Game worlds don’t come much bigger than this…

By Virgin TV Edit

Whether you’re an ardent flight sim fan or, like us, the type of gamer whose sole experience of virtually taking to the skies lies in stealing other players’ Mark II Oppressors in GTAV Online and smashing them into the side of Mount Chilead, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 will prove an absolute blast.

Since its release last week, it has well and truly taken gamers and the internet by storm. A mind-boggling game world, a plethora of planes to fly and countless landmarks to fly past, and just the sheer scale of it have immediately cemented its place as one of 2020’s best games so far.

But what makes it so special, exactly? What can one expect should they download it and give it a go? Well fear not, dear reader, for here is our handy little cheat sheet on all things Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020…

Planes, planes, and more planes…

We imagine it’ll be tough for enthusiasts not to boot the game up and immediate deafen anyone in the vicinity with a stunning rendition of “PLANES, GLORIOUS PLAAAANES!” There’s loads in MFS 2020 – twenty, to be precise. From shrill, propellor-based buckets to the kind of private jets Lewis Hamilton uses to pop to the shops, the variety of aircraft players can get to grips with is ridiculous. But not quite as ridiculous as…

The world… no, literally, the entire world

Unbelievably, having scanned the entire planet for Bing Maps, Microsoft (through some serious IT cleverness) have managed to scan it all into the game, meaning you can fly around a 1:1 iteration of the Earth. Sure, the scale of such a world does at times lead to some… interesting iterations of real-life landmarks, but for the most part it looks amazingly detailed, and is a joy to explore.

From London to Dubai via Donegal and Ghana…

Question: what do you need to fly planes? Correct, airports to fly them to and from. Another question: how many do you think Microsoft have included in this game? Correct: all of them. 37,000 airports are available to land in and fly out of in this game. And while some are far more detailed than others (Heathrow, LAX, Charles de Gaulle and Donegal, to name a few), again, the sheer scale on offer with this game is unparalleled.

What to expect from Mircrosoft Flight Simulator 2020:

In essence, a ridiculously detailed, lovingly created flight sim for veterans and newcomers alike. Air Traffic Control modes can keep the fun rooted to the ground, and the buttery smooth, hard-to-master but oh-so-satisfying feel to each and every plane can cause hours to evaporate in an instant. Rarely are such thorough, “straight-faced” flight sims so accessible.

So whether you plan to fully simulate long-haul flights to the US or simply fancy buzzing by and having a chat with Christ The Redeemer in Rio, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the perfect platform for both. Just expect some long-ish load times. To be fair, it is literally loading up the entire world.