Virtual Reality Turns Every Takeoff Into a Personal Adventure in Microsoft Flight Simulator for the PSVR2

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be available on PS5 in April of this year, and there will be no additional cost to enjoy it in Virtual Reality. Sim Update 5 includes the VR mode as well as a few other minor improvements, such as snazzy new avionics and compatibility for five new payware aircraft. Anyone who already owns the game on PS5 will be able to try out the VR feature for free because, let’s be honest, the timing looks promising for a release in the first half of next month.

You’ll have access to the complete 125-aircraft fleet, including elegant airliners, zippy helicopters, and even gliders. The planes respond nicely to head motions and hand gestures when using the PSVR2 Sense controllers. The developers literally recreated every single knob, lever, and dial in the cockpit to make it feel as natural as possible. Want to change the altitude or toggle the fuel valve? It’s as simple as twisting your wrist like you’re on a real plane.

One of the developers’ priorities was to ensure that the game worked smoothly. To accomplish this, they incorporated some fancy new technology called eye-tracked foveated rendering, which, in a nutshell, focuses in on what you’re looking at while ignoring the rest, and it’s a game changer. They also included a specific frame duplication system that updated the camera position twice for each game frame. That means the view is silky smooth, even when looking at a large airliner’s complicated instrument panel.

Then there’s the Boeing 737-8, which is simply a beast to fly. The cockpit requires a lot of power to work smoothly, but the end effect is just right, since no matter how many instruments you look at, everything feels really fulfilling. You can look over your shoulder to check your runway alignment or stare out the side windows to get your bearings, just like in the real thing.

Helicopters provide a whole different experience, too. You can use the Guimbal Cabri G2 to hover adjacent to a mountain face. The vista extends all around you, making the world feel vast and unfettered, as if there is no boundary between you and the sky. Even Red Bull Air Races have reached a new level of intensity. When you’re doing a high-G turn, you can just look up and see the next pylon ahead with perfect time and clarity. When a storm approaches, it’s as if you’re right in the middle of it; instead of staring at a flat screen, you can lean forward and peek through a break in the windshield, feeling the wind and rain come straight at you.