I still remember the Flight Simulator that Microsoft gave us in the 1980’s, which is where I got my start in the exciting world of flight simulators. And it is that some of us overcome the myth of Icarus before the impossibility of fulfilling the dream of being a pilot (for various reasons including monetary) by taking off with this video game, which is now the oldest franchise of the software giant.

There were other times… In the middle of the 8-bit era, the game offered little more than an expanse of green earth and blue sky, with gray stripes representing runways and a few black and white blocks for buildings. Of course no controls, no joystick, no sticks, no pedals, the vast majority of us played with a keyboard and mouse.

Microsoft continued the series with a dozen more titles, but eventually shelved it with Flight Simulator X. Fortunately, the series was revived in 2020 with an excellent video game. Created in collaboration with French developer Asobo Studio and using map work from Bing 3D Maps and data and technical guidance from aircraft and avionics manufacturers to make the flight experience as realistic as its graphics. And with advanced techniques such as “deferred” rendering, which – reducing the quality of the graphics – allows running on machines with mid-range hardware.

Free flight simulators and let’s fly!

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a spectacular game and it has undoubtedly opened a new chapter in a very special genre and encouraged new players to enter a market niche that is certainly unprofitable for video game producers and which requires high-end hardware and special drivers to play. lighten.

Good games are also necessary… And they are. If you are a lover of these simulators, you already know them. But if you want to get rid of the bug and get started in the exciting world of heaven and earth, we leave you with a few titles to try for free.

FlightGear

An open source simulator that has been with us since 1997. Originally developed for Linux, it has gained a large community that brings updates, mods and plugins. The game offers an extensive fleet of aircraft to fly, up to 400 different ones from small single-engine to large commercial aircraft. It uses detailed and accurate flight models that allow it to replicate realistic flight dynamics and behavior. It also has a good number of airfields and modeled terrain to fly over.

FlightGear is cross-platform, open source and free, with versions for Windows, macOS, Linux or FreeBSD.

Google Earth flight simulator

Google Earth/Maps is the best geographic information system on the consumer market. And you can do a lot of things with them, from visiting Mars, getting satellite images of any part of the Earth, to walking the streets with Street View. But it also has a flight simulator built into the desktop app. The graphics aren’t the best and it’s nothing more than a minigame, but it works in real time because the maps are generated from data from Google satellites, so you can fly over different parts of the world and explore them. The mechanics are simple and the control very intuitive. It’s not a deep sim, but it’s accessible and fun to virtually fly around the world.

Google Earth for desktop is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The world of digital combat simulator

If you like aerial combat, this game offers a pretty realistic simulation of military aircraft with missions that also include ships and ground vehicles. Although it can be difficult for new players, DCS World offers detailed beginner’s guides that cover each aircraft and its mechanics in depth. And it is necessary because the development of this series of video games is conceived as a simulator specialized for one specific military aircraft. Anyway, there’s a lot to customize depending on whether you want the game to be more action-focused or a simulation with tighter mechanics.

The game is free for Windows with in-app purchases, but it’s free to start and you can also try the open beta if you’re looking for a multiplayer experience.

GeoFS

It’s the only one on this list of free flight simulators that can be run directly in a web browser. All things considered, the graphics are quite good, the mechanics are realistic and refined, and the weather is displayed in real time with a dynamic day/night cycle and global satellite images. The controls are simple and easy to use after a short period of use. Features navigation maps, 30 aircraft and a multiplayer experience.

GeoFS is free with ads that aren’t really intrusive. If you like the game, want to remove them or get high resolution images (from Microsoft Bing Maps), you can choose the paid Pro version.

Aces High II

Set in two major world wars, this game is halfway between simulator and combat. You can also use battle tanks, boats and other vehicles. The gameplay itself is quite simple; you can just fly silently or take part in a battle with hundreds of players in a multiplayer environment. The graphics and simulation aren’t the best on the list, but World War Fighters are very well designed.

Aces High III for Windows is available on Steam as both a free trial and a paid version.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

We’ll save the best video game you can buy in this genre for last. It has a variety of highly detailed aircraft in a realistic world, changing weather conditions in real time and dynamic scenarios, with its own flight plan that allows you to go anywhere on the planet day or night. It includes a whopping 36,000 airports and 1.5 billion buildings, real mountains, roads, trees, rivers, traffic and more, with 3D data from Bing Maps. The game uses the “deferred rendering” technique, and components such as lighting, reflections, shadows and more are rendered locally to bring it closer to the general public with up to 4K resolution and HDR support.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is available for Windows PCs on Steam and the Microsoft Store. It’s paid, but we’re including it because you can try it for free thanks to Xbox Game Pass, where it’s included.