Whether you’re learning to keep a Cessna level or wringing realism out of an airliner, these fifteen tips and tricks will help you fly smarter on PS5.

Start with “All Assists” On If You’re New

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is generous to any aspiring aviators on PS5, bundling in a suite of assistance options including an “All Assists” pre-set. This doesn’t just make flying easier; turned on, if you’re a novice pilot it’ll free your brain to focus on the fundamentals: pitch, roll, power, airspeed, and how these elements and more interact. Like stablisers on a bike, “All Assists” will keep you comfortably airborne until you’re confident enough to peel them off.

Assistance Can Be Tuned for Realism, Too

If you’re an expert jumping across from a PC, or simply chasing the most authentic flying experience, MSFS 2024 offers a deep selection of settings beyond the presets. You can turn off everything from yoke sensitivity assistance and fuel automixing, to visual navigation aids and flight planning help. The PS5 version is built with fine control in mind; its aid settings function like a realism gradient rather than a collection of on-off switches. So, if it’s authenticity you’re after but, you know, you don’t want your engine to be stress damaged, there’re tweaks that’ll match your goal – just spend some time in the options tailoring toward your desired experience.

Fix the Hypersensitive Cursor

This one’s a quality-of-life essential. Because the simulation relies heavily on cockpit interaction, the cursor – when enabled – effectively becomes your mouse. The default setting, however, is absurdly sensitive. Within Settings, go to Accessibility, then Effects and Animations, then Cursor Settings – you’ll then be able to finetune Cursor Acceleration and Max Speed until interactions feel controlled. This single adjustment makes navigating the game’s sub-menus and, later, cockpit switch interaction and inputs vastly more manageable.

Transcribe the Tutorials, If Needed

The lesson workflow is one of MSFS 2024 PS5’s strengths, but in its attempt to onboard new pilots as swiftly as possible it does fire information relentlessly. Don’t hesitate to pause, grab your phone (or old-school pen and paper), and jot down input combinations for critical interactions or accessing sub-menus. You don’t need to memorise entire start-up procedures or taxiing protocol – the game prompts when required – but noting commands for switching camera modes or accessing the cockpit’s PFD saves time and avoids future mishaps, like accidentally using a shortcut to switch off your engine mid-flight.

Again, If You’re New, Spend Your Early Hours in Cockpit View

External cameras are great for sightseeing – and you’ll be doing plenty of that throughout – but cockpit view is where your skills develop. Every instrument reading – airspeed, vertical speed, RPM, altitude – teaches you something about the aircraft’s behaviour. And while, yes, most of these readings are visible via on-screen HUD even when the camera is trailing, new pilots tend to over-correct. Flying visually, rather than instrumentally, feels a bit like searching for a lightswitch in the dark. It’s best to stick with cockpit view early on as you’ll develop those instincts that make pitch correction, course adjustment, landing, and, yes, finding that metaphorical lightswitch far easier later.

The In-Flight Toolbar Can Be Customised

The In-Flight Toolbar includes functions like a weather panel, PFD shortcut, camera adjustments, ATC prompts, and it can be customised via the cog button with the option to add or remove panels. This matters on PS5 because controller navigation – as alluded to earlier – isn’t as precise as a mouse. A personalised toolbar streamlines the experience with fewer pauses, less confusion, and cleaner overall rhythm.

Finetune Your DualSense

The DualSense is surprisingly capable for flight simulation, but its default sensitivities won’t be suitable for all. Much like the Cursor, if you’re struggling to match the controller’s reaction to your movements, there are tweakable options for thumbstick sensitivity, trigger responses, touchpad zones, dead zones, curves, and acceleration. Above all, these changes impact comfort. If you’re consistently over-banking or over-correcting, adjusting sensitivity curves to smooth out your inputs might make the aircraft feel more predictable.

Dial In The Gyro Settings

The DualSense’s Gyro controls can make lateral manoeuvres feel more natural – as if you’re handling the controller like a yoke. It’s undeniably a divisive control system, but just like the finetunings just-mentioned, MSFS 2024 PS5 gives access to every variable – sensitivity, neutral position, dead zone, and extremity dead zone are all customisable. A few minutes of experimentation is all it takes to find your sweet spot. Don’t skip on Gyro until you’ve dialled it in; for many players, it unlocks a more immersive method of control.

Alternate Between Missions and Career Certifications

This one is kinda forced by certifications costing credits, and credits are earned by completing Missions, but MSFS 2024’s progression loop also enforces structure. In Career Mode, certifications introduce access to more specialisations and long-term improvement, while Missions place those skills into challenges. Switching between the two keeps the loop fresh. You’re given enough Missions to keep you busy for a lifetime, even without levelling up. By undertaking certifications you’ll learn new skills; in missions, you’ll sharpen them.

Use Free Flight Mode for Structured Practice

Free Flight isn’t just for sightseeing. It’s a controllable test environment for take-off procedure, pattern work, landing practice, or experimenting with different aircraft types. Starting options matter too – choosing parked, runway, or airborne lets you tailor the session for whatever you need to work on. These small tweaks ensure your training is far more efficient.

Complete Every Stage of a Job for Maximum Credits

You’ll realise this after you’ve completed your first missions, but in each job you’re able to skip pre-flight walkarounds, taxiing, or long cruise legs. However, doing so cuts your payout. If you’re grinding for credits to afford new aircraft or certifications, then stick to completing every procedure. It takes longer – some runway departures feel miles away from parked – but the reward scales accordingly. Plus, completing Missions to their fullest reinforces good habits and procedural understanding.

Use Custom Views for Cockpit Awareness

Tapping L1 + a D-pad direction during flight allows instant access to incredibly useful panel views – cockpit gauges, throttle levers, GPS screens – or external runway and window checks before landing. These custom views reduce the amount of camera wrestling you’ll need to do otherwise with the camera in freeform mode. Some of those readings – like engine RPM – aren’t available on the external HUD too, meaning situational awareness demands a quickview solution.

Master Trim Adjustments as Early as Possible

Trim is the most crucial adjustment which ensures stable flight. It’s a system which, when tweaked, aligns the aircraft’s natural pitch tendency, removing the need for constant thumbstick pressure. Before trim, you’ll be pressing the left thumbstick for entire flights. Once you understand it, you’ll realise you’ve been battling needlessly – cruising becomes second nature, flights are more meditative, and you’ll be more hands-off to engage with the scenery below. Learning trim is the biggest quality of life update you can give yourself.

Choose the Right Specialisations if You Want to Earn Money Fast

If your aim is to earn credits efficiently, then you should prioritise VIP and cargo work. They’re the most lucrative. While other paths are arguably more engaging – rescue operations, firefighting, even sightseeing – ferrying important people and shipments are your go-to for credit generation.

Check the Marketplace for Free Content

The Marketplace isn’t just an ecosystem for paid-for upgrades – there’s a handful of free city and world updates direct from Microsoft that are migrating across for PS5 players. These packs expand geologic detail – more points of interest, sharper terrain – with additional activities unlocked once they’re acquired. It isn’t just free content, but it broadens the sim meaningfully.

But look, despite Xbox establishing the shift to couch aeronautics, Microsoft Flight Simulator on PlayStation still feels unusual. It’s a living, breathing simulation built for flightsticks and multi-monitor rigs, not sofas and TVs. So, as I taxied toward my first take-off, DualSense in hand, questions hung in the air: can the feel of flight genuinely translate through a television? Will a controller give any real sense of being airborne? Might my living room, even briefly, pass as a cockpit?

"Starting your career, you’ll choose which of the game’s regional airports to use as headquarters."

I admit, at first it felt too novel. Then, lifting off with the ground shrinking beneath me, MSFS’s methodical simulation became unexpectedly transformative. I realised that its casual appeal is not in reading navigation charts or understanding what each switch and gizmo does, it’s in staring at the world beneath you.

Starting your career, you’ll choose which of the game’s regional airports to use as headquarters. I chose an airfield near Gotemba, Japan, in the shadow of Mt. Fuji, figuring the iconic mountain will make an impressive backdrop. Once missions became available, I was directed to Tokyo to shuttle flightseeing passengers over the surrounding scenery. An optional flight plan crossed over Koganei, and I chose it immediately. See, my friend lives there, I don’t know which house, nor have I visited, but it was a sense of wondering which drew me in.

Soaring overhead, I hoped this transcendence would encourage me to study the cockpit, the function of its switches still a mystery. Back at base, awaiting were copious certifications which, as a casual pilot, I initially found overwhelming.

Yet, you don’t make it to Top Gun by flying as a maverick, so I hunker down for more training. MSFS 2024 had already done a decent job of orienteering around the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, walking me through the starter plane’s pre-flight checks, and teaching me the fundamentals – airspeed management, executing pitch, rolling, following traffic patterns, and more. Even before my trip over Koganai, I could already take-off and land with conviction.

"Once I became proficient enough to keep the aircraft consistently stable and on-route, the sky opened up."

Passing the next certification ensures I now get paid for ferrying passengers, with lessons covering trim adjustment, a system enabling stable altitude without constant thumbstick pressure – engine RPM monitoring, and landmark navigation.

By this point I’d already noticed a handful of gameplay imperfections, which I’ll leave in holding pattern for now, but during these lessons I found engaging the engine RPM unintuitive. I pinpointed missing HUD info as the origin of my stagnation. See, beyond the cockpit’s diegetic display, the default on-screen HUD’s icons – detailing airspeed, fuel load, altitude, et cetera – don’t include RPM. To correctly follow my instructor’s command of maintaining 1,700 RPM, I zeroed-in on the top-left corner of my cockpit’s display. The number is too small to read from the sofa without switching camera view, steepening my learning curve while highlighting an accessibility oversight.

I abandoned my gaze on the horizon to check the throttle lever, instantly faltering my altitude. So, as a workaround, I started listening to the engine,  developing intuition, perhaps; but almost-certainly against the game’s intention. And, a deeper problem: I could only hear the engine at top revs – an issue I’ll get to later.

Yet, despite this, I reached a critical turning point. Once I became proficient enough to keep the aircraft consistently stable and on-route, the sky opened up. Cruising over the Arizonian expanse became meditative; I was now able to absorb the game’s gorgeous scenery and lighting. Rolling my Cessna toward Sedona, sunset cascaded through the cockpit with canyons below decorated by sparkling lens flares.

Later activities saw me passing over German forests as needlesharp rain beat the Cessna’s wind-shield. I streamed over the Great Barrier Reef’s azure blue, hovered beside the Pyramids during golden hour, and searched for wolves at daybreak over Northern Spain – each excursion visually engrossing. Now the shaky flying of my early career is behind me, the game’s promise of flying anywhere became a tangible, transportive reality.

To answer the first of those earlier questions, can the feel of flight genuinely translate through a TV? – I’d say it can. Visually, the game looks remarkably accomplished given it is drawing detail from the cloud, though frequent texture pop-in and distant low-resolution curtail its implementation. It can take a while to get to the point where you’re navigating calmly, long loading times on the base PS5 notwithstanding. But once you’re cruising, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 captivates beyond the code of its simulation.

Now, to answer the next question. Can the DualSense give tangible airborne feeling?  I’ll need to go over those imperfections alluded to earlier.

"3D audio exists but isn’t deeply implemented. Worse, headphones expose an uneven sound mix that’s not as perceptible through TV speakers."

I’ve never flown a plane in real-life, but I imagine the nuance required to maintain smooth transit replicates well in MSFS 2024. It’s all thumbstick micro-adjustments and tentative trigger presses; being cautious not to over-correct a wayward trajectory, rolling at 20 degree precision, gently adapting RPM, carefully adjusting trim percentage – as a player now chasing piloting perfection, managing these systems became as crucial to my engagement as scanning the scenery. Yet, the game’s failure to fully embrace the DualSense’s sensory potential leaves my pursuit of flawless flying feeling oddly disjointed

Haptic feedback does give runway tarmac a tactile feel, which is more noticeable if you accidentally veer off the strip onto gravel or grass. Yet, its complete non-existence in-flight, save for subtle flap or landing gear clunks, is jarring. Rudder resistance is felt through the triggers, but its application is limited in scope. You don’t use them much unless your plane naturally sways left or right. Helicopters use the triggers to steer, but their resistance is lighter.

Better implemented are ATC instructions which cut through the DualSense’s on-board speakers, while cockpit warnings flash through the light-ribbon. 3D audio exists but isn’t deeply implemented. Worse, headphones expose an uneven sound mix that’s not as perceptible through TV speakers.

During cruising speed, the engine’s hum becomes a whisper, while robotic passengers perforate my eardrums with their non-plussed musings. Sound levels can be tweaked, of course, but there’re no adjustments which encourage more audible engine noise. Combined with inert haptics, the sensory rush of flight never truly materialises. Whether gliding through clement airstreams or wrestling with turbulence, tactile reactions don’t emerge. MSFS 24 is a simulation which nails the visuals, but forgets the visceral.

You could argue that a controller isn’t the “correct” way to fly. Perhaps the tactility missing in the DualSense will be felt through a peripheral flightstick. Now, the only peripheral currently supported on PlayStation is the Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS 4, and despite its modest pricepoint, I’m going to guess that most PS5 players don’t own one. So, MSFS 2024 on PS5 must do more to embrace DualSense’s immersive potential. The experience isn’t killed outright, but its underutilisation undersells the overall experience.

I’ve noticed a handful of other bugs too: my aircraft spawned 3ft above ground, crashing before the instructor finished her briefing; dark shadows surrounded my avatar during a snowy photoshoot; ATC operatives talked over each other, delivering a vocal mashup impossible to decode; a game-ending crash halted my first-ever mission. The most confidence shattering was a black screen appearing mid-way through my first flight, pitch dark for a minute before resuming. I’m unsure if this was by design, but it lingered on my mind.

"During cruising speed, the engine’s hum becomes a whisper, while robotic passengers perforate my eardrums with their non-plussed musings."

Yet, as broad as these irritations are, they’re infrequent enough not to be deal-breakers. On PS5, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is imperfect, occasionally obtuse, and sometimes rough around the edges. It’s also the closest PlayStation players have ever come to the real sensation of flight. Did my living room transform into a metaphorical cockpit? Partially, DualSense’s underwhelming implementation can’t replicate a HOTAS setup, with some readability issues genuinely holding back the experience. Yet, the world, the weather system, and the slowly blossoming sense of mastery make MSFS 2024 utterly absorbing.

It’s more than a technical curio now. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5 is a journey, one that nudges you persistently, whether you’re casual or veteran, toward your own piloting zenith.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

While there are more similarities than differences between Sony’s and Microsoft’s architectures, we couldn’t help but compare the two in an effort to understand how well the experience has translated to the newer machine. To that end, we present a full graphical analysis of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on the PS5 and PS5 Pro, and compare those results with the Xbox Series X/S and PC versions.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a rather technologically advanced game, and it’s built using an evolved version of the developer’s in-house engine which combines a rather sophisticated physics framework alongside real-time world data from Azure to create a surprisingly authentic flight experience. Even though the engine was built specifically for Xbox and PC, the game’s transition to PS5 is a rather smooth one.

The moment-to-moment experience on PS5 (and by extension, the PS5 Pro) is largely comparable to what we see on Microsoft’s console, but there are a few minor differences that one can pick out related to how the texture loading and world streaming work on the newer machine. 

To put things into context, at launch last year we tested the game on a PC with an AMD Ryzen 5950X, a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, and 32 GB of RAM—hardware that’s more than capable of handling such a demanding title. We turned the resolution up to a full 4K while setting the DLSS setting to Quality Mode, and put most of the other settings to Ultra. We also set the Terrain and object level of detail to 200. We toned down certain effects, like Windshield effects, to medium quality, while the glass cockpit refresh rate is kept at High.

When it comes to the visual presentation, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a very computationally taxing experience and it continues to push every platform to its limits. While the visuals are largely similar across both consoles, there are subtle differences in how Xbox and PS5’s texture and light quality are rendered, and how they maintain the stability of LOD transitions – but these differences are only noticeable when we look closely at the same scenario across platforms.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X both utilize mesh shaders and advanced texture streaming optimizations to handle the game’s dense geometry at a large scale, but developer Asobo seems to have optimized the Xbox pipeline to match the experience that exists on PC. The PS5 version is most likely using a translation layer to accommodate for Sony’s GPU API since the engine was never built around that hardware, but we are happy to report that the performance is mostly uncompromised.

That being said, we did observe visible pop-in artifacts when flying over densely populated areas. These instances are minor but can manifest as momentary reductions in distant object sharpness or a dip in cloud fidelity as the engine prioritizes essential data first. The Xbox Series X handles these transitions slightly more gracefully, and that’s most likely due to the absence of a translation layer that sits between the source code and the hardware which gives the machine a little more compute to work with.

The PC version – unsurprisingly –  stands out from the lot thanks to raw horsepower and the flexibility of configuration. With our RTX 3080 Ti test bench and our graphics configuration from launch, the game maintained consistently higher draw distances than what we saw on PS5 alongside cleaner volumetric cloud rendering at Ultra settings. The DLSS implementation is great; the DLSS quality mode does a great job of upscaling a lower resolution image with minimal artifacting. Even at identical nominal settings, geometric complexity and photogrammetry data loads were faster on PC simply because the platform is not bound by the same memory bandwidth constraints as the consoles. Still, Asobo’s engine is remarkably efficient, and the gap between PC and consoles here is narrower than what we see in many visually intensive titles.

Switching gears over to the rendering resolution, both PS5 and Xbox Series X target a dynamic 4K presentation with image upscaling while the PS5 Pro aims for a higher internal resolution and that results in more stable performance at higher pixel counts. Under demanding weather conditions, such as storms which trigger post-processing effects and volumetrics – the base consoles drop internal resolution slightly, but the reconstruction techniques help minimizing the visible artifacts during gameplay. The PS5 Pro, on the other hand, doesn’t shudder like this, and you can expect a more stable image output on it.

Lighting remains one of Microsoft Flight Simulator’s most striking features, and the comparison between platforms reveals a couple of noteworthy differences. The PS5 versions share the same GI implementation as the Series X, but some scenarios exhibit marginally softer shadowing on Sony’s machine which could hint at some optimization shortcomings – though it isn’t too severe. The PC version flaunts higher resolution shadow maps and superior screen-space reflections, resulting in a more grounded and realistic look, which particularly excels during sunrise and sunset.

Another key element of the rendering is the vegetation and water surfaces. While foliage density is largely identical between PS5 and Series X, the PC version can push significantly thicker tree coverage and more varied grass LOD transitions without noticeable performance hits. Water rendering is likewise more refined on PC, with more consistent reflections and wave simulations under ultra settings. That said, the PS5 Pro’s enhanced GPU headroom allows it to come surprisingly close to high-end PC settings.

The one area that remains quite consistent across all platforms is the world streaming experience, which is great since it’s one of the most important and technically challenging parts of the presentation. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has to stream massive amounts of data from Azure servers, and the quality of the user’s internet connection plays a significant role in how smoothly terrain and photogrammetry load. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X handle streaming admirably, with efficient caching and background loading that minimize visible pop-in, and you can expect the same performance on the PS5 Pro.

Texture quality is another point of comparison, and the story of comparable results continues. On both PS5 and Series X, texture quality is impressive, but the Xbox version occasionally loads higher-resolution textures slightly faster during rapid camera movements when the PS5 version can have slightly delayed texture streams in extremely dense cities. These delays are brief and typically self-correct within seconds, but they remain one of the few visual discrepancies between the two consoles. The PS5 Pro has additional horsepower, so these occurrences are almost non-existent. PC naturally tops the comparison here with instant texture loading and sharper surface details at close range.

Loading times also saw noticeable variance between platforms. The PS5 definitely has a higher throughput on paper, but the Xbox specific optimizations help in significantly reducing the load times on Microsoft’s machine. Booting into a flight from the main menu was consistently a few seconds faster on Xbox Series X as compared to Sony’s machine, and can be attributed to great use of Microsoft’s Velocity Architecture. The PS5 Pro further improves on these load times, shaving off an additional couple of seconds thanks to improved bandwidth and better decompression throughput – but it still doesn’t match the results we see on Xbox Series X.

On the PC side, load times scale heavily with the hardware configuration. Our Ryzen 5950X and fast NVMe drive combination delivers great results that are largely comparable to that of the Xbox (we tested this over several runs). This can be attributed to both optimizations made for DirectStorage API and the sheer capacity of high-end PC hardware to brute-force data processing, especially when dealing with large terrain pools. 

Texture quality is another point of comparison, and the story of comparable results continues. On both PS5 and Series X, texture quality is impressive, but the Xbox version occasionally loads higher-resolution textures slightly faster during rapid camera movements when the PS5 version can have slightly delayed texture streams in extremely dense cities. These delays are brief and typically self-correct within seconds, but they remain one of the few visual discrepancies between the two consoles. The PS5 Pro has additional horsepower, so these occurrences are almost nonexistent. PC naturally tops the comparison here with instant texture loading and sharper surface details at close range.

Loading times also showed noticeable variance across runs, largely because the game pulls real-time data from Azure servers. Factors like internet speed and third-party services can either accelerate or slow down the process, making it difficult to produce a strictly uniform comparison across platforms.

When examining frame rate stability, both consoles target 30fps. The PS5 and Xbox Series X achieve this target with impressive consistency, though the Series X enjoys slightly fewer dips under extreme streaming conditions. These dips are minor, but they do appear more frequently on the PS5, especially in scenarios where post-processing effects or volumetric effects end up pushing the GPU to its limits. 

As mentioned earlier, the PS5 Pro targets a dynamic 4K resolution at 30fps, and it performs markedly better than the base PS5, remaining locked for the vast majority of our tests. Since it doesn’t have to reduce its internal rendering resolution as often as the PS5 or Xbox Series X, image clarity is visibly improved. Even in demanding scenes with intense volumetrics, the PS5 Pro maintains its composure, resulting in a consistently smooth experience. 

In conclusion, the PS5 version of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 stands tall alongside the Xbox and PC versions. It delivers a decently optimized experience that remains faithful to Asobo’s vision. Despite a few minor differences in texture loading and world streaming responsiveness, the game offers a near-identical level of fidelity – making it another successful port of a previously Xbox exclusive to Sony’s platform.

Full DualSense Integration

MSFS’s maiden flight on PlayStation is a simulation more than visuals. Asobo Studio is embracing the PS5 DualSense controller’s full suite of immersive features. Adaptive triggers will respond to varying aircraft speeds, surface types, and air resistance. Instructions from Air Traffic Control will cut through the DualSense’s on-board speakers, while gyro control, light bar support, and a customisable touchpad underline the feeling of sitting in a real-life cockpit.

Additions to Career Mode

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 introduced an all-new career system, with Simmers able to access a near-limitless number of missions and activities all over the world. Particularly useful for PS5 first-timers, MSFS 2024 also includes numerous easy-to-follow lessons – helping new pilots find their wings in many different types of aircraft. Beginning with a private pilot’s license, MSFS 2024’s structured progression leads to specialised aircraft, tougher missions, then company and aircraft management the more certificates and ratings are acquired. In MSFS 2024 you start small; but, the sky’s the limit.

Expanded Mission Types

Gaining experience and building reputation unlocks specialised careers across a range of aviation-based activities: skillfully drop payloads of water onto raging wildfires or use those same skills for aerial accuracy to crop-dust; meet the timely demands of efficient navigation by transporting cargo or injured passengers en route to hospital; undergo search and rescue operations, aerial construction, or ferry flights, all across a spectrum of vehicles – light aircraft, multi-engine aeroplanes, helicopters, and more.

Largest Fleet Ever

Launching with the same 125-strong fleet as featured on Xbox and PC, on PS5 you’ll experience the stomach-tumbling agility of ultralight aircraft, develop your patience and expertise for long haul airliners, or seize the supersonic thrill of military fighter jets. Helicopters, Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOLs) – think, modestly-sized, futuristic-looking airships which take flight like the Harrier jump jet – plus steerable hot air balloons, gliders, bush planes, and more. Also, coinciding with MSFS 2024’s PS5 launch is the all-new Boom Supersonic XB-1 – America’s first civil supersonic jet, capable of breaking the sound barrier.

Full Global Simulation

Throughout its four-decade existence, Microsoft Flight Simulator has always strived toward rendering the globe in striking realism. MSFS 2024 was positioned to fully realise this enduring mission, but – on Xbox and PC – technical hiccups have scuppered the sim’s presentation. Regardless, Asobo Studio is determined to bring MSFS’s “fly anywhere” ethos to PlayStation. Their pledge: all seven continents, 40,000 airports and runways, and over 60,000 helipads – from Preston, England, to the Pyramids – at any time of day, with real-time, real-world air-traffic – all delivered in seamless, stunning detail. However, a word of caution: you won’t know if the PS5 and PS5 Pro will suffer similar shortcomings until you take flight on December 8th.

No Crossplay

Simulation flying is, for all intents and purposes, a solo endeavour, so the effect this has on you will vary compared to others. But, it has been confirmed there will be no crossplay between PS5 and other platforms. See, PS5 is its own ecosystem, meaning the sim’s more competitively-leaning modes – like the new Challenge League mode – will test your skills against other PS5 players only. Still, what’s included in Challenge League should be worthwhile: rally races, landing challenges, and more. Should MSFS 2024’s PS5 version take off, there’ll still be a sizeable leaderboard to climb.

No Cross-Save

Likewise, cross-save will not be supported between PS5 and other platforms – players migrating from Xbox or PC will have to start a new save file. Losing career progress is one thing, but perhaps more concerning is a lack of marketplace transfer; any add-ons, aircraft, or scenery purchased from MSFS 2024’s marketplace on Xbox or PC will need to be repurchased on PS5. Again, your severity will vary with others, but if you’ve accumulated hours of airmiles on Microsoft’s hardware, well, starting from scratch may be too insurmountable a barrier to overcome. Flipping perspectives though: presumably, Microsoft and Asobo Studio are banking on Xbox and PC players being unlikely to flock to PlayStation. There’ll certainly be PC-exclusive players who also own a PS5, and would’ve been looking forward to simming via the convenience of console gaming. If that’s you, feeling let down is fair.

Complete Access to Marketplace on PS5

So, if we ignore the lack of cross-save and instead presume all PS5 players will be launching Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 for the first time, what have they got to look forward to within the sim’s creator ecosystem? Well, it’s a thriving space: first and third-party content can be bought and downloaded, with a “My Library” system making purchases easy to track. Creators can maintain their listed content via upgrades and a partnership program, meaning you’ll always have access to fully functioning content to enrich your experience. The flightsim community are dubious of the marketplace’s overall quality – some items are great, others not so much. If you are scouring the marketplace for the first time and want to know what’s worthy of your hard-earned coin, then Reddit or the MSFS forums are your friend.

VR Support Incoming

VR support for PSVR2 is in-flight, and cleared to land as a free add-on during 2026. No official date has been revealed yet, but seeing as the most positive responses to VR on PC claim it is a game-changer, it’s an exciting addition that’ll hopefully be worth waiting for. Yet, as with the Xbox and PC’s non-VR version, expectations must be measured as there’re reports of technical niggles – buggy mouse control being a consistent complaint. This may not be an issue with PSVR2, though – immersively detailed cockpits and realistic flight dynamics will hopefully dominate conversation over any drawbacks.

Four Game Editions

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be available to buy in four editions: Standard, Deluxe, Premium Deluxe, and Aviator, ranging from a base of 70 aircraft, 150 bespoke airports, and 30 new MSFS 2024 aircraft, plus upgraded aircraft and airports from MSFS 2020 in the Standard Edition, up to 125 aircraft and 160 airports in Aviator Edition. As you’d expect, the numbers go up with each tier – 70 aircraft becomes 80 in the Deluxe Edition, then 95 in Premium Deluxe, and so on. A full breakdown of the numbers for each Edition is listed on the PlayStation Store. Pricewise, Standard retails at $69.99 / £69.99, Deluxe at $99.99 / £99.99, Premium Deluxe $129.99 / £129.99, and Aviator Edition $199.99 / £199.99. A physical disc edition will be available too.

Pre-Order Bonuses

All MSFS 2024 PS5 pre-orders will receive the Northrop T-38A Talon aircraft. If you know of the aircraft US Air Force pilots used to train with in the 1960s, then the Talon needs no introduction. For everyone else, this twin-seat, twin-engined supersonic jet was instrumental in advanced pilot training, not just in the US, but other global agencies and by NASA. Pre-orders of the Deluxe, Premium Deluxe, and the Aviator Editions also grants five days of early access starting December 3rd.

Filesize is Surprisingly Light 

We say surprisingly, as a game which models the entire Earth with this level of detail would surely surpass the 50GB filesize. However, 50GB is all the space that’s needed to play. The caveat though, in case you haven’t guessed it, is MSFS 2024 will require consistent internet connection to function. See, the world’s assets need to download and render in real-time – a requirement on which the origin of the game’s bugs have been pinpointed. This also means that if you buy the physical copy, digital installation and an internet connection will still be required. A final point: it is confirmed that a Microsoft account or Gamertag will not be required to play on PS5.

Feature Parity

MSFS 2024 PS5 comes a year later than Xbox and PC’s, but all versions no matter the platform are equally feature-rich. Going forward, PlayStation players can expect the same level of developer support as any other platform.

PS5 Pro Enhancements

Details on PS5 Pro-specific enhancements are currently light, but given the power in Sony’s premium home console, you can expect enhanced visual fidelity and shorter loading times – the latter point under the most scrutiny given sluggish load times are a consistent complaint across both Xbox and PC versions.

Accessibility and Assisted Control Features

Amongst the PS5’s accessibility features are visual adjustments with reduced camera movements and effects that can be toggled on-off to suit visual comfort, while audio information can be communicated visually in addition to through the controller. Controls-wise, controller remapping, stick sensitivity adjustments, inverted stick movement, plus the ability to switch off rapid button presses, motion controls, touch controls, vibration, and adaptive triggers should level the playing field for less-able players.

Clair Obscur: Expedition

While traditional role-playing games never disappeared, they did become quite rare for a few years. The release of Clair Obscur: Expedition has managed to remind many people why that style of combat was so beloved. Along with an excellent setting that revolves around serious themes like loss and grief, Expedition also has a solid take on turn-based combat, with every single character in your party having their own bespoke mechanics, be it Maeve’s stance system, how Lune handles elements, or even Gustave’s Overcharge mechanics. Pair this with rewarding high-level gameplay with parries and dodging, and you get one of the best RPGs out there.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 finally managed to hit mainstream success, thanks in large part to its strong setting and ambitious design. Baldur’s Gate 3 adapts rules from the 5th edition of tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons, and features some of the most interesting and likeable characters that have been featured in games in quite some time. Along with this, it also has an expansive story that kicks things off with a great premise: figure out how to get rid of a parasite in your brain before you end up being turned into a mindflayer. What follows is an epic adventure that carries you through different cities and planes, where countless stories and challenges await.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition

What can we say about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that hasn’t been said already? An entire decade since its original release, the open-world RPG has continued to be awesome thanks to constant support from CD Projekt RED, not only through the release of excellent expansions—but also through updating the title to make use of more modern hardware with enhanced visuals. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt continues to have an excellent story, with plenty of wonderfully-written sidequests. All of this, paired with a great combat system leads to a generally fun way to spend hundreds of hours.

Elden Ring + Shadow of the Erdtree

In many ways, both Elden Ring as well as its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, represents the culmination of everything developer FromSoftware has learned in developing titles since 2009’s Demon’s Souls. Along with the slow-paced but heavy combat that the studio is known for, Elden Ring and its expansion also feature a great open world to explore, some of the best boss fights it has ever design, and some incredibly dense lore available for players who would care enough to pore through the dozens of item descriptions and conversations needed to uncover it all. Pair this with tools that provide plenty of options for players that might want an easier time through the game, and Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree simply prove themselves to be the best that FromSoftware has to offer.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Developer Rockstar has had many great games under its belt, essentially changing the entire concept of open-world games with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 and its host of follow-ups, but none of them have been as jaw-dropping or awe-inspiring as 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Acting as a prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption, the title puts you into the shoes of Arthur Morgan as he experiences the age of the cowboy coming to an end as a member of the Van der Linde gang. Along with some excellent character-writing and fun missions, Red Dead Redemption 2 also offers dense gameplay, taking on a simulationist approach to even side activities like hunting or train robbing, giving players hundreds of hours worth of things to do in its massive and lush open world.

Days Gone Remastered

While Days Gone was originally a PS4 game that came out to a middling reception, its release on PC has been a glow-up for the open-world zombie title, with modern gaming PCs being more than capable of handling the hordes of zombies that get thrown at you. Sure, the main narrative may not be particularly noteworthy. However, the side-activities, as well as the general gameplay loop encouraged by the fact that upgrading your motorbike is important, make the overall idea of setting out to scavenge from long-abandoned medical facilities or even rival gang camps an enticing idea.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

While its initial release may have been a bit of a mess, in the years since, Cyberpunk 2077 has proven itself to be an excellent open-world action RPG. Taking on the role of V in the year 2077, you set out to become a legend in Night City. However, one of the jobs you take alongside your best friend Jackie goes horribly wrong, and now you’re slowly dying and the ghost of Johnny Silverhand lives in your head. Cyberpunk 2077, along with its expansion Phantom Liberty, tells an excellent story that takes you across Night City’s various districts and social strata as you try and figure out the evil machinations of the megacorporation Arasaka that led to the development of the thing that has been slowly killing you. Along with an excellent main story, Cyberpunk 2077 also features several well-written and fun side-quests that can range from getting into a rivalry with a Japanese pop group to discussing the nature of sentience with an AI taxi service.

Disco Elysium – The Final Cut

Quite easily one of the most interesting takes on the RPG genre that has been attempted, Disco Elysium – The Final Cut puts you in the shoes of a detective. You explore the city of Revachol, which is seemingly in the midst of a cultural upheaval in some parts, alongside your partner Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi. Disco Elysium focuses more on conversation than it does action, and one of its most unique aspects is the fact that each aspect of the protagonist’s mind and body has a personality of its own. Through these conversations, you learn more about yourself, about Revachol, and about the world at large.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Mass Effect is one of those rare video game trilogies that deserves its “legendary” moniker. The three titles tell the story of a galaxy’s fight against a cosmic, existential threat, and puts players in the shoes of human Commander Shepard who must assemble a rag-tag crew of allies from the various species from across the galaxy as they try to figure out the mysteries behind the forces known only as the Reapers. Along the way, in true RPG fashion, there are also plenty of choices that players have to make, with many of these choices having far-reaching consequences for the galaxy as a whole. While the ending of Mass Effect 3 might be regrettable, the rest of the journey still holds up even today as one worth experiencing.

Prey (2017)

While it may not have anything to do with its 2006 namesake, Prey (2017) is an immersive sim that puts players in the shoes of Morgan Yu. Working for the TranStar Corporation on ethically-dubious experiments, you eventually start serving on the Talos I space station. However, these experiments eventually start going wrong, and the space station comes under attack by an alien threat known as the Typhon. The twist is that these aliens can shapeshift, which adds an extra layer of tension to the gameplay. Even when you’re just exploring an office room, one of the mugs might end up being a Mimic-type Typhon that can attack you at any time, after all. What makes Prey especially interesting is the freedom it gives the player in how they choose to tackle any situation, be it stealth, combat, or even something more creative, like building platforms out of nearby furniture and your Goo Gun to avoid any dangers.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition

Skyrim is still – at the time of publishing – the latest game in The Elder Scrolls franchise, and there’s a good reason that it has been the best-selling one so far. Taking place in the eponymous region of Skyrim, the game puts players in the shoes of whatever character they might like to be and, after a short opening quest, sets them free in the world. What makes Skyrim fun is that it has hundreds of hours worth of content, not only through its main story, but through several side quests as well. Along with this, the game also has an excellent modding community that has constantly worked on adding more content to the game, as well as improving what’s already there. Generally speaking, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is the closest thing we have to a game we can play forever.

Fallout 3

What Skyrim does for the fantasy genre, Fallout 3 does for players that might prefer a post-apocalyptic setting. Taking place in and around a post-nuclear fallout Washington DC – referred to in-game as the Capitol Wasteland – Fallout 3 sets you loose in an open world with a single goal: find your father. More interesting than the main story, however, is the sheer amount of side-content that is available right from the get-go. The first-person RPG will have you cover the entire length and breadth of the wasteland as you try and do as many side-quests as possible thanks to the excellent writing. While we’re at it, the gameplay isn’t bad either; it might be dated by modern standards, but the RPG systems in the game allow for plenty of player choice in terms of how you want to define your play style.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

After years of memes making the rounds on the Internet, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally out. Putting players in the shoes of new protagonist Hornet, Hollow Knight: Silksong features an entirely new world to explore, and tons of challenging boss fights to tackle. Along the way, there are also plenty of new gameplay systems to explore, including the new healing mechanics, as well as the ability to change up Hornet’s entire moveset if you so desire. Much like the original Hollow Knight, Silksong has an easy claim to the crown at the top of the genre.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

While Marvel’s Spider-Man was already a fantastic return of the webslinger to the gaming medium, Insomniac Games has taken everything about the open-world action game and turned it up to eleven with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Not only does it feature an even more epic storyline featuring plenty of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, it also features two whole Spider-Men taking on the threats to New York City – Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Throw on top a fun plot about both of our heroes growing together, as well as the unique personal issues affecting both of them, as well as the threat of the Symbiote over the whole plot, and you get a great time.

Little Nightmares 2

Little Nightmares 2 is an interesting game since, while it might appear like a cutesy platformer from the outside, underneath its adorable exterior lies a dark game filled with a surprising amount of horror. The title revolves around a boy, Mono, who finds a girl, Six, trapped in the basement of a dark and terrible house, and the two must work together to make it out alive.Along the way, they will have to deal with many terrifying enemies and other dark secrets of the main setting of the game – the Pale City – and the title makes heavy use of some psychedelic visuals to hammer home the point that the city is not a welcoming place for wayward children.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

While most open-world RPGs tend to make use of fantasy settings, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 instantly sets itself apart from its contemporaries by instead making use of real-world place, complete with accurate depictions of historical events. Taking place in the lands of Bohemia, protagonist Henry finds himself and his friend, Sir Hans, the victims of a bandit attack on their way to deliver a message to Trosky. What follows is Henry’s attempts to complete his mission, and along the way, grow as a person. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 takes a simulationist approach to its gameplay, with armours and weapons feeling appropriately hard to find and maintain, and crafting systems that will have you reading instructions from books before you go about mixing potions or forging a sword. The title offers hundreds of hours worth of gameplay, along with some of the best sword-fighting mechanics ever executed in a first-person game.

Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake was a masterclass in horror, but its sequel takes things a step further. In Alan Wake 2, players control multiple characters as they explore genuinely creepy locations, face terrifying creatures, and experience it all with an amazing score and exceptional gameplay. This is what horror games should strive to be, and it leaves us eager to see what Remedy has in store for the inevitable Alan Wake 3.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut

Hideo Kojima’s first major project after his departure from Konami, Death Stranding is a game that is quite difficult to explain. Essentially, you are a courier in a world where a global catastrophe has made humanity spread out far and wide, with little to keep them connected to each other. The core gameplay revolves around you taking on delivery jobs and then figuring out how to cross the terrain to get to your objective. What makes this interesting is that Death Stranding is one of those rare games where terrain is quite important, and you can’t just climb any surface you see. This means that you will have to figure out the best route to take that doesn’t risk too much damage to the cargo you’re carrying. Throw on top a bonkers plot that revolves around the concepts of death, the soul and the body, as well as the general creepiness that the ghost-like BTs exhibit, and you have a fantastic time experience, while long, is well worth it.

The Witness

From the developer behind Braid, The Witness is a strange puzzle game that takes a single mechanic – being able to draw lines – and turns it into the entire game. While most of the title will have you finding screens to then solve logical puzzles with your line drawing powers, the whole game essentially blows open at a certain point when you start to discover that the entire world around you is also a puzzle that can then be manipulated and solved in different ways. Along the way, the game also features narration that explores the nature of the island you’re exploring, and what its true purpose might be. All of this is paired with some wonderful art direction and a vibrant colour palette that makes sure that nothing in The Witness ever looks boring.

Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world game where the protagonist – a samurai named Jin Kasai – survives an initial battle against an invading Mongol force, and must rally the citizens and soldiers of Tsushima island to mount a resistance against the invaders. Over the course of the fantastic open-world game, Sakai must also come to terms with meanings behind words like honour, and the caste system that Japan was living under at the time. Ghost of Tsushima features simple-but-excellent combat gameplay, as well as quite a few tools for the player should they decide to sneak around instead, as they go around Tsushima liberating settlements from the Mongols and ultimately figure out a way to get at the primary antagonist – Khotun Khan, cousin of Kubali Khan.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

While the original The Last of Us was a great game with a fantastic story anchored by wonderfully-written characters, The Last of Us Part 2 goes a step further, giving us a darker tale that focuses on two distinct characters and their quest for vengeance and redemption. Along with the larger overall scale of gameplay, The Last of Us Part 2 also tells a grander story, and features some of the most fun boss fights to have been put into a title where the gameplay is otherwise quite realistic. On top of all of this, the Remastered release on PC also has a host of extra content in the form of the roguelike survival mode No Return, where you get to take on combat challenges as the character of your choice in a variety of different levels.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

FromSoftware might be largely known for its slow-paced action RPGs in the Souls series and Elden Ring, but with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the studio instead decided to take on a much faster style of gameplay where being on the defensive was punished. Rather than hiding behind a shield, in Sekiro, you are instead forced to learn the timings of various enemy attacks so that you can instead parry them, eventually breaking your foes’ posture to then finish them off with a glorious killing blow. The title still maintains much of the FromSoftware DNA, however, including how death works and the emphasis on smaller-scaled levels that are more dense and intertwining, encouraging plenty of exploration. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, despite its differences from the studio’s other games, can easily be considered one of its best outings yet.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

A collection featuring two games – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: Lost Legacy – Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection tells two excellent stories. While one tries to wrap up the ongoing plot of Nathan Drake trying to forge a legacy for himself, the other instead features two supporting characters from preceding Uncharted games in the roles of dual protagonists as they set off on an adventure of their own. Where Uncharted 4 offers a polished take on everything the series has had to offer so far, Lost Legacy instead goes for more experimental game design. All in all, both titles are well worth playing, even if you haven’t been able to play the first three games in the series.

Frostpunk 2

The original Frostpunk was a fresh take on the city-builder genre with a unique setting where you have to build and manage a city around sources of heat, since the planet has essentially frozen over. Its sequel pulls the camera back a bit, and instead of having you put down individual buildings, you’re now laying out entire districts with a single click. Despite this more zoomed out take on the gameplay, however, Frostpunk 2 still makes the player choose between two horrifying choices for the survival of their city, much like its predecessor, and the general progression of the title has been taken in interesting directions, such as how trade routes are managed and how districts can boost or bring down one another, depending on proximity. All of this is paired with some wonderful visuals and excellent sound design that perfectly manage to bring your cities to life.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a direct sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence, and revolves around the two siblings once more having to travel together again. This time around, Amicia and Hugo de Rune have to travel south in order to try and look for a cure for Hugo’s affliction. On the gameplay side of things, it offers more of a refinement over its predecessor rather than any radical changes. Players take on the role of Amicia while Hugo helps out from time to time. However, both characters also have plenty of new abilities to play around with in combat encounters. A Plague Tale: Requiem also acts as an absolute feast for the eyes considering its incredible level of visual fidelity and strong art direction.

The Rogue Prince of Persia

After having spent several months in Early Access, The Rogue Prince of Persia was finally out a few weeks ago, and the fact that developer Evil Empire took player feedback quite seriously is evident. The title features incredibly-polished side-scrolling and platforming with smooth animations and a great visual style that still manages to work well with the randomly-generated levels. Throw on top some fast-paced combat that rewards quick timing, as well as a large variety of weapons, and you’re going to have a great time as you figure out the time-bending story of the Prince who is trying to save his people after previously having been the unwitting instigator of this doom to begin with.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Middle-earth: Shadow of War builds on everything its predecessor did in expansive ways. It brings back the much-beloved Nemesis system, which allows protagonist Talion to face down various kinds of Orc enemies, each with their own unique personalities and fighting styles. On top of this, the Orcs winning the fight also means that they’ll get stronger, making the subsequent rematch even harder. The Nemesis system alone makes Shadow of War worth your time, but if that’s not enough, it also has a fun story exploring an alternate timeline of the Lord of the Rings books where a giant war was waged against the forces of Mordor well before the events of the books take place. The gameplay also serves as an excellent evolution of the classical style of open-world action gameplay we saw over the last couple of console generations.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft embarks once again on a perilous hunt for a precious treasure. However, in her carelessness, Croft accidentally sets off a chain of events that threatens the world, and now she must find a way to stop the destruction. On the gameplay side of things, it offers fast and responsive gunplay as well as plenty of options for some stealth, including the ability for Croft to cover herself in mud to blend in with her surroundings better. The star of the game is undoubtedly the platforming, and with plenty of tombs for Croft to raid, Shadow of the Tomb Raider offers just about everything you could ask for.

Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong is an interesting take on a classic setting. The game features excellent boss fights, along with some gorgeous visuals. These aspects are further bolstered by the fact that the combat system is incredible and responsive. Even the encounter design deserves some praise, since Black Myth: Wukong has been designed around the idea of making the player use just about every tool they have at their disposal. There isn’t really much else to say that hasn’t already been said plenty of times already. It did, after all, manage to hold on to its concurrent player count records at launch when compared to any game out there on PC.

Mafia: The Definitive Edition

While the Mafia series has seen a newfound level of success thanks to the recent release of Mafia: The Old Country, the original Mafia is still worth revisiting, especially in its Definitive Edition form, since it now features modernised gameplay and combat systems, as well as a massive upgrade in visual quality. The story revolves around humble taxi driver Thomas Angelo in the city of Lost Haven, who finds himself embroiled with the local mob thanks to a recent car chase against a rival mob. Things slowly escalate as Angelo climbs up the ranks of the Salieri family. Interestingly, the story is told in the form of Angelo confessing to his crimes to a detective, with liberal use of flashbacks as the main storytelling device. The title also features a fun open world to drive through, especially since few games ever use the Great Depression as their setting.

Mad Max

Having come out at a time where many players and critics alike were suffering from open-world fatigue, Mad Max was quite overlooked. However, in the decade since, the title has been vindicated thanks to its excellent open world design and strong gameplay. Mad Max is a unique open world game where the player’s vehicle, the Magnum Opus, is an important form of progression. Much of the game will be spent with you, as Max, trying to find parts and blueprints to upgrade the car. Along with this, there is also an emphasis on vehicular combat, as well as good ol’ fisticuffs and some ranged weapons thrown in for good measure.

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world game that perfectly manages to tap into the world of the Harry Potter books. The title takes place a hundred years before the events of the books, and puts players in the shoes of a budding young wizard joining the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As they live out their student life, players will also eventually discover a bubbling goblin uprising, as well as criminal wizards. Hogwarts Legacy is one of those games that any fan of the Harry Potter series owes themselves to play because of just how well it captures the magical feelings of the books.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

While Skyrim might offer a fun take on a fantasy open-world RPG, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon takes a darker turn. The game takes on the classic tales of Arthurian legend, albeit with its own unique interpretations. Along with its vast open world, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon also features quite a bit of emphasis on first-person combat, be it with swords or at range with a bow and some arrows. There are also plenty of other things to do while you’re out and about, from gathering crafting materials to simply taking a break by sketching some scenery or fishing by a lake.

Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws stands as a redemption story of its own, overcoming early skepticism to win players over. While the game was a mess when it first came out, the developers have taken quite a bit of player feedback to then introduce a host of fixes to the game, from gameplay aspects like improving how stealth works, to the addition of plenty of story content through the release of two expansions. Star Wars Outlaws is a great way to experience the Star Wars universe without the baggage of having to play as a Jedi.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows represents something of a new leaf for the franchise. While many had found the last two releases—Valhalla and Odyssey—a bit too bloated, Shadows pulls its filler and padding back a bit, instead focusing on delivering a few core activities that are actually fun and make the world a joy to explore. It also finally takes the franchise to Japan, and introduces a pair of new protagonists: the stealthy Naoe and the fearsome Yasuke. The two have to work together to figure out the secrets behind Oda Nobunaga’s death, while also dealing with the machinations of an early form of the Templars.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered

While Skyrim might serve as a fantastic open-world RPG in its own right, its predecessor, Oblivion, was also a downright excellent game. And now, with the Remastered release, we can once more explore the lands of Cyrodiil as we take on the opening of the Oblivion Gates and a Daedric invasion. Along with this, there are also plenty of side-quests to take on, including a host of factions to join, from the fighter’s guild to the Dark Brotherhood. You can even simply become an arena fighter if that’s all you really want to do, it’s ultimately all up to you.

Atomfall

While Rebellion might be known for its excellent shooter series Sniper Elite, the studio decided to try something different with Atomfall. Rather than taking on Nazi soldiers on covert missions during World War 2, Atomfall instead has you scavenging for resources in a strange world where it is up to you to figure out the game’s story through your own skills of investigation and deduction. While there are plenty of fights you can still get into, you’ll want to be a lot more careful about the kinds of enemies you decide to take on, since you’re a lot more fragile and not as well-armed as you might be in a Sniper Elite game.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

While Rebellion has been experimenting with Atomfall, it still hasn’t left its Sniper Elite series behind. We also recently got the release of Sniper Elite: Resistance, where players take on the role of a brand new protagonist, SOE Agent Harry Hawker, who is taking on missions that run parallel to the events of Sniper Elite 5. Since it is ultimately a spin-off, Sniper Elite: Resistance features primarily the same gameplay as its predecessors, but with quite a bit more refinements in various things, from second-to-second gameplay all the way up to how its missions are structured.

Firewatch

Firewatch is a narrative adventure game where the goal is quite simple; on his first day at Firewatch tower Two Forks, protagonist Henry gets some interesting calls on his radio, which is otherwise only used to contact his supervisor who is based at the Thorofare tower. Things quickly start getting dark, and Henry must figure out who is calling him on the radio, and what exactly is up with his supervisor who he is yet to physically meet. Firewatch doesn’t really feature any combat. Rather, there is a focus on exploration and environmental storytelling, and it’s largely up to the player to figure out where to go and how to get there.

Dying Light

While there have been a couple of sequels out so far, the original Dying Light is still a game well worth playing thanks to its fantastic melee combat systems and parkour mechanics that make travelling through the streets and rooftops of the zombie-infected city of Haran. The story itself is also quite interesting, with protagonist Kyle Crane having been infected with the zombie virus and needing to find a way to curtail its symptoms before he ultimately turns. The title also features an interesting twist on the day-night cycle, with day time being safe for exploration but night time offering far greater rewards at the risk of the player having to deal with incredibly dangerous and more powerful zombies dubbed Volatiles. All of this combined with a fun crafting system that rewards creativity in your weapon choices make Dying Light often feel like it’s still the best game in the series so far.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Until the release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, the Ace Combat franchise felt like one of the worst-kept secrets in terms of how insane it can be both in terms of quality of gameplay and story. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown tells a brand new story in the world of Strangereal, with the plot primarily revolving around a massive war between the Kingdom of Erusea and the Osean Foundation. The title features excellent arcade-style dogfighting combat with a host of fighter jets from the real world, as well as quite a few fictional jets for some added fun.

Half-Life 2

Quite an easy contender for one of the greatest games ever made, Half-Life 2 has a sprawling campaign that holds up even to this day thanks to the sheer amount of variety it presents to players, both in the form of different weapons and enemies, as well as the mechanics of various levels. The title was also important in introducing the physics engine that is part of Valve’s own Source engine, and the feature was on incredible display thanks to a weapon like the gravity gun. Throw on top an impressive story that is told in an incredibly minimalistic way without ever cutting to a cutscene, and it’s easy to see why Half-Life 2 is so widely regarded as being such a great game, even in 2025.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

While PC as a platform is no stranger to first-person shooters, it is hard to argue that the Halo franchise isn’t one of the best that the genre has seen. Thankfully, thanks to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, players can experience almost the entirety of the Halo storyline, starting from the original Halo: Combat Evolved, its sequels Halo 2, Halo 3 and spin-offs ODST, Halo Reach, and even the start of 343 Industries’ (now Halo Studios) run with the franchise, Halo 4. The collection also offers a way to play all of the various games’ levels in remixed orders, following distinct themes like levels that focus on vehicles, for example, to focusing more on certain subplots. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is essentially the best way to experience a seminal shooter series, warts and all.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Quite possibly the most refined gameplay offered so far in the Monster Hunter franchise, Monster Hunter Wilds represents the pinnacle of the series, if not in its smaller roster of monsters when compared to its predecessors, then at least in its gameplay systems and massive, beautiful worlds. Monster Hunter Wilds features a short, fun story that takes you across the Forbidden Lands as you try to get young child Nata back to his family. Along the way you’ll get to take on several monsters, both new to the series as well as returning favourites, using the weapons of your choice out of 14 distinct options. Monster Hunter Wilds features plenty of gameplay refinements as well, including a mount system, as well as the ability to carry around two weapons that you can switch between mid-fight, which is great since each weapon feels like you’re playing a new game altogether.

Returnal

One of the rare instances of a AAA roguelite game, Returnal is an intense third-person shooter that puts players in the shoes of space pilot Selene Vassos who finds herself having crashed on an alien planet named Atropos. What follows is a psychedelic adventure as she tries to find the source of a mysterious signal called the White Shadow, but the twist is that Selene seems to be stuck in some kind of time loop where, every time she dies, she finds herself waking up at the moment of her ship’s crash. The title is filled with fast-paced and tense combat that has you dodging massive projectiles shot by strange creatures, and occasionally also getting your hands on upgrades for your weapons. The story itself is also quite interesting, pulling in plenty of allusions from myths as she tries to make it off Atropos alive.

Sleeping Dogs

Born from the ashes of the long-dead True Crime series of games, Sleeping Dogs is the closest we’ve ever gotten to having a Hong Kong action movie in video game form. The plot revolves around the adventures of undercover cop Wei Shen who must infiltrate a triad gang in order to take it down from the inside. When it comes to gameplay, Sleeping Dogs is an open-world game with several inter-mingling systems, from driving and vehicular combat, to melee combat with slick martial arts moves, and the occasional bouts of ranged combat when you can get your hands on a gun. The game wonderfully realises its setting of Hong Kong, often showing the stark contrasts between the cleaner commercial areas of the city and the but bright and colourful entertainment districts.

Metro Exodus

Whereas the first two games in the Metro series were more focused on offering linear experiences, Metro Exodus broadened its scope by a considerable amount by opting to set players free in more open environments. While far from an open-world game, Metro Exodus still provides quite a bit of freedom to players in terms of how they want to approach any situation. Along with this, the title also encourages plenty of exploration since, in keeping with series tradition, resources are scarce in Metro Exodus. Exploring is also a great way to get your hands on valuable upgrade materials to improve the arsenal of weapons you will ultimately end up using against not only human enemies, but mutated foes as well. The story is also quite interesting, since it revolves around Artyom, his wife Anna, and their friends the Rangers departing the Moscow Metro system in a train to explore the Russian wilderness.

Gears of War: Reloaded

When the original Gears of War first came out back in 2006, it was considered a mind-blowing experience for the time thanks to its visuals, as well as refinements over the turn-based shooter mechanics we had seen done much worse in plenty of other games. Gears of War: Reloaded, however, proves that the original title still holds up to this day thanks to its incredible campaign with plenty of set pieces, fun and varied weapons to play around with, and some downright fantastic visual upgrades that have been made to take better advantage of modern hardware.

Dead Cells

Dead Cells is one of those rare indie games that manages to get just about every single one of its aspects right. Even something as simple as movement and exploration feel great in the roguelite action game, and the level of variety on offer with the weapons, as well as the meta progression system that encourages not only mastery of the traversal systems, but also a willingness to explore, make just about every run of Dead Cells feel like a fun time. Throw on top some excellent pixel art that really makes its massive boss fights come to life, as well as the plethora of additional content – ends up making it very difficult to put the side-scroller down for good.

Detroit: Become Human

While games made by Quantic Dream might be quite divisive at times, Detroit: Become Human is outright the best title that the studio has put out so far. Featuring narrative-focused gameplay that largely involves having conversations and making choices at key moments, Detroit: Become Human tells three distinct stories in a world where humanity treats sentient androids that it has developed as slaves. All three stories have the player take on the role of a distinct android, where you have to figure out the complex moral quandaries that take place throughout the storylines.

Portal 2

When the first Portal came out, it was widely regarded as a radical new entry in a genre that was otherwise known to revolve around killing things. It ultimately ended up laying the foundations for what would become Portal 2 – a bigger, grander sequel in every way possible. Portal 2 takes place an unknown amount of time after the events of the first game, and has Chell once more pick up the portal gun to find her way out of the Aperture Science facility she’s trapped in. Along with GlaDOS returning once more as a major character, Portal 2 also features a new character in the form of Wheatley. We also get a lot of storytelling in the game, since quite a bit of it has you exploring ancient versions of the bathroom curtain company that would eventually become Aperture Science.

Outlast

There might be plenty of stealth-based horror games out there, but Outlast manages to be something quite special thanks to its use of some real-world history to build up its scare. Revolving primarily around the MK Ultra experiments that were conducted by the CIA, the game puts you into the shoes of independent journalist Miles Upshur who is trying to get the scoop on Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Unfortunately, owing to unethical experiments, most of its residents have essentially gone insane, and now Upshur must figure out how to survive and get out in one piece while also making sure he gets enough evidence along the way. Outlast also makes use of a handheld camera as its primary PoV device, since it offers a night vision mode. However, players will also have to keep a track of their battery consumption, since you don’t want to be trapped in the dark with murderous people around you.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Ostensibly the closest the Metal Gear franchise gets to having a “final” game since it takes place furthest into the future, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a major departure for the series. It trades in the tactical espionage action in favour of the more bombastic tagline of lightning bolt action, and puts you in the shoes of a fully cyborg-ised Raiden at the peak of his power. Developed by PlatinumGames, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance features a fantastic combat system that has an emphasis on not only long and vicious combos, but also parrying the enemy’s attacks to open them up for massive counter-attacks. This, along with the Zandatsu system that lets you cut just about everything, be it an enemy’s limbs or a bridge’s support, make Revengeance a treat to play. Throw on top an over-the-top but fun story about private military contractors and a cartoonishly evil US Senator and you have an explosive roller coaster.

Resident Evil

Before the remake of Resident Evil 2 back in 2019 was considered the high watermark for video game remakes, the series had already earned similar acclaim for its remake of the original Resident Evil. Originally released on the GameCube all the way back in 2002, the remake of the original Resident Evil eventually made its way to PC, complete with higher-resolution textures and all of the high-quality upgrades that it got over the original. Even after all these years, Resident Evil still manages to feel like a one-of-a-kind survival horror experience, thanks to its tight level design and generally excellent gameplay that melds environmental puzzle solving and tense action sequences, all while keeping you on the edge of your seat thanks to a constant scarcity of weapons and ammo.

Watch_Dogs 2

It’s no secret that the original Watch_Dogs was a bit of a disappointment, both in terms of its visuals, as well as its story and characters. The series’ second stab at the series in the form of Watch_Dogs 2, however, proved to be a much more interesting experience. Rather than focusing on the brooding Aiden Pearce, Watch_Dogs 2 instead stars a group of scrappy young adults as they venture into the real world to start their careers, but find themselves fighting against an authoritarian regime that is making use of high-tech surveillance technology to control the populace. Protagonist Marcus Holloway is a much more fun character than Pearce ever was, and the attempts of his rebel hacker crew, DedSec, to take down ctOS 2.0 are a wild, fun, and often emotional adventure.

Silent Hill f

After the Silent Hill franchise spent over a decade being missing from the overall gaming scene, the series made a bombastic return with last year’s remake of the seminal Silent Hill 2. A year later and now we even have a brand new entry in the stories franchise – Silent Hill f. The game takes place in the unique setting of a quaint Japanese finishing town in the 1960s, where school-going girl Hinako has a strained relationship with her parents and goes to meet her friends for some solace. However, a sinister fog starts covering the town of Ebisugaoka, and Hinako finds herself trapped and fighting for her life. While there is an emphasis on combat this time around, Silent Hill f is still able to effectively pull off the scares and tense atmosphere that the series is known for.

Dying Light: The Beast

The newest entry in the Dying Light franchise is seen as something of a return to form for the series. While Dying Light 2 Stay Human did well for developer Techland, the studio itself acknowledged that it had lost what made the original Dying Light great, and hence we get The Beast. Once more putting us into the shoes of Kyle Crane after the events of The Following, Dying Light: The Beast features improved parkour-based traversal over its predecessor, while also bringing in improvements to both melee and ranged combat, all of which is packaged into a fantastic new open world to explore with plenty of variety, both in terms of zombie types and the scenery.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

A reimagining of an absolute classic, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a ground-up 3D remake of a seminal 2D sprite-based RPG. As its name implies, it is the first part of the expansive Trails franchise, and puts you in the shoes of Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua as they set off as members of the peacekeeping guild, starting out as bracers and slowly working their way up. The Trails series, while long, absolutely features several stories well worth experiencing, and there is currently no better way to start your journey than with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter.

Blue Prince

Puzzle games, especially in the indie space, tend to come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Very rarely, however, does one show up that ends up feeling like a revelation. This is precisely what developer Dogubomb achieved with Blue Prince. The premise is quite simple: you are stuck in a mysterious manor – Mt. Holly – where the rooms shift around for no apparent reason. The core of the game is exploring the mansion, but the twist is that the player decides what the next room will be every time they open a door. Blue Prince has a wide gamut of puzzles for players to figure out as they try to make their way to the rumoured Room 46. To throw another wrench in your plans, the house once again shifts its rooms around every dawn. Blue Prince is the kind of game where you can spend anywhere from between 15 minutes to several hours at a stretch as you try to comb through the mysterious rooms of Mt. Holly to find a way to their destination.

Commandos: Origins

While the real-time tactical stealth series Commandos doesn’t really need much of an introduction, the latest release, Commandos: Origins, proves that the genre and style of gameplay still has legs in the modern day. Taking us all the way back to the origin of the World War 2 crew of commandos you play in the original Commandos, Commandos: Origins offers entirely new challenges throughout its various maps, all with more modernised gameplay thanks to updated visuals, as well as a large variety of objective types that will have you make use of just about every ability you and your crew can muster.

Microsoft has confirmed that, to make World Update 20: Japan, developer Asobo Studio worked with Bing Maps and Gaya to ensure that the beauty of Japan is accurately captured. The update brings with it 23 points of interest that were created using updated photogrammetry and triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface texturing. Some of the new cities updated througthis are Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo.

There are also 67 other points of interest that include some iconic locations from Japan, like Osaka Castle, Kaniada Bridge, Shosanbetsu Observatory, Enoshima Sea Candle and Fukuoka Tower.

Some of the major airports have been specially handcrafted in World Update 20: Japan in collaboration with Gaya. These are the Hokkaido Spaceport, Kitakyushu Airport, Rishri Airport, Sado Airport, and Satsuma Iōjima Airport. These airports range from being an aerospace park on the island of Hokkaido, to an artificial island, and even a private single asphalt runway airfield in a village.

“Japan is a nation of beauty and intrigue, filled with breathtaking vistas of towering mountains, iconic architecture, and renowned cities,” wrote the company in its announcement of World Update 20: Japan. “The country beholds some of the world’s most alluring and famous sights, including Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain, Osaka Castle, a revered historical monument, and soaring skylines throughout Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo, and other metropolises.”

“World Update 20 reveals Japan in stunning, vibrant detail—and the release comes with a great selection of missions throughout this storied country to immerse Microsoft Flight Simulator aviators in its beauty and history.”

For players looking for more structured content, World Update 20: Japan also brings with it new missions showcasing some of the new areas that have been redone. These include new discovery flights focusing on the Chubu-Sangaku National Park, piloting tests at Ōmura Airport with strong wind, and a discovery flight around the Makuhari Messe complex. There is also a new low altitude challenge at Tsushima Island, as well as a rally race challenge at Setonaikai National Park.

Microsoft had recently confirmed that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is also making its way to PS5. Along with this release, the company also confirmed that the title will support VR gaming through PlayStation VR2 in 2026. The PS5 version of the game is slated for release on December 8.

The PS5 release will make use of a number of PS5 features, especially when it comes to the DualSense controller. This includes support for the controller’s adaptive trigger both when you’re on the ground, reflecting the texture of the surface, as well as when you’re soaring through the air, offering sloped resistance depending on your speed and altitude. The title will also support gyro controls on the PS5.

Pre-ordering Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5 also brings with it a bonus in the form of the Northrop T38-A Talon aircraft.

When it comes out on Sony’s consoles, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will feature 125 highly-detailed aircrafts across a variety of different types. They can range from bush trip planes, rotorcrafts, eVTOLs, airships, and steerable balloons to full-sized business jets, heavy military transporters and fighter jets. All of these can be flown and landed across 40,000 airports and runways, and more than 60,000 helipads from across the world.

The PS5 release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will make use of DualSense features, including adaptive triggers that can respond to different speeds and surface types on the ground, while also offering sloped resistance in the air. Air traffic control communications can come in through the controller’s speakers, and there is also support for gyro controllers, and customisation options for the touchpad.

Pre-orders for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5 are available now, and come with a bonus additional aircraft – the Northrop T38-A Talon. There are also Deluxe, Premium Deluxe, and Aviator Editions available, which come with a host of their own additional goodies, along with advanced access to the title on December 3.

At the recent Xbox Games Showcase, Focus and Asobo unveiled Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. Set fifteen years before the events of the main series, the game will shift focus to a new protagonist in a young woman named Sophia, who “seeks her independence” as a plunderer and must and must take on a variety of threats on her journey. The game’s reveal trailer sheds light on the same, while also showing glimpses of several locations, gameplay, and more. Check it out below.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is due out sometime in 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It will also be available via Game Pass day and date.

Players must “Unravel ancient secrets and confront a mythical creature at the heart of a devastating curse” in an “original story.” Developed by Asobo Studio, it’s launching in 2026 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Unlike Requiem, there’s no mention of a day-one launch on Game Pass.

Those who played the second game will know Sophia as the Sea Scorpion, a smuggler who helps Amicia and Hugo to the island seen in the latter’s dreams. She’s a skilled navigator and helmsman and, based on the teaser gameplay, can handle herself in fights with a cutlass. Compared to the more stealth-heavy gameplay of earlier titles, this could be a major shift.

The Xbox Games Showcase airs on June 8th at 10 AM PDT, so stay tuned for a potential announcement.

The same was claimed by prominent leaker NateTheHate in a recent podcast episode. As per the insider, both Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be released for PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, though he did not mention when we can expect those releases. Interestingly, Windows Central has also corroborated those claims.

Additionally, it looks like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, and Age of Mythology: Retold are also in the works for PS5 (though whether they’re also coming to Switch 2 is unknown). Read more on that through here.

NateTheHate has also claimed that Gears of War: E-Day could launch for Xbox Series X/S and PC this Fall, adding to what’s already looking like a packed year for Microsoft.