Microsoft Flight Simulator Review (Xbox Series S)

Test your piloting skills against the challenges of night flying, real-time atmospheric simulation, and live weather in a dynamic and living world. This is our Microsoft Flight Simulator review.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review

 

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review Pros:

  • Amazing graphics.
  • 100GB download size. (standard game)
  • 1000 Gamerscore.
  • On Game Pass.
  • Cross-buy – if you own the Win 10 version then you own the Xbox version. It Goes for of you have the Deluxe or Premium versions.
  • Colorblind support.
  • HDR 10 support.
  • Data setting-satellite data streaming or no world streaming, Bing data world graphics, photogrammetry, live weather, live real-world air traffic. Set data limitations, bandwidth usage limits, warnings for data, rolling cache include max size and when to delete.
  • 24 avatars to choose from and you set the one you want and then avatars for your Copilot and instructor.
  • Text size slider.
  • Screen narrator option and you can change pitch, speed, and volume.
  • You can limit/cap your data usage and speed in the settings.
  • Set default controls-controller, mouse, keyboard.
  • Assists-all assists/middle ground/true to life. You can customize these under the following areas-piloting, aircraft systems, failure and damage, navigation aids, notification, and user experience.
  • Flight training is the games tutorials and completely optional – basic handling, take-off and landing, VFR navigation, and airline training. Each section is broken down into manageable chunks.
  • The flight training modes will show a completion percentage.
  • You get a score and rank for performance during your flight training.
  • They have done amazing work on getting all the controls to work on the controller.
  • The most detailed controller setup menu ever for each device.
  • Flight Simulator gameplay.
  • Cross-play with the PC version.
  • Four modes-world maps (free flight), live events (changes regularly), flight training (tutorial), and activities (challenge mode).
  • New spotlight mode that will give a random fly-over path to play.
  • Profile stats, earned badges and achievements, hangar, and logbook of all flights.
  • Hangar-change planes and plane liveries, see plane specs, and a brief description of them.
  • Tutorials-8 lessons and they even tell you how long they will take.
  • Clean easy to navigate the menu.
  • Helpful hints on loading screens.
  • Loading times are not that bad once in the game.
  • Play and do what you want.
  • Tailor the game to your exact needs and preferences.
  • Traffic and density of vehicles and people can be controlled via the sliders.
  • View-out of plane and cockpit (can change seating position like far back or up close).
  • Weather-set it or use live weather. Choices are-storm/snow/rain/overcast/high level clouds/broken clouds/scattered clouds/few clouds and clear skies.
  • It runs better on my Xbox Series S than it does on my GTX 970 PC.
  • Loading times are definitely better.
  • Multiplayer-live/all players and off which is only group members can be seen.
  • Can tweak the weather further with the settings for – date, density/depth (snow), precipitation, lightning, temperature, is a, and pressure.
  • Traffic-live traffic, Ai or off
  • Handy search button for settings and airports.
  • World map allows you to choose any departure and destination airport and then the weather and multiplayer settings.
  • Full control tower chatter.
  • Focus on the nearest landing strip in free roam and it will create a flight path for you to follow and help you with speed. (optional).
  • AI co-pilot-you can have your Copilot take control at any time.
  • Free world updates that give those areas better graphics and fidelity.
  • Free planes and instrument panels can be found.
  • The drone allows you to fly around with full camera-style controls.
  • Sound volumes change if you are wearing a headset.
  • Server drop-down box showing ping.
  • Set your status with the online, offline, busy, and away options.
  • Content management screens will show what’s downloading, downloaded, and what if anything needs updating.
  • When selecting departure/arrival locations you can (on the bigger airfields) set the gate/location within the airport.
  • Seeing the world play out below you is incredible.
  • Can set up your own routes.
  • You can see other planes and their callsigns on the minimap and in the world.
  • Weather and time of day can be flipped with a menu button and slider whenever you like.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review Cons:

  • No way to turn the music off when it’s downloading as it’s done in-game.
  • Long initial load time.
  • Destroys your hard drive space.
  • Can only download packs and updates through the game itself so the game has to be running.
  • The game will start choppy as it streams in the content.
  • Mission prompts in the tutorial don’t always show.
  • Fail (crash) on any step of the training and you have to start it all again.
  • The learning curve with the sensitivity and general controls.
  • Decides to stop showing controller prompts at random times.
  • Slow loading times in places.
  • Can’t skip the initial splash screens.
  • For towns and cities to look amazing you have to hope you have the hard drive space for the pack and that a pack for that location is available.
  • Default controls are not great.
  • Doesn’t clearly say about the cross-buy stuff.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review

Related Post: Q-Yo Blaster Review (Xbox Series S)

Microsoft Flight Simulator:

Official website.

Developer: Xbox Game Studios

Publisher: Xbox Game Studios

Store Links –

Xbox

  • 10/10
    Graphics - 10/10
  • 10/10
    Sound - 10/10
  • 10/10
    Accessibility - 10/10
  • 10/10
    Length - 10/10
  • 10/10
    Fun Factor - 10/10
10/10

Summary

OK, so most of this review will be from the previous PC version as it’s nigh on identical. Except for the fact that they actually managed to make a game as ambitious and as power-hungry as Flight Simulator running on a home console! Add in that I’m on the Xbox Series S and you have some of the finest work in years. For they have not only made the game run exceptionally well on the hardware but they have painstakingly made every button every command possible on the humble controller. I could not stop smiling, I had to check my pc was off as it was just running so well. Anyway back to the review and Microsoft has taken a second stab at the flight sim genre and improved on it so much that they have redefined what a flight simulator is. They have made a game that is so accessible, anyone of any ability can jump in and get going, the world is crafted in such a way that you want to see it all, the planes on offer are so uniquely different that they serve as the difficulty marker for the game. You can have as little or as much control over your plane as you see fit from the mandatory checks of the plane before take-off to the helpful guide for landing planes. The feeling you get whilst flying, the elation of a good take-off, the mastering of your nerves as you land on an airfield in an unknown country, Flight Simulator gives you that and so much more. At any time you can flip the weather, flip the time or even change the date, talking of flipping, you can even enable autopilot at any point. Microsoft has not only thought of everything, the nailed everything. You can rebind the controls to however you need, the controller has every option that the PC version has from what I have seen. Microsoft deserves kudos for making a flight sim fun, accessible and most importantly having it feel new all over again. Play how you want with the free ride open world, take on challenges like landing in certain conditions to planning hazardous flight paths, the game has a little bit of everything. the loading times are vastly improved. Multiplayer is crazy good with planes showing up whenever and where ever, watching the world unfold below you with people walking around, driving cars, or even sailing. Microsoft deserves a lot of credit for what has been achieved here, gamers take note as it might be a long time until we see this sort of innovation again. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is not for enthusiasts anymore, it’s for everybody! You walk away and find yourself repeating “Those crazy bastards did it, they got flight Simulator running on the Xbox and got it running well!” witchcraft and coding bring forth a miracle. I mean if I ha e the PC version a perfect score and this game not only performs better but has more polish and content then it’s a no-brainer.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!