Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Review – Now Boarding

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Review

When it comes to products like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, there are three main groups of users. The first group consists of exacting enthusiasts who want realism down to every toggle switch and aspect of flight modeling. These are the folks with high-end peripherals and home setups that are essentially flight decks without the aircraft. In the next group are more casual would-be pilots. Maybe they have dreams of getting their private pilot’s license, but they certainly enjoy the experience of flying different aircraft around their virtual neighborhoods and a world they’ll probably never see in person. Then there are the gamers. They love aircraft, too, but they enjoy the experience of flying as a game with challenges, leader boards and rankings. Just like the 2020 edition, Flight Simulator 2024 offers at least something for all these people.

Strap In

Two years ago, on the eve of MSFS’s 40 year anniversary update release, I had the chance to attend a sponsored event and preview alongside a large group of hardcore sim enthusiasts and journalists. I realized that there was a rather immense gulf between myself — belonging to the casual flight sim player cohort — and the true armchair pilots. They could tell you the number of rivets in a triple-7’s fuselage and spout arcane acronyms. I was simply proud of taking off, flying level and landing successfully. All this is to say that if you’re looking for an informed review of FS 2024’s precise flight modeling, look elsewhere. Like its predecessor, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is aimed at pleasing the widest range of users possible. The experience of flying can be dialed into just about every level of difficulty. 

There’s always been a bit of tension between Laminar Research’s X-Plane and MSFS. The former claims the title for most ultra-realistic controls and physics, but at the expense of graphics and casual accessibility. This contrast was made even more obvious with MSFS 2020, which upped the ante on the visuals and ease of entry for new pilots. The 2024 edition moves even farther in this direction by adding an RPG-like Career Mode and gamifying even more elements. 

Stay in Your Seat, Ready for Turbulence

Perhaps the biggest change for 2024 is probably its most contentious feature. MSFS 2024 is online only, because the majority of the game’s data is streamed in from the cloud. This reduces the game’s footprint on the computer and facilitates upgrades and patches, but becomes a major issue for those without fast internet. System specs are pretty high, too. To max everything out, you’ll need a 100Mbps internet connection, an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X or Intel i7-14700K2700X, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, and a whopping 64gb of RAM.

You’ve probably heard that on launch day, excited gamers were disappointed by long queues, extreme load times and disconnects. You know, all the hallmarks of developers seemingly unprepared for large numbers of users. Since then, things have settled down but it left a lot of people rightfully angry and frustrated. I might be one of the lucky players who had minimal issues aside from some long initial load times, but I’m probably the exception. 

All that aside, the game itself is in some ways a major upgrade from the 2020 edition, in others not so much. Let’s start with what’s new and improved. The selection of both fixed-wing aircraft and new additions like hot air balloons, gliders, helicopters, and even airships is impressive. There might not be just the one particular aircraft you want, but there’s definitely something for everyone. Microsoft claims that all 2020 version’s add-ons will work with the new game, though mileage may vary with third party products.

Parked on the Runway

As a relative novice I can’t attest to how authentic the flight modeling is for every new aircraft. Visually, they are all impressive and detailed, inside and out. I particularly enjoyed getting to know the new propeller-powered hot air balloons. If flying can ever be called a chill activity, drifting in a virtual balloon is it. There are some fantastic new planes, too, like the Airbus Beluga transport. My experience was that, either using a controller or flight stick, controls were very sensitive and in need of player adjustment out of the box. 

Window or Aisle?

MSFS 2020 was a major visual upgrade and the 2024 edition improves just about everything, especially ground textures, weather systems and water. If you have a powerful machine and fast internet that can load the textures properly, it all looks fantastic. Side-by-side comparisons reveal that the graphics are a bigger leap than you’d think.

There’s one area in which MSFS 2024 takes a huge nosedive. Character models – especially faces – are pretty awful. The character creator is rudimentary, and the co-pilot sitting next to you is a dead-eyed mannequin. Voice work, whether air traffic control or flight instructors, is done courtesy of pretty primitive AI-generated voices. It’s surprising that developer Asobo settled for marginally AA-game level character models. 

So, you have a lot of beautiful aircraft and the whole world as your playground. What’s next? Of course, you can pick a plane and fly anywhere, making that experience as realistic or casual as you want. You can fly over migrating herds of elephants in Africa, land in a wheatfield in Nebraska or buzz your neighborhood in a 737. At the other end of the realism scale you can turn off all assists, file a flight plan, and run the sim as a 1:1 recreation of commercial or military flying.

Boarding Pass

You’ve possibly seen trailers of MSFS 2024, showing planes and helicopters in search and rescue missions, crop dusting, fighting fires, and performing coordinated aerial stunts. Those activities are part of the new Career mode, which starts with the basics of getting a PPL. Then, the career branches out, RPG-style, into other certifications, aircraft, and mission types. While you can’t choose your aircraft for the specialized missions, by following the various career paths you’ll end up flying just about everything. 

If you’re looking for something more directed than free flying, there are a number of options. Gamers can participate in the Challenge League, chasing times and scores in weekly events like Top Gunning through markers in the Grand Canyon. World Photographer tasks the player with flying to a location, deplaning and catching various animals in the wild, or simply seeing some beautifully rendered iconic locations. Finally, there are Activities, short directed flights like sightseeing on the Irish Cliffs of Moher. All of these modes suggest that while MSFS 2024 might have the ability to be a hardcore sim, there’s a pretty strong focus on casual flight sim enthusiasts. Anyone hoping the new game would be X-Plane with better graphics ignored where MSFS 2020 was taking the franchise.

Departing Now

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 offers upgraded visuals, a bigger hanger full of aircraft types, and more detail all around. For some, the high system requirements and always-on need for a fast internet connection might be a deal breaker. Prior investment in a lot of third-party add-ons for the last edition might also warrant some caution. Caveats aside, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 offers a wide array of structured activities, plenty of guidance and, you know, the whole world to explore. It’s a great point of entry for armchair pilots and pretty satisfying for all but the most hardcore flight enthusiasts. 

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