Microsoft Flight Simulator lets you go on excellent airborne safaris
Come for the gorgeous graphics, stay for the delightful wildlife
Reader, I'm not super fussed about planes. I didn't think Microsoft Flight Simulator would be for me, but this morning my eyes were opened. The game is gorgeous, most trailers and screenshots will attest to that, but that wasn't what really caught my attention. What grabbed me was how much wildlife there is to see. It seemed logical that it had birds and airborne creatures, but there are elephants and giraffes and bears, too!
Here's an excellent video from YouTube channel ObsidianAnt soaring past some of the game's beasts. The voice over for the video is very nice to listen to - if all the footage wasn't from planes it'd feel like an actual wildlife documentary.
Travelling over various countries in Africa he spots elephants and giraffes, before heading to Chile and Argentina to get a glimpse of a flock of flying flamingos. Apparently there are other types of birds and even grizzly bears roaming the Flight Sim world as well - but maybe keep to the skies if you notice those wandering around.
To find all these animals for yourself (without just roaming around looking for them), you can open up the world map and search for "fauna" to find the locations of all these beasts. You can then set a waypoint to fly straight to them, or make a flight plan with them on the route, and treat yourself to a little skyward safari.
Perhaps it's best not to tell Nate about this nifty feature. He's already attempting to review all 234 animals in Red Dead Redemption 2, I daren't add the entire Flight Sim animal collection to his list.
There's obviously plenty more to see in Microsoft Flight Simulator than just the wildlife. Check out Vidbud Matthew's video below for some gorgeous night time views, and hearty cloud appreciation.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is out right now on Steam and the Microsoft Store, with prices starting at £60/€70/$60. Or you can have a go of it on Xbox Game Pass, which only costs £1 for your first month.