I never knew how interesting it would be to experience Dune through the lens of a flight simulator, but here we are. Microsoft Flight Simulator has consistently shown itself to be the most elaborate and detailed flight simulator the general gaming public has seen in a long time. With expansive maps, to the point where I can see the street in my tiny little town. Not only that but if I’ve been travelling a bit, it’s nice to be able to come home, pop into Microsoft Flight Simulator and show my family where I’ve been and the route I’ve taken.
Now that we’re a couple of years into Microsoft Flight Simulator, Microsoft has started to do what we started to see with the Forza series after a while, and that’s what I like most about the freedom these developers have been given. They take a completely different IP and find a way to bring it into their world: Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion.
Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion is exactly what it sounds like. Asobo Studios has gone the extra mile and let flight sim fans fly on a different planet for the first time in the series. Not only that, but they have lovingly recreated the aircraft from the Dune series to make this expansion really fit in with the kind of content we are used to seeing in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
“Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion is an interesting take on the simulation genre, blending detailed simulation with the fantasy of Dune.”
Not only are there bespoke missions, challenges, and tutorials for The Ornithopter (The strange dragonfly-like vehicle piloted in Dune). But Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion takes it a step further, letting us pilot it freely on our world. All said, there are nine activities to do with the Ornithopter, each one more complicated than the last.
Weirdly enough, while being a simulation first, Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion is the first instance for me that it felt more like a game than anything. This could be in part due to its more fantastical nature. But seeing the Ornithopter flying around in our world is pretty silly when you think of a simulation-forward title.
The missions included in the Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion outside of the flying tutorial include a desert run touch-and-go challenge, which sees you landing at multiple helipads across the desert. A race in which you will have to use the Ornithopter to race across the landscape. The mountain dive which takes place on the city walls of Dunes Arrakis. For this challenge, you will have to learn the dive maneuver to be able to plummet at optimal speeds.
“The storm escape mission adds a thrilling race against time, showcasing the expansion’s game-like elements.”
A hole in the wall is easily the most fun challenge in Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion. It requires you to manoeuvre your plane through tight spaces and find the right balance between speed and manoeuvrability. The Canyon Rush, a more technical race with many sharp turns and low altitudes, will test your skills as a pilot.
Finally, the storm escapes mission. This has us racing against time to touch down and pick up a stranded pilot before the sandstorm reaches them. It was interesting to see Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion lean more into the game side of things for this expansion, and I really hope we see it doing more of this in the future.
Microsoft Flight Simulator – Dune Expansion is an interesting take on the simulation genre, and if Asobo Studios keeps this up it could turn itself into an entertaining game. While I am not a simulation person myself, this was a lot of fun, and the detail that was given to the Ornithopter was a spectacle to behold.
