Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a PC simulation game developed by Asobo Studio. It centers on state management, system learning, and repeated adjustment and feedback, with controls and information arranged around mouse pointing, keyboard shortcuts, and configurable interfaces.
- AI score · out of 10
- 8.7 / 10
About this game
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a PC simulation game centered on state management, system learning, and repeated adjustment and feedback. Schedules, changing values, or staged goals encourage repeated adjustment, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Interface clarity and state feedback matter more than spectacle, while resolution, graphics settings, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio, text scaling, and hardware performance need to preserve action, state, and text readability together. The genre-specific limitation is that explanations, dense menus, real-time systems, or accessory dependencies can add friction. Platform conditions also include OS and hardware requirements, installation media, patches, drivers, DRM and launchers, key binding and controller support, save locations, mod compatibility, servers, and era-specific OS compatibility affect the current release. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.
Collected in topics
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Explore games awarded 10/10 in formal IGN reviews, with attention to the reviewed version and the context of each assessment.
Collected in series
Microsoft Flight Simulator puts you in the cockpit to take off, navigate and bring an aircraft safely back to the runway. Civil aviation is its focus: learning instruments and aircraft handling matters as much as the view, with later entries offering increasingly detailed places to explore.
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Windows PC
AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
A compelling blend of flight learning and world exploration, with substantial setup demands.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 connects route planning, aircraft handling and sightseeing. Assistance lets newcomers enjoy a flight before gradually taking over more procedures, while scenery, light and weather give destinations a recognizable character. Gliders, helicopters and classic missions in the standard anniversary content expand the available learning paths. Much of the motivation nevertheless remains self-directed, making it especially suitable for curious travelers and aviation enthusiasts. Aerial views are more convincing than close inspection of ordinary ground locations. PC users also need to plan for storage, account access and graphics settings. This assessment excludes the separate 2024 game and paid third-party aircraft. Early review performance measurements are not presented as tests of the current patch, and minimum requirements are not a promise of smooth operation.
Strengths
- Assistance supports different learning levels
- Weather and landscapes create a strong sense of place
Weaknesses
- Substantial installation and hardware preparation
- Close-up scenery is uneven
Who it is for: Aviation enthusiasts and self-directed explorers willing to configure their PC.
Play notes: Check storage and account requirements, tune settings, and treat assistance as a learning aid rather than flight certification.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension Different aircraft and missions broaden learning, though much of the reward remains self-directed. | Reviewed | 8.7 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Adjustable assistance makes flight approachable while leaving room to learn its procedures. | Reviewed | 8.9 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Aerial scenery and weather are exceptionally evocative, with uneven close-up detail as a clear limit. | Reviewed | 9.4 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Useful assistance coexists with substantial setup and resource requirements; minimum specifications do not guarantee smooth performance. | Reviewed | 7.1 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- Asobo Studio
- Publisher
- Xbox Game Studios
- Release date
- Aug 18, 2020
- Platforms
- Windows PC
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Simulation · Primary genre
- Tags
- ExplorationRealisticFirst Person3D GraphicsEquipment-driven ProgressionSolo-friendlyReplayableMain Story 100 Hours or More
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Not provided
- Perspectives
- Not provided
Release editions
- Windows PCWorldwideAug 18, 2020
Game gallery
Sources
Not provided