What is it?Launch day issuesGameplay and modesShould you buy it?
Here’s my experience after weeks of gameplay on Xbox and PC.
December 18, 2024:Launch issues affecting Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 prevented me from awarding it a score.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024’s loading screen shows the revised game logo.
Post-launch patches remedied enough serious issues, and my review reflects the current state of the game.
What is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024?
Microsoft has kept its Flight Simulator series running since its initial release in 1982 for IBM-compatible desktop PCs.
The company did not see the contents of this review before publication.
Does it run on PC gaming handhelds?
It crashed so many times on my Xbox Series X that I stopped counting after the fifth exasperating occurrence.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 running on my ASUS ROG Ally at around 30 FPS.
Repeated attempts to plot a flight path from any combination of airports led to crashes at different intervals.
While career is a slow burn and not for everyone, it’s the most refreshing addition since 2020.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Should you buy it?
Crawling past 95%, many gamers saw the loading screen stop entirely at 97%.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
When I made it past an initial load screen, the game placed me into a never-ending login queue.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
Lucky players who made it past the first two issues were getting stuck on a customize identity screen.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
Broken textures on my fighter jet wrapped around missing geometry in the only playable mode.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
A low-resolution preview of the Grand Canyon barely represented its real-world counterpart.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
This frozen top-down view of clouds was as close as I came to flying a plane of my choice.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
Searching worldwide for airports to start my career journey was met with low-resolution blurriness.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
Customizing my pilot was slow and tedious, as the assets took several minutes to load.(Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)
Even as a casual player, I’m progressing through the career mode and enjoying (almost) every minute.
Aviator performance warnings are all too common in the early missions of career mode as critical airport elements are missing or misplaced.
World Photographer offers a relaxing break from the cash grind of career mode, showing off the game’s tech improvements.
