Ongoing Review of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Just like its predecessor, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 offers an extensive playground with the entire globe ready for exploration. Back in 2020, I awarded Microsoft Flight Simulator a perfect score—something I haven’t done for any other game—and the vast possibilities available in this new installment are tempered only by some nagging issues. Unfortunately, due to late access to codes and some disruptive initial turbulence, I couldn’t dive into the game for the first day. This has left me still in the early stages of my virtual aviation journey and working on this review. For now, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 brings some remarkable additions to the table, yet it doesn’t quite deliver the jaw-dropping experience of its predecessor. I had hoped to be wowed again but so far, I am just genuinely impressed.

The standout feature in Flight Simulator 2024 is its career mode. After selecting a starting airport, players are hired by a fictional aviation company, setting the stage for their piloting career. Picture a game with skill trees: beginning with simple missions, progressing unlocks new paths. For example, earning a tailwheel endorsement after securing a commercial pilot’s license opens up new planes and roles such as search and rescue missions or mastering helicopters like the sky crane. These new certifications lead to a range of job opportunities from leisurely flightseeing to handling more demanding helicopter operations, leaving me thinking, “Yes, please!”

As you progress, you gather enough funds and reputation to start your very own aviation company. Although I haven’t quite reached this milestone yet, I’m steadily working through my fixed-wing endorsements. I haven’t settled on my endgame, but I’m certainly excited about the prospect of launching my own business and claiming the bulk of the profits. Once I can afford my own fleet of aircraft, the possibilities will be endless.

In career mode, the initial missions are essentially an introduction to flying, reminiscent of the 2020 tutorials. Disappointingly, these training sessions’ style is unchanged, even down to being based at the same Sedona, Arizona airfield. However, there’s an improvement in the AI-generated guidance and on-screen tips, making expectations clearer. Given the extensive array of controls, I appreciate the 2024 tooltips—no more trips to Google to recall how to release the parking brake. I suspect I’ll keep these aids on this time around, unlike in 2020, because, well, my memory isn’t foolproof.

After completing the training missions, accumulating sufficient flying hours prepares you to take the commercial pilot’s test, which costs in-game currency. The good news? You only pay once, and you can retake it as often as needed. If you’re already flying savvy, skip the lessons and dive directly into the test.

As your journey unfolds, more mission types become available. Interestingly, not all missions spawn near your home airport. My choice of KMVM Machias Valley Airfield in the depths of Maine had me jetting off to Europe for aircraft deliveries and skydiving tasks. It didn’t bother me too much, but it did momentarily disrupt the immersive career story I was weaving. My imagination must be wearing thin!

Back in 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator left players awestruck with its grandiose scope—flying any aircraft to virtually any location worldwide was a surreal experience. With various aircraft available, it catered to both beginners and seasoned pilots. The real kicker? The astonishing real-world mapping data transformed it into an awe-inspiring simulation, despite slower load times. Every journey, whether landing at the world’s famed airports or exploring an obscure runway in South America, was unparalleled. That experience still resonates.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoy the career mode in this 2024 edition. Back in 2020, I used to create imaginary missions, like delivering pizza by air from Knox County Regional Airport to distant Matinicus Island. Now, structured missions not only refine my aviation skills but also deepen my understanding of flight patterns, sneakily enhancing my sim-pilot prowess. So far, it’s my favorite part, and I’m eager to venture into managing my own airline or even a helicopter sky crane outfit—or both if time permits!

Another novelty is the challenge league, a gameplay-focused feature that retains the beloved simulation physics. Weekly challenges and leaderboards infuse a competitive edge that fuels my inner competitor. Of the first three challenges, my favorite is the F/A-18 rally race through the Grand Canyon. Navigating Maverick’s iconic jet through gates at breakneck speeds is a thrilling blend of skill and fun. My best time—1 minute 54 seconds—landed me in the Bronze league, but besting unfamiliar Xbox Live Gamertags provides an unmatched sense of triumph. I’ll be returning to these challenges eagerly every week. Although the previous game offered landing challenges with leaderboards, none matched the thrill of zipping through a natural wonder like the Grand Canyon in a fighter jet.

One of the most cherished aspects of the past Flight Simulator was the opportunity to explore places I had never seen—and perhaps never would—in real life. Flight Simulator 2024 capitalizes on this with its photo challenges mode, focusing on virtual sightseeing. You’re tasked with photographing renowned landmarks worldwide. Each landmark has unique conditions, such as capturing the Great Sphinx during a specific solar alignment on the equinox. To achieve it, you’ll need to venture on foot.

This brings us to one of the coolest new features: the ability to exit your plane and explore on foot. However, it’s not as smooth as one might hope. Your walking pace mirrors real-life speed, which, having grown accustomed to the swift navigation of first-person games, feels frustratingly slow. The level of detail varies depending on your PC’s power, internet connection, and cloud server stability, so results can be inconsistent.

Nonetheless, even with some peculiar GoldenEye-esque objects around the Great Pyramid, the up-close terrain detail is impressive. The sands and stones appear incredibly lifelike, and the ground now reflects realistic textures worldwide. Taxi across tall grass on a rural airstrip, and your tracks will be waiting upon your return. Snow or mud behaves similarly, with mud even affecting aerodynamics—though I can’t confirm that yet, having never flown with muddy wheels in real life.

The wildlife presence has also been expanded significantly. Rather than static map points marking animal locations, they now appear where expected. When a bull moose ambled across the airport as I prepared to take off in Maine, the authenticity was striking. I haven’t yet encountered other animals, but rest assured, Flight Simulator 2024 uses an open-source animal location database to accurately populate wildlife. With some luck, I’ll soon find myself observing lions in Africa.

Flight Simulator 2024 has the potential to deliver superior visuals compared to its predecessor, provided conditions align. The contrast is noticeable in locales like the Grand Canyon, frequently visited in the 2020 edition. Close-up, it now bears a remarkable resemblance to the real thing. Running the simulator on a high-performance PC—featuring an i9-13900K processor, a Radeon RX 7900XT GPU, and 64GBs of DDR5 RAM—the experience is notably enhanced, mostly.

A persistent issue stems from cloud streaming, with lingering kinks to smooth out. For instance, during a flightseeing mission around Venice, Italy, St. Mark’s Basilica appeared as an untextured, polygonal form amid the otherwise excellently rendered cityscape. Ideally, I’d prefer keeping detailed world map packs on my SSD and rely on streaming for less exciting segments, though a hybrid model seems unlikely after the emphasis on cloud streaming.

Despite the impressive visuals on my powerful machine, achieving this requires running the GPU at full throttle at recommended settings. Even decreasing the graphics quality just slightly lowers the GPU workload to 98%. That’s hardly feasible.

Considering the rocky launch, my enthusiasm for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 hasn’t diminished. However, it hasn’t quite recaptured the awe I felt five years ago when I first embraced the freedom to fly anywhere on Earth. That freedom remains, enhanced by clever new features, yet the impact isn’t quite as profound. As the initial issues fade, I’m finding more aspects to enjoy. While I love the aimless flying experience, career mode now offers engaging reasons to fly, deepening my grasp of commercial aviation. I intend to dive deeper into this before finalizing my verdict, but for now, despite its early hiccups, Flight Simulator 2024 is shaping up to be pretty remarkable, even if it hasn’t yet reached the heights of its predecessor.