clay-like mess until I lost all interest.

Controls:

Compatible with a traditional mouse and keyboard setup on PC or a standard Xbox controller on consoles, gamers could opt to use a dedicated flight stick for an ultra-realistic experience on either platform.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 soars with stunning visuals and an impressive array of aircraft, but it often stumbles in its execution. While the world may look more immersive than ever, it also has its fair share of cracks in between, with an experience that occasionally feels grounded by technical hiccups.

Gameplay:

There's so much depth that goes into controlling and manoeuvring aircraft from the moment you take off from a runway. It's a constant management of power, yolk controls, and flap and rim adjustments in the pursuit of optimized flight.

Story:

Career mode is the closest equivalent to a main story mode, but there is a distinct lack of a narrative. One gripe we have with this mode is the dialogue and the game's repetitive use of text-to-speech for most NPC characters, including your main guide, Scott Lowe.

Multiplayer:

Landing challenges and races allow you to compete with other online users in global leaderboards. They can be a welcome change of pace from the otherwise rigorous mechanics that come from career mode.

Graphics:

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 often switches between being the best-looking game on Xbox to rough textured, polymorphed visual messes. While Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 can be visually stunning, it also results in any flaws becoming glaringly obvious.

Sound:

The game's repetitive use of text-to-speech for most NPC characters detracts from the overall experience. There are even some cases of characters having missing voice lines.

Controls:

Controlling an aircraft is intricate yet rewarding, and the integration of Bing maps means the whole world is your oyster. There's a steep learning curve to climb, and whilst it can be very rewarding to finally tame its complicated systems, it's far from being the most accessible game.

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