Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Unbelievable variety of aircraft and possibilities, system-deep simulation and models of countless aircraft types, fascinating and detailed 1:1 image of the globe: Microsoft Flight Simulator is an incredibly ambitious project whose teething troubles should not be overestimated. We look forward to seeing this grand vision become more and more of a reality.

By adding varied missions, a structured career, and spectacular graphical improvements, they are opening the skies to an even wider audience while respecting the legacy of the franchise. Of course, adjustments are necessary, particularly for the server infrastructure and they could correct certain sometimes difficult aspects, but the overall experience remains an invitation to explore our planet in a new light. An ambitious takeoff, certainly a little turbulent, but which promises beautiful horizons.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is more of a live service than a standalone game, one that continues to recover from a catastrophic launch. It relies so heavily on streaming its assets and world textures from the cloud that it's plain to see how its offerings could disappear should the service ever shut down. Nonetheless, Asobo Studio's developers have worked tirelessly to recover this visually breathtaking but temperamental simulator into something that appeals to a broader audience rather than a tight-knit niche. It could become a category-leading example of post-launch improvements if it continues its upward trajectory, and I encourage everyone to try it at least once.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has successfully landed and recovered. While the initial server issues were frustrating, the game now delivers on its promises, offering a vast and immersive aviation experience.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is an absolute must for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Not only does it feel great, it will leave pilots with a strong feeling of wanderlust and a yearning for their next flight.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a complex, complete and realistic simulator, as ambitious as the game that preceded it and that brought so many people closer to the world of aviation. The Career mode is interesting and well structured, as are all the other available modes that allow you to experience the game as you wish and enjoy the hyper-detailed models of the vehicles to the last nut and bolt, or the most incredible panoramas of our wonderful world from a different perspective than usual. The technology behind cloud rendering is interesting and promising, it lightens the weight of the game on consoles and allows integrations with real-time satellite information that greatly increase immersion and simulation fidelity. However, even knowing that Asobo is a workaholic studio capable of producing patches and solutions in a short time, we cannot ignore the current state of the game servers, still not up to the ambitions of the production. It is equally difficult to ignore the fact that without a more than good connection free flight can be problematic, or the occasional lag, freezing and stuttering phenomena encountered on Xbox. There is room for maneuver, without a doubt, and in a few weeks everything could already be resolved. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

There's an unique charm in Flight Simulator 2024 that makes you come back over and over, even if you're not a fan of flying. It's a shame, though, that we find sooo many technical issues on the way, because everything else is as ambitious as laudable.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a pretty solid product but very rough around the edges at the time. It may be a simple expansion for MSFS 2020, but a great career mode saves the day.

At its best, when everything is working as it should, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a significantly improved version of what was already one of my favorite experiences on the Xbox Series X. There’s so much to do here, and flying around enjoying the scenery hasn’t lost any of its appeal in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Its technical quirks and design choices should be less of a problem over time, but I suspect some of them, like the egregiously long load times, will likely remain vulnerabilities moving forward.

A staggeringly detailed flight simulator with a wealth of new craft and aviation challenges, that now works like an actual video game – but the technical shortcomings are still noticeable and frequent.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 was a true revolution. I didn't intend the same in this case, but I certainly did expect something more, an opening for players to have other objectives within the simulation experience, something more to do, but instead I see that certain aspects have been further limited.

A steady drumbeat of patches has eliminated the worst excesses of the underlying code. But it will still take a long uphill march for Asobo to crest the summit of its ambitions. For now, this flight is just struggling to get off the ground.

Although still impressive and unmatched in its scale, the 2024 sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator can't be carried by its novelty alone. The added career mode seems competent on paper, and being able to step outside your aircraft adds immersion. But the entire experience is hamstrung by very disappointing visuals and data streaming issues, as well as plentiful bugs and design shortcomings.

But for all its ambition, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 feels weighed down by its own shortcomings. This is a simulator that demands time, patience, and perhaps a little forgiveness. For those willing to embrace its imperfections, the horizon holds incredible promise. But that promise feels like it’s out of reach, lost somewhere in the clouds.

Now, the optimal experience is restricted to the privileged few. [Issue#406, p.112]