Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (PS5) Review – Turbulent but Impressive Landing

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (PS5) Review

Although it feels like it has been sitting on the runway waiting for clearance for a very long time, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 was only released a year or so ago. MSFS 2024 is taking its maiden flight on PS5, a first for the franchise. I’ve been playing the sim since its release on PC. I’ve watched it struggle, grow, and improve, and now I’ve spent time on the PS5 version’s flight deck.

We’re used to PS5 exclusives coming to PC sometimes years after the fact, but not so often the inverse. Data suggests that the Venn diagram of PC gamers and PS5 gamers doesn’t overlap as much as you’d imagine. This means that there may be a large number of console gamers getting their hands on Microsoft’s flagship sim for the first time.

Fly the World

By and large, Flight Simulator 2024 on the PS5 is the same immensely ambitious game as it is on PC or Xbox. It aims to map the entire planet, a goal only made possible by streaming in satellite data in real time. By recent standards, the game’s install size isn’t huge, but it does require a fast and stable internet connection.  Even then, load times on a vanilla PS5 were longer than on PC. Server drops were not uncommon during the test period.

Flight controls are a huge part of the sim experience. PC flight simmers with even a marginal interest in realism probably own at least a flight stick or yoke. Some really dedicated desktop pilots build incredibly realistic flight school-worthy simulators around MSFS 2024.

The vast majority of PS5 players will probably enjoy the sim with the DualSense controller, and that’s fine. Flying an aircraft with a controller is more realistic than using a mouse and keyboard, and the DualSense works at least as well as the Xbox controller. In fact, it does those controllers one better by making use of the DualSense’s speaker for air traffic control voices, and adds in support for adaptive triggers and gyro functions. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test the sim with my other flight peripherals, as they weren’t compatible. But overall, the controller does a good job of translating the impact of aircraft weight, handling, and speed on the experience.

Out of the Box

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is absolutely overstuffed when it comes to things to do. Of course, there’s a free flight mode, where you pick a starting point (and maybe a destination), select an aircraft, and fly. You can adjust dozens of parameters to make your experience more or less realistic, from the controls and assists to real-time weather. It’s impressive technology.

For those who crave a more directed experience, there are several modes to enjoy. The career mode starts you as a complete novice. As you learn the basics of flying, you complete assignments and earn increasingly sophisticated licenses on a wide variety of newly-unlocked aircraft. There are “side missions” around various tasks and flying-related professions. The script, voice acting, and overall narrative aspects aren’t great, but the progression and methodology provide many hours of detailed instruction.

The list of stuff to do goes on. There are one-off activities — basically, stand-alone missions — that will challenge your skill in piloting different planes, helicopters, and other airborne machines. World photographer assignments send you to exotic locales to snap images of wildlife and scenery. There are multiplayer races and a leaderboard for weekly challenges. In other words, a lot.

One of the sim’s notable features at launch was the wide range of aircraft included. Not just civil, commercial, and military planes, but also helicopters, experimental planes, hot air balloons, and blimps. Depending on which edition you pick up, the PS5 version includes between 70 and 125 different aircraft.

All Alone

Unfortunately, the PS5 version of Flight Sim 2024 doesn’t support cross-play. This means that you won’t be able to fly with or against your friends on Xbox and PC. It also means that any aircraft, scenery, or airport add-ons you bought for other versions don’t carry over. Your Microsoft/Xbox account doesn’t transfer to Sony’s closed ecosystem. Multiplayer fans need to hope that the PS5 version is embraced by a large community.

While we’re mentioning MIA, the marketplace will only feature first-party add-ons, at least at first. Support for the PSVR 2 is promised down the line, but not a feature at launch.

Visual Downgrade

Since I’ve mostly played Flight Sim 2024 on a high-end PC, I’m a bit spoiled when it comes to the game’s graphics. On the PS5, the planes and lighting look great, but some of the environmental textures lack detail, and scenery pop-in was pretty consistent throughout. I wouldn’t say the PS5 struggled to keep up, but the additional GPU power of the PS5 Pro might add a little more luster to an already impressive game.

Audio in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a mixture of effective engine and airplane sounds, impressive weather and environmental audio, and pretty immersion-killing AI voices in the career mode and in ATC. User-created mods have helped fix this problem, but that doesn’t seem likely for the PS5 version. The character models in general lag well behind the industry standard, especially compared to the fidelity of the aircraft.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is being released in four editions. The Standard Edition includes 70 aircraft and 150 handcrafted, bespoke airports. The Deluxe and Premium Deluxe Editions increase the number of aircraft to 80 or 95, respectively. The Aviator Edition includes 125 aircraft, 160 airports, and 30 legacy aircraft from MFSF 2020.

Show Your Ticket at the Gate

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, like previous editions, appeals to a wide range of aviation enthusiasts. It can be as forgiving or as exacting as the player wants, though the PS5 version might not yet support the range of flight peripherals that PC gamers enjoy.  On a vanilla PS5, the graphics lag behind the PC version as well. Still, the core experience — the deep hangar of aircraft, the ability to fly anywhere in the world — is endlessly engaging. The PS5’s closed system means that the already extensive available add-ons and dedicated legion of PC armchair pilots can’t join you in the sky. Overall, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on the PS5 is the same, full-featured experience PC and Xbox gamers have been enjoying for the past year.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher for review***