Figuring out what’s the best, most realistic flight simulator is an easy affair. Ask a table full of people at any airshow, then just wait while they tear each other apart in the ensuing argument. Whoever is left alive gets to call it.
The main difficulty in finding an objective answer is that ‘realistic’ can take many meanings, and no one game actually excels in all of them.
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You can have games that have painstakingly good flight dynamics while having a sterile world. Conversely, some of these get the feel of flying or air combat right while faltering in more technical aspects.
All of these aspects are important, but to keep things fair, I am ranking the following flight simulators based on cumulative scores. A game that does great in multiple fields will rank higher than something that is excellent in one area but falters everywhere else.
8
War Thunder
Casual Friday
I know, War Thunder is an ever-growing tumour in the heart of the flight sim community, but it has played a big part in bringing younger generations into the genre. While this has nothing to do with realism, Gaijin’s money-hungry game does simulate certain realistic behaviours better than other ‘hardcore’ sims out there.
The flight modelling in War Thunder isn’t anything to write home about, but its weapon behavior puts high-fidelity titles like DCS to shame. Explosions have properly modelled shrapnel, IR seekers accurately account for weather interference, and missiles and radars model discrepancies based on type.
[…] its weapon behavior puts high-fidelity titles like DCS to shame.
For example, a semi-active radar guided missile with a pulse seeker will perform significantly worse than one with a pulse-doppler seekerhead when close to the ground. Vehicle damage models are also much more granular, which makes ground attacking a more satisfying affair versus the healthbar approach to most DCS units. All of this still won’t get me to play War Thunder again due to its toxic monetization format, but I need to give it credit where credit is due.
7
Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946
Like a Fine Wine
There’s something about a timeless classic that its successors will always struggle to replicate. That’s definitely the case with Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946. Released in 2006 as a DLC, it later morphed into an all-in-one definitive version of Il-2 Sturmovik (2001).
Initially acting as a stopgap until a sequel came out, it found itself as the main act when the studio behind it folded. It’s no secret that 1946 is copiously outdated by modern standards, but much like ARMA 3, it refuses to die simply because of how much player content has been made for it.
With the right mods, this is a fantastic flight simulator with large-scale battles and a fairly low bar for entry, as far as hardware goes. The flight models and ballistic simulation still hold up fairly well, even next to more modern titles.
6
X-Plane 12
The Office Pick
If you want to play flight sims for fun, you can’t go wrong with Microsoft Flight Simulator. Most professionals, however, prefer X-Plane, and that’s largely because of the amazing selection of aircraft add-ons and mods.
X-Plane is a favorite among flight school trainees because it mixes good flight dynamics and peripheral compatibility with a thriving, realism-minded community. Air traffic control network VATSIM does wonders for the immersion, but while that is also available with some other entries here, the ZIBO 737 is not.
ZIBO’s 737-800X is the latest version of one of the most realistic aircraft simulations ever made, and while it offers quality on par with modules that cost $80 and over, this is a free mod you can grab without a care in the world. You won’t find a better 737 out there outside of your local Level-D sim.
5
Il-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz Edition
Blue Birds Over
No Man’s Sky gets all the credit for being a great rescue job, but even such a colossal change does not come close to Cliffs of Dover. Rushed out the door by an impatient publisher in 2011, the game fell into disrepair until a new studio acquired its license and handed the code over to the Team Fusion modders.
In its present iteration, Cliffs of Dover is the best rendition of the Battle of Britain and the oft-forgotten Battle of France. Behind a fairly unfriendly interface is the most realistic game if you like large-scale battles, with dozens of aircraft drawing over the Channel in a deadly dance.
On top of clickable cockpits, Cliffs of Dover also packs one of the most unique damage models out there, with damage to the aircraft appearing exactly where the rounds landed.
4
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
Mr. Worldwide
One of the biggest draws of civilian flight simulators is the ability to go anywhere you want. However, before Microsoft Flight Simulator made its triumphant return in 2020, this typically meant flying over an ugly, low-resolution satellite tile mixed with a terrain mesh that had as many polygons as a Tetris brick.
MSFS set a new standard for visual fidelity by streaming the world to you on the go, allowing you to have much more realistic terrain without requiring 20 TB of disk space. MSFS 2024 takes that and adds meaningful missions into the fray, making the game more than just a fly-here-then-fly-there affair.
MSFS set a new standard for visual fidelity by streaming the world to you on the go […]
On top of terrain fidelity, MSFS 2024 also has some of the most realistic weather and the best depiction of the feeling of flight. The default aircraft might not be simulated as well as a DCS module or an X-Plane add-on, but no other simulator gives as good a feeling of flying through an actual mass of air. Take a light plane like a Piper Cub through a valley on a hot day, and you’ll see what I mean. Just make sure to grab a puke bag before takeoff.
3
Il-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles
From France to Finland
If you want a combat pilot career but are also averse to spending your entire life flying an F-16 (more on that later), then you’ll have a happy home in Il-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles.
After a rocky start with Battle of Stalingrad, the spiritual successor to Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946 has morphed into one of the most complete anthologies of air combat over Europe. The game spans from the second half of WW1 all the way to the drive into Germany in 1945, from Paris to Moscow. Each major battle is sold as a neat little content pack with a map, a semi-dynamic player career, and multiple aircraft common to the era.
While the cockpit interactions and systems simulation (especially engines) are not as thorough here, Great Battles has one of the most impressive damage models in the market right now. Individual aircraft components have their own aerodynamic and structural simulation, leading to rather terrifying outcomes like that wing you thought was OK folding over your canopy as you turn to head home. War is hell, after all.
2
DCS World
Living the Button Maze
As far as replicating individual aircraft with extreme accuracy, no game out there comes anywhere close to DCS. Developed initially as a professional training tool for the Ka-50 helicopter, it has set the standard for system modelling and flight dynamics.
This professional-first approach has caused ugly disputes, and some players argue that the game is currently a virtual museum due to the disparity in quality between the aircraft and the world they exist in. Still, if the world might feel sterile, there are enough buttons and systems for you to learn that you’ll have enough time before that bothers you.
Much like X-Plane, the quality of add-ons in DCS creates a bit of an entry barrier, as you’ll have to cough up around $50 for each new aircraft and map. The simulation depth gives you plenty to play with though, so it’s money well spent.
1
Falcon BMS
The Nest of Vipers
Back in late 1998, Falcon 4.0 achieved two things: the most realistic dynamic campaign engine in a flight simulator, and a death sentence for the studio behind it. However, the death of old MicroProse was not in vain, as modders have since turned the game into the most realistic combat flight simulator ever made. We’re talking Falcon BMS, the free full conversion mod.
The greatest achievement of Falcom BMS is also its main drawback: it is a meticulously simulated F-16C Block 50 and 52, with an environment that perfectly complements this USAF workhorse. The problem that arises from this is that, for the most part, every other playable aircraft is just an F-16C in disguise.
If you like some Viper action, you get to experience multiple dynamic campaigns, large-scale battles, and the most realistic simulation of modern air-to-air missiles available right now. This also means that getting proficient at Falcom BMS requires a lot of reading before jumping in, but that study time pays off by the time you nail your first landing.
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