Just like its predecessor, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 opens up virtual flights across the entire globe, delivering a breadth of content and experiences for aviation enthusiasts. Back in 2020, I awarded Microsoft Flight Simulator a perfect score, and with this new edition, I was eager to see if it could surpass that high bar. However, the expansive offerings of this game have been slightly overshadowed by familiar technical issues. Lack of early access to codes meant I faced an unexpected bumpy start, making it unplayable for the first day. This piece covers my ongoing journey as I build my virtual aviation career and work through this review. While Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has incredible new features to offer, it hasn’t quite delivered the jaw-dropping impact of its predecessor, leaving me impressed, but not awestruck.
Diving right in, the cornerstone of Flight Simulator 2024 is its new career mode. Here, you establish a home base at an airport, join a fictional aviation company, and advance through the ranks as a pilot. The progression mirrors a classic skill tree seen in traditional video games: master beginner missions to unlock new ones, which further expand your horizons. Complete requirements for a commercial pilot’s license, and you can pursue a tailwheel endorsement or delve into flying rotorcraft like helicopters, all of which open additional job opportunities such as search and rescue missions. This feature had me exclaiming a thrilled “hell yeah!” New endorsements lead to varied job types, from straightforward flightseeing tours to intricate helicopter operations.
After you’ve earned enough cash and clout, you can cut ties with your employer and establish your own aviation enterprise. I’m not at that stage yet, but I’m progressing swiftly with my fixed-wing endorsements. Deciding on my future company plans is still up in the air, but the idea of grabbing the lion’s share of the profits and expanding my business excites me. Accumulated funds will eventually allow me to own a fleet of aircraft, a prospect that I eagerly anticipate.
Initial missions in career mode are straightforward flight training, designed to familiarize you with the basics of aviation. However, I was let down to see that these training modules are nearly identical to those from the 2020 game. All training takes place at Sedona, Arizona, and the tasks echo those from the past edition. The AI instructions and on-screen guidance are more comprehensive this time, a small consolation given the familiarity. Appreciate the default tooltips, though; there’s an abundance of controls, and recalling how to release the parking brake without Google is a blessing for this forgetful pilot. Unlike in 2020, I plan to keep them on.
As you advance in career mode, the variety of available missions expands. Yet, not all new missions are clustered around your chosen home airport. My small airfield in eastern Maine, KMVM Machias Valley, quickly felt disconnected as I found myself jaunting to Europe for tasks like aircraft deliveries and skydives. It didn’t dampen my enthusiasm too much, but it did break the immersive “career” world I built around myself. Blame my limited imagination!
Reflecting on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, it was truly groundbreaking. Jumping into a plane and having the entire world as your oyster was astonishingly liberating. With 20 aircrafts, even the most ardent aviation fans found enough to engage with, adaptable to different skill levels, whether newbies or veterans. What transcended the game from mere fun to magic was its real-world mapping tech, punctuated by infamous load times, yet offering an unparalleled exploration experience. Seeing landmarks, landing at iconic airports, or touching down on secluded strips—these possibilities powerfully showcased Earth’s majesty virtually. – Seth G. Macy, August 17, 2020
Score: 10
Read the full Microsoft Flight Simulator review.
Despite the niggles, I’m drawn into the career mode. The earlier edition made me invent personal challenges, like aerial pizza deliveries from Knox County Airport in Maine to remote Matinicus Island—yes, that’s a thing. With this structured gameplay, I have solid motivations to deepen my aircraft know-how and patterns, which stealthily sharpens my sim-piloting skills. I’m thrilled at the prospect of running my own airline or perhaps a helicopter sky crane venture. Or maybe even both? There’s plenty of time to decide.
Add to that the challenge league, a fresh inclusion that adds a game-like dimension while retaining my favorite simulation elements. Weekly challenges and leaderboards tap into my competitive side—I want to succeed where others fail. Among the initial trio, the F/A-18 rally race through the Grand Canyon stands out, embracing speed and agility with Maverick’s jet. It’s not devoid of challenges, given the coder’s flight model, but the combination of fun and difficulty is exhilarating. Clocking a final sub-two-minute score placed me in the Bronze league—mere achievement—yet topping my anonymous Xbox Live rival brought satisfaction. It’s this engaging dynamism that promises week-to-week excitement; earlier landing challenges felt static by comparison.
One feature I adored in the previous game was the ability to virtually travel to unseen or revisited locales. Flight Simulator 2024 highlights this through photo challenges, inviting players to snap famous landmarks under specific constraints. Capturing the Great Sphinx with sun at an exact equinox position on foot? That’s just one unique challenge!
Another major change is the ability to land and explore on foot. Yet, this feature is less seamless than imagined. Your movement speed mirrors real-world pacing, which feels sluggish to those used to fast-paced games. Additionally, terrain detail varies, hinging on your PC’s power, internet quality, and cloud-server performance—expect fluctuations.
Even with GoldenEye-ish objects, the terrain itself, particularly sands and rocks, look convincingly real. Landscape detail now reflects global diversity more accurately. Wander a field and witness how your airplane tracks persist or see mud impacting aerodynamics, though I can’t testify to its realism as my real-world flying experience is non-existent.
Expect more fauna, dynamically appearing where they naturally belong. A serendipitous airfield encounter in Maine with a bull moose added authenticity, although I’ve yet to spot others; the game taps an open-source animal database for these experiences—allegedly offering African safaris to lion country’s bravest flyers.
And when you peer skyward, Flight Simulator 2024 often appears a graphical marvel, vastly surpassing its predecessor in detail, particularly noticeable in landscapes like the Grand Canyon. Where once it was a mere computer model, it now boasts near-photorealism. I run it on a beastly setup: i9-13900K, Radeon RX 7900XT, and a Corsair-provided 64GB DDR5 RAM; the visual fidelity and performance are impressive—mostly.
The flaw is due to cloud-streaming data. Flying a mission around Venice inflicted a purple-checkered St. Mark’s Basilica amid perfectly rendered backdrops. I’d prefer a 2020-like map pack for offline storage. Still, this hybrid model seems unlikely due to reliance on cloud solutions emphasized pre-launch.
Such high standards demand high-end resources—my GPU clocks at 100% at recommended settings, barely dipping when turned down. This does not bode well.
Even with a rocky launch, I’m enamored with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. While it hasn’t recaptured the first one’s magic, flying anywhere on Earth unmistakably exhilarates. The new features enhance the experience without quite delivering their initial punch. As launch issues subside, I’ve focused more on what truly matters—exploration and enhanced aviation insight. While determining a conclusive verdict remains, the game has charmed me once more—it’s impressive, albeit not quite as captivating as its groundbreaking predecessor.
