Microsoft Flight Simulator becomes the highest-rated PC Game of 2020

In an age of ever-advancing tech, reaching a revolutionary new benchmark is getting increasingly hard. And, as we gradually start to swerve away from Moore’s Law, the logistics behind achieving those breathtaking moments of utter awe have also shrunk down. However, the new Microsoft Flight Simulator has somehow managed to break through all of those barriers to achieve something truly remarkable.

Created by Asobo Studio, which is the team behind A Plague Tale: Innocence and a lot of Pixar games, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the first big flight simulator release to come out of Xbox Game Studios since 2006. And, with such an incredible pedigree of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series that has lasted for almost 40 years, there was a massive responsibility on Asobo’s shoulders.

Thankfully, they have knocked it out of the park as Microsoft Flight Simulator has not only managed to meet everyone’s expectations, but it has exceeded them. After a closed beta that lasted for an entire month, the game has finally been released. And, unsurprisingly, the reviews for it have also started to trickle out.

Microsoft Flight Simulator tops the charts on Metacritic

The reviews for Microsoft Flight Simulator have been overwhelmingly positive so far. The astonishingly beautiful simulator from Asobo has managed to gather perfect scores from many big media outlets like IGN and Eurogamer. This has elevated Microsoft Flight Simulator‘s status as something that is a must-play for everyone, be it casual gamers or flight sim enthusiasts.

Currently, the game is sitting at a lofty score of 94 on Metacritic. This exceptional rating makes Microsoft Flight Simulator the Highest Rated PC game of 2020. And not only that, but Microsoft Flight Simulator is also the highest-rated game, period, to come out of Xbox Game Studios this generation, even climbing above the masterpieces like Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

In addition to that, the game has officially broken through into the Top 100 Games of All-time list on Metacritic, sitting at number 99 next to the greats like Oblivion, Quake, and GTA Vice City.

Why is Microsoft Flight Simulator so impressive?

Flight Simulators are not a new concept by any means and are actually rather simple when you think about it. So, what is the special ingredient that makes Microsoft Flight Simulator so special? Well, it all starts with the little details. Microsoft Flight Simulator is arguably the most impressively detailed game ever made.

In terms of playability, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the most accessible experience yet for the franchise. Whether you play with a full flight sim joystick or are just using a controller, there are plenty of options for you to get started on your plane. Furthermore, the flight training modes are also incredibly helpful if you want to get into the nitty-gritty details of being a pilot.

Apart from that, the in-game AI is also extremely useful if you wish to hone your piloting skills and work on things like your approach. Overall, this simulator provides an experience of being a real-life pilot that is unparalleled.

The Stunning Visuals

The visual details, on the other hand, are on a whole another level. From the little dials and knobs within a plane to the dimensions of the wings, everything in Microsoft Flight Simulator has been perfected to within mere millimeters. If you showed a screenshot of the ultra-realistic cockpit of the hand-crafted aircraft within the game to someone, they’d probably think that it is an actual real-life photo. However, the aircraft is only the beginning.

The world outside the aircraft in Flight Sim is even more impressive. Using data from Bing maps with the power of Azure, Microsoft’s cloud service, Asobo Studio has managed to bring the entire world to the players‘ hands. Everything from famous cities and landmarks to remote barren mountains has been rendered accurately using photogrammetry and cloud technology.

Furthermore, a lot of cities like New York are actually actually rendered down to an incredibly low 5 cm accuracy. This, combined with over 3,000 accurate airports around the world ushers Microsoft Flight Simulator into a league of its own. You don’t even have to be a Flight Sim connoisseur to understand what an incredible feat this is.

Additionally, the game doesn’t cut any corners on the visual fidelity either as everything, from the clouds to the light bouncing off your airplane, looks absolutely stellar. I’d go as far as to say that this is hands-down the most realistic-looking flight simulation game to date. That obviously comes at a cost though as most modern PCs aren’t able to run the game at 4K60 at its highest settings. However, this is a good thing since we haven’t really seen anything really push the boundaries of graphical performance lately.

We could even see the return of the classic “but can it run Crysis?” meme but for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The best part about all of this is that the game is included in Xbox Game Pass for PC and you don’t have to spend $60 to get your hands on it. The first month of Game Pass can be claimed for only a single dollar which is incredible value when you think about it.

Nevertheless, Asobo Studio has surely raised the bar for what a game can do in terms of technology with Microsoft Flight Simulator, and with their plan of adding more things in the future into this already feature-rich experience, this could become a true technological gaming juggernaut of the next-generation.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently only releasing on PC via Steam and Xbox Game Pass. However, Microsoft has stated that the game will be making its way to consoles as well later down the line. It would be interesting to see how well it performs on the upcoming Xbox Series X console and whether it manages to achieve that coveted 4K60 benchmark on the new hardware.