Best Improvements To The Franchise

When 2020’s Microsoft Flight Simulator was released, it gave the world a welcome break from quarantine and took them to the skies. However, in time, popularity decreased, and many wondered how Asobo would follow up their smash hit. Finally, answers came with the announcement of the brand new 2024 edition of the world’s favorite flight simulator.

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From an outside perspective, both games look broadly similar, but in actuality, 2024 has a host of great improvements from its predecessor, ranging from QOL changes to better graphics to engaging new game modes that vastly improve replayability and content length.

7

Better Graphics

Ever Closer To Reality

There’s no doubt that the 2020 version of the Flight Simulator was a graphical powerhouse, especially for the time. It offered stunning vistas which the 2024 version doubles down on, making it truly some of the best visuals in PC gaming today.

As a result of the self-evidently stunning graphical fidelity, 2024 can make a genuine claim to be the best digital replica of the entire planet due to its incredible re-creation of Earth based on a mixture of bespoke design and systemic generation. Outside of Google Earth, it’s unparalleled, and a must-play for those who value graphical fidelity in their games and are looking for great places to visit.

6

Career Mode

Become A World-Class Pilot

Though the 2020 version of Flight Simulator was great, it did sometimes feel a little aimless in that it was a sandbox first, and a mission-driven game second. That was totally fine, but some gamers may have seen it more as a tech demo than a traditional game with incentive structures, and beginner players sometimes need tips and tricks more exciting than a tutorial.

That all changes with the 2024 version of Flight Simulator which adds the genuinely brilliant Career Mode. Players begin from the very bottom as their own pilot, learn and achieve a wide variety of licenses, and climb the ladder to perform medevac missions, Cargo ops, firefighting, and so much more. It’s just enough structure to keep the joy of the original sandbox alive with a more incentive-driven gameplay design.

5

Storms, Tornados, and the Aurora Borealis

Cosmic Wonders

It’s common knowledge at this point that flight simulators are the single-best change of video games actually replicating the world in digital form. However, to do that, they need to do more than just match the geography, but also somehow simulate the complex weather systems that govern the day-to-day life on the ground and in the sky.

2024 takes a massive step up in this department, adding in weather phenomena both terrifying and awe-inspiring alike. Heading north in the world means the possibility of spotting the incredible Aurora Borealis, but generated storms and even tornados mark perils that every intrepid pilot must look out for. These little additions make a big difference to immersion and one step closer to a true digital replica of reality.

View From The Ground

Though flight simulators are chiefly about, well… flying, there’s always been a demand from gamers to embody a first-person perspective on the ground to truly get a sense of the scale of the aircraft they’re piloting and to appreciate the immense amount of work the art teams perform in rendering the vehicles digitally.

Luckily, 2024 finally adds this long-desired functionality where players can get out of their plane wherever they land it and explore the ground, even taking incredible photographs or visiting stunning sights. It adds another immersive layer to the sim that’s bound to impress even the most disinterested player.

3

Flight Planning

Doing The Nerdy Work

When it comes to flight simulator fans, they can broadly be split between those who are just there for an easy time above the clouds and the thrill of piloting a plane and those who want the simulation to be as accurate as possible, even if that means the paperwork.

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For those fans, the new flight planning mode is a real delight. Players can access the flight planner on any web browser, check weather, aviation charts, METAR, TAF, and even tune in to radio navigation info. For those wanting to live the fantasy, it rarely gets more immersive than this.

2

Low Install Size

A Break For the SSD

Anyone who has played the 2020 version of the flight simulator knows that despite its undeniable majesty, the install size was intimidatingly big. It was so big that most players couldn’t justify keeping it on their PCs with limited space available, which was a clear stumbling block 2024 wanted to vault.

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Remarkably, the 2024 version of the flight sim is only 30GB. That is a massive decrease from the hundreds of gigabytes needed for the 2020 version. This smaller install is facilitated by new and improved cloud streaming tech, which means players don’t need to have all the world data local. While this has some drawbacks when it comes to player demand and bandwidth restrictions, when it works, it makes the whole process so much more streamlined.

1

Challenge League

Be The Very Best

While some flight sim fans may only want a peaceful domestic flight and to look out over the clouds, we all know that gamers are a competitive bunch, and there are plenty of lightning-fast sporty planes out there that are begging to be raced should the time come.

Enter the Challenge League in 2024. This new game mode allows players to compete against others in time trials, rally races, obstacle challenges, high-difficulty precision landings, and even Red Bull air races. Posting the best times is a mixture of intense skill and technical knowledge, making the mode catnip for gamers looking to inject the flight sim with a little extra competitive edge.

Systems

Released

November 19, 2024

ESRB

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