Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard Edition

Flight simulation is an odd genre. It pootles along with endless airport, scenery and plane add-on content for years, attracting only the most hardcore sim fans, and then suddenly a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 breaks out amid a flurry of hype and becomes the latest must-have thing.

There's certainly no denying that it's a thing of beauty, with incredible lighting and amazing textures that add up to something very close to photo-realism. Combine that with breathtaking views from the cockpit and Flight Simulator 2020 is a real treat for the eyes.

There's so much of it to see, too. Through a beguiling mix of map data, environment streaming and procedural generation there is, quite literally, a whole world to explore. It can even, if you like, stream real world weather from anywhere on the planet right into your game.

To make all this more accessible, developer Asobo has allowed you to play exactly how you like, too. If you want to experience all 15 minutes of the taxi from stand to runway, you're free to do so. You can learn the lingo and chatter back and forth with air traffic control. You can even print off three dense sheets of A4 detailing everything you need to do to get a 747 in the air. Or, if you prefer, simply spawn in the air and take in the views. It's entirely up to you.

The game starts you out with 20 aircraft and 30 hand-crafted airports, but that's just the start. Asobo sees this as a 20 year project, with plenty of add-ons and scenery packs to come.