Recent reviews by IM0001

TLDR : If you like or love trains, just buy the game. It doesn't get better than this, especially in VR.

Derail Valley is a game that started out feeling almost like a Tech Demo for Trains in VR. It started small but had good bones and ideas.

Fast forward to the end of 2024, and the game has grown so, so much and each update is just a labor of lover and devotion to both closer accuracy in how trains work and feel, as well as a game still that is deep but approachable by anyone who has a love for locomotives.

I continue to enjoy it every time I dive in and still can't fathom how no other train sim game has VR support like this gem. Pulling the steam whistle in VR is a young kids dream and being able to do it in VR is really dang close to the real thing.

I continue to look in anticipation at each update along the way as the game only continues to get better and better.

Heatblur raises the bar for module quality so high regardless of the limitations DCS has in the way. The true team that brings an insane level of Detail to every piece of their creation. The F-4E Phantom II is just another fantastic leap ahead and hopefully will lead to some return polish to their past creations like the F-14 Tomcat, but for now, if you want to experience the closest you will ever get to flying a real Phantom II, this is the way.

In the days of AAA games with poor performance and unsupported PC configurations due to bad console port, it's refreshing to see a AAA title release that both runs fantastic on PC and even Steam Deck, Actually Supports Ultrawide and high Framerate out of the box and overall feels both familiar to it's roots while offering some fresh modern touches to its gameplay and design.
From Software is one of the handful of companies worth investing in a launch day purchase and I hope they continue this trend.

I figure at the 1200hr mark, I feel It's only reasonable to leave my remarks and squawk my experience so far.

As a game, MSFS is a work in progress. It's much, Much better than it was at launch, and with each Sim Update you have a bit of frustration depending if they focus on PC, or on Xbox as for reasons, when they attempt to focus on patches for one, it breaks the other, but coming past SU9, I feel they are continuing to be on the right track and little by little, the game continues to get better and better.

You have read it all before, the Graphics are between good and downright fantastic. This is at the moment, the only game on my system that is the main push for me to build a new PC just to play it. Sim Update Performance improvements have helped quite a bit, but the draw of VR/4K gaming even with a 3090, demands a better CPU and my pretty much ancient X79 based system just isn't enough for this game alone. Even the most recent chip from AMD, the 5800X3D showed that the game Loves CPU Cache, and will use as much as you can get it. Zen 4 is on my radar to be the next big step for getting that bottleneck off the CPU.

Sound is another thing that MSFS does really well at times. Most of the stock planes sound great, and most of the time, a quality 3rd party plane does put some fantastic effort into their audio as well. (PMDG's DC-6 and the Wing42 Boeing 247D are two of my absolute favorites for Radial Relaxation.) When the planes sound good, it really helps nail the experience more than just pretty graphics alone.

VR finally came to the game, and with one of the best implementation using the OpenXR system. Being able to hot swap between 2D and VR on the fly is something many other games should adopt. And if your system is powerful enough for it (Hah, like one truly exist yet with current CPU tech) the game looks amazing maxed out while in VR. The first time I loaded up in the Just Flight Arrow in VR, I could swear I could smell the plane as it was exactly as I would be in a real one many times before. There is still plenty of work to be done for VR. The VR Controls continue to need work and adjustment as well as 3rd party support, but when they can finally get to the point that you can just click, rotate, pull, etc all the cockpit buttons, dials, and levers in VR, it will be an absolutely amazing experience. For now, it is still extremely good, and will continue to get better as technology and the systems improve.

Flight Model is something that some people may love, some may hate, some may like for some plane and not others, some may say X-Plane/P3D/etc does better. For a Sim and a Game, MSFS has nailed a pretty solid representation of how it feels to fly most planes. They are continuing to improve it immensely with added physics and aerodynamic model improvements and again, the game continues to grow and improve over time where the physics will inevitably follow. On the smaller planes, things are quite close to real life comparing to my real world experience, larger birds seem to be pretty close as well depending on the ones you are flying and how much you trust the Weather systems effects on the plane as well. Is it Perfect, no, but I do feel that over time it can be made as simple, or as true to life as one may want and has the CPU performance to emulate down the road.

Weather is another thing that while its had it's fair share of bugs and goofy issues, when it does work correct, it really does add to the immersion factor of the game and gives you the true sense of flying in something other than a clear calm blue sky. Hopefully it can be expanded to truly emulate hurricanes and other more extreme weather, but for now, being able to fly a little Cessna into a Hurricane during the season is kind of fun for something you would never want to do in the real world.

Gameplay is something that at the present system, is possibly lacking to those that are either a little unfamiliar with Flight Sims of this type, but also a lack of implementation ingame that at least for the time being, is being somewhat provided by third party services to add a form of "Campaign" or "Career" mode. My personal favorite is Flight Sim Economy (FSEconomy), and The Skypark from Orbx. The Skypark gives you some fun and adventurous routes to fly in all sorts of interesting parts of the world, and has a extremely slick app and interface design that works really well. FSE is a much more dated interface and system, but has a lot more depth for things like the world economy, the ability to own and rent/lease planes, maintain and service them, and even run your own FBO network. It too will take you to many different parts of the world but you do have to make your own goals for what you want in the long run, like any open world career sim would. It would be nice if MSFS eventually adds its own sort of Career/Campaign mode that interacts directly and deeply within its own systems, and eventually I believe it will happen, but for now, outside of the lack of marketing/exposure for many of these alternate 3rd party solutions, the ones that are out there do scratch the itch pretty well at least for now.

The Download System many have complained about, and it sounds like Steam actually dodged the bullet compared to the Windows Store version that has even harder times getting patches to apply on Sim Update day sometimes, but I personally, spread between multiple completely separate PC's in my house, have had no issues whatsoever downloading/reinstalling the game or updating when patches are released. Good internet is a must but you will never max out your bandwidth as even with Gigabit, the game does seem to top out at around 200-300Mbit and then since it does handle one file at a time, is at the limit of downloading that file, extracting and processing it, and going onto the next which is a very slow and linear process, and being the game is near 200G at this point, does take time no matter how fast your PC/Internet/etc is. When it all works though, it does eventually finish and works fine at least for me. One big thing that I think even a few Xbox users are missing is when you do download an update or even after first install, you do have to go to the Package Manager under your profile tab, and "Select All" and download all those updates as well, especially after every patch, to update all the other packages not part of the main core game. If you don't do that, you will be missing a lot of content and fixes that could cause the game to crash if it's not updated after a Sim Update. The whole separate system like this is very silly I completely agree, but once you grasp it, it works, just very clunky and slowly, but it does, work...

Controller support for the game is very good, one thing I do hope to return in due time would be Force Feedback support as when you have that working, flying a plane really does feel real as you feel the resistance of the air against the control surfaces. And the game supports many of the current, past, and probably future sticks, yokes, gamepads, etc and has customization options galore. One of my favorite devices to use however for quick flights without having to swap in/out the whole Joystick/Throttle/Peddle setup, is using the Steam Controller. The Gyro on the Steam Controller works fantastic as a virtual yoke and allows for near pinpoint precision control over everything except the Yaw access. The triggers though that control yaw, do have finer control than say the same triggers on an Xbox One controller so even that is an improvement over just a conventional gamepad. This does give me great excitement for playing MSFS on the Steam Deck as you will pretty much have the sim, in a portable system combined with a Steam Controller. Fantastic and I cannot wait for mine for quick couch FSE hops.

TLDR. If you like Aviation and Flight, MSFS is a love letter to the skies.

As a Pre Order owner, I have seen how much the game has changed since its original release up to the current releases of Beyond and Synthesis. Sure the game was Hyped pretty hard when it launched, but boy have they stuck to it and made the game not only great, but better than originally expected (I never thought we would see such a fantastic VR implimentation, or VR at all.). And all of this for the original purchase price or whatever price you pay for the game. No paid DLC currently even though I would be completely OK at this point throwing them a bit more for the amazing amount of work they continue to put into this game.

A labor of love this game is. Check it out and experience it for yourself.

For those of us who miss classic Freelancer, Rebel Galaxy does scratch the itch in some form with its familiarity, while still having a unique control and play style of it's own. Graphics and Music are great, weapons and ship selection is reasonably good, some of the gameplay can be a little grindy but you can pick and choose what you do and ignore things like the Distress Signals if you want.

Overall this is one game I keep going back to chip away at the campaign which while not totally original, is still fun and enjoyable in its own way.

Launch day Vive*...Check
Deluxe Audio Strap...Check
Wireless TPCast...Check
Sweat Proof face pad...Check
Open space and A/C Turned on...Check

Starts Beat Saber...

Lightsabers**?...Check
Fantastic Music?...Check
Jedi** Fitness Training System (probably)?...Check
Matrix level dodging of energy walls?...Check

After an hour playing Beat Saber...

Sweaty?...Check
Going to be sore?...Check
Feel fantastic and no uncomfort from VR?..Check
About throw shoulder out trying to get the higest cut scores?...Check

Should you buy Beat Saber?...Yes, yes you should.



*And Kickstarter Oculus CV1, but don't have that setup for Roomscale or Wirless currently.

**I know Lucasarts/Disney isn't a part of, or licensed in this game, yet, but any Disney/Lucasarts employee or any Star Wars fan that plays this has to be thinking the same thing. This game needs licensed Star Wars music to cut too (Imperial March would be fantastic) as well as Star Wars themed visualizer backrounds in their songs. Make It Happen.

This is the Jedi Training Fitness Simulator we all knew they had to use to practice in the Jedi tempal. You think they just had an endless supply of training droids to cut up? Common!?!

As far as killer AAA VR titles go, especially multiplayer ones, this is hands down one of the best so far.

The best of this game comes out when everyone is joking with Star Trek references, making fun of the Captail, and overall having a great time while proceeding with whatever mission objectives that command throws at your team.

While you can just grind through the missons with laser like focus, (I teamed up with a Captain that was exactly this) the game looses a little bit of its charm when the crew isn't talking and just doing what they should be doing, but without any real interatcion, you might as well just play with AI.

To really enjoy Bridge Crew, you can't take it too seriously.

Approach even a repeat mission differently, do something out of order, play around, make mistakes, and make sure everyone is having a good time to make for one of the most memorable Multiplayer VR expereinces yet.

Also of note for Oculus owners currently (As of 5/30/2017) Be sure to get the HelloV app if you would like to multitask with a webbrowser ingame so you can watch your Twitch/YouTube stream chat, queue up some Spotify, watch YouTube/Netflix/Plex while you crew up in space. AugmentedVR is fantastic.

"Your cousins car, smells like your mother, and I have Proof!"

"Your beloved Auntie supports Satan and still uses Windows Vista!"



Need I say more, and I haven't even left the Tutorial yet.

TL:DR If you have a Vive, this game is good fun, if you have a Vive (or Rift) AND a Virtuix Omni, this game is extremely fun. If you do not have VR, this game is still, fun. :)

5089 is a unique game made by a single dev who is very active in his community, both on a Forum level, and on a direct 1:1 level if you really show that you care. The game is built using both a bit of story and experience from the Dev himself on past games like 4089, 3089, and 3079. All great games in their own right, but 5089 is its own game and is the best of them yet. (IMO)

I don't have as much time into the game as I would like due to life being what it is, but when I do want to jump into an RPG game that has a decent bit of depth, Functional Procedural Generation that puts No Man's Sky to shame (it may only be 1 planet, but dag nabbit that planet is unique, filled with mystery and danger, and overall true adventure at every turn. Not just another rock, checkpoint, or flying cow, but more like Flying Death RayBOT!) and yet it is simple enough that once you get the basic concept down of how to progress yourself in the game, it is easy to play without having to do a lot of thinking and micromanagement planning. Sure some of the gameplay can get a bit samey and stale if you keep doing the same thing over and over, but if you push yourself in this sort of RPG Sandbox to explore way out past the initial spawning point, get a good gang of friendly robots to cover your back, and put your EXP points into the best slots for your play style, you can make the fun keep on coming as you barrel through the enemy base and the bosses that wait for you.

Onto the VR part of the game, while phr00t has done a great job with VR support for both the Rift (through SteamVR) and the Vive (with some good roomscale based design choices), my favorite way to play is on the Virtuix Omni. This is one of the few games that works fantastically on the Omni that allows you to run around on the Omni in the direction you are facing, while aiming/shooting independently with your Vive remotes as you go. It is incredibly immersive and a dang good workout as you sprint around the maps and take bases. Without the Omni the Roomscale is the next best way to play without getting motion sick, however like all FPS games in VR, I don't recommend playing with the Vive/Rift sitting down as the motion disconnect can hit you right in the VR Gut so to speak. You have been warned. (Same warning applies to Minecraft, which is another fantastic game on the Omni.)

Lastly, some people do seem to have odd performance issues with the game, but I am not one of them.

It may not be the most advanced game on Steam, but it is definitely one that provides ample supply of fun.