Skyward: An In-Depth Look at Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Certainly, this might not be what you’d expect to hear from anyone critiquing Flight Simulator 2024, but I found myself delightfully traversing the terrain during my first three hours in the game. From the aerial perspective, this year’s version is even more stunning than its already impressive 2020 predecessor; yet, on the ground, it offers an entirely different experience. Touch down anywhere on this planet, step out on foot, and the attention to detail is remarkable; pristine winter light filters through dense forests of towering trees on stark snow-capped peaks; bleached stones and arid vegetation speckle endless stretches of rolling desert sand; wind-swept cliffside paths weave through golden thickets right down to pebbly shores and gently inviting waters—and provided you avoid the awkward photogrammetry of sprawling cities, it all looks astonishingly real. If you were captivated by Flight Simulator 2020’s holiday-in-a-box quality, developer Asobo’s sequel solidifies its place with its immersive landscapes alone.

It appears that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 indeed feels the need to justify its presence more than most. Asobo’s 2020 release was already a tremendous achievement—a simulation so incredibly vast in scope and so exceptionally ambitious that it would need a significantly modern upgrade to truly feel necessary. Naturally, Flight Simulator 2024 isn’t that landmark sequel; instead, it opts for nuanced refinement and targeted growth over drastic reinvention—yet it remains a bold follow-up, enhancing its predecessor’s dynamic blend of open-ended simulation and more structured curated challenges with purpose and finesse.

That said, its fundamental pleasures remain remarkably similar to those experienced before. Asobo’s precise digital recreation of Earth—collected and crafted through a smart amalgamation of real-world data—remains unfathomably vast in its realism and scope, albeit now even more appealing, thanks to new cloud formations, enhanced weather effects, richly detailed terrain meshes, and yes, that immersive ground-level magic. It hardly feels exaggerated to declare its 29,401 miles of simulated Earth the largest virtual world ever dedicated to a video game. It is an element of extraordinary beauty, limitless freedom, and boundless opportunities. As you glide over its expansive deserts and sprawling, softly illuminated cities, as you burst through exquisitely rendered cloud layers and swoop over iconic landmarks, it represents a world so compelling its allure is clear even if you aren’t an experienced flight simulation enthusiast. And if you truly wish to impress yourself with how far 2024’s version has advanced, it has an amazing party trick. Now, you can launch the camera hurtling upwards from your current position at any given moment, scenery blurring until you’re hovering over Earth from the edge of space. Then simply tilt the globe and smoothly descend to a brand-new location, jagged peaks and rolling hills coming into view as the light shifts, seasons change, and wildlife springs into existence in real-time. It’s breathtaking.

The achievements of Flight Simulator 2024 extend beyond merely prettier graphics and enhanced virtual sightseeing, starting with its revamped Career mode. The 2020 attempt at accessibility was commendable, as its curated challenges and sightseeing modes provided enticing opportunities to appreciate the simulation in a more structured manner. However, I believe it struggled to bridge the gap between its beginner-friendly modes and its core simulation; to transition players like me—curious yet definitely on the more casual side of the spectrum—into a freeform sandbox that is as intimidating as it is appealing. 2024’s Career mode addresses this by uniting the simulation’s various elements to create a more coherent, foundational experience.

Career mode also represents Flight Simulator at its most gamified, featuring procedurally generated missions, XP bars, post-mission rankings, progression tracks, and skill trees. While this may sound daunting to some simulation purists, for me, this more structured, measured approach has been quite revelatory. Indeed, Career mode is a game of classically addictive XP accumulation and financial growth, gradually transitioning players from modest freelance beginnings to ownership as they complete procedurally generated tasks and refine their skills. It is surprisingly vast in scope, too, supported by a nice variety of engaging mission types, ranging from simple half-hour passenger charters to more intricate tasks—crop-dusting, cargo deliveries, thrilling helicopter rescues, and many more—that, with their clearly defined beginnings and ends, make Career mode far more conducive to shorter play sessions.

The clever part, however, is how all this unfolds. Unlocking new aircraft, mission types, and business elements requires players to first acquire specific licenses based on progressively specialized flight disciplines, beginning with airplanes and helicopters and then branching out from there. Licenses, in turn, are gated behind classes, exams, and other prerequisites designed to ensure you’re always up in the air, keeping the excitement alive.

“`your newly acquired skills to the assessment. Clearly, it serves as a virtual aviation academy, skillfully directing players through the essentials and intricacies of flying – from safe landings to effective use of air currents – in a manner that lays a valuable groundwork and builds greater confidence for the remainder of the simulation.

There may not, to be fair, be much variation within each procedurally generated mission type, which could cause the already somewhat sluggish progression to feel repetitive – and Career mode is also where you’ll frequently encounter Flight Simulator’s rather disappointing AI-generated audio. Sure, I comprehend why Asobo might not wish to hire voice actors for every title on Earth for its contextual dialogue, but the AI-generated options they’ve selected – with their awkward, emotionless delivery and endless mispronunciations – are so jarring, so immersion-breaking, in stark contrast to the undeniable beauty of the diverse landscapes that it ultimately feels like Asobo is tarnishing its own masterpiece.

Nonetheless, setting aside these presentation flaws, Career mode is a genuine triumph. Its delightfully familiar progression patterns initially serve as a comforting counterbalance to the daunting breadth of the Free Flight sandbox, while gradually laying the groundwork for deeper comprehension and more rewarding experiences in various locations. There’s a wealth of additional content to explore and accomplish as well. Flight Simulator 2024 is an exceptionally generous follow-up; beyond Career and Free Flight modes, Asobo has significantly expanded its collection of self-contained excursions and challenges – smaller, more focused segments of additional gameplay – across a multitude of curated events. You can find rally racing, low-altitude flying, landing challenges, and discovery flights – many featuring optional weekly leaderboards for the competitive types.

On top of this, there’s the new World Photography mode, which centers around ranked challenges utilizing Flight Simulator’s impressive new camera tool. These require players to employ their navigation skills and flying creativity while gliding through the skies, drifting gently in hot air balloons, or racing on foot to capture different perspectives of towering structures, national parks, geoglyphs, European castles, and even wildlife from specific angles. Sure, one might argue that all these additional activities are merely flying with a different focus, but these curated experiences, with their thoughtful selection of stunning locales at their most seasonally stunning, complemented by occasional bursts of uplifting music, truly showcase the sim at its most beautiful.

In terms of pure ambition, Flight Simulator 2024’s scale is awe-inspiring. The fact that Asobo has expanded so confidently from its remarkable 2020 release to create something that feels even richer