This New Flight Simulator Is Awfully Realistic

In 1328 Italian poet Dante Alighieri began writing his seminal work, Inferno, wherein he guided readers on a trip through hell. Why exactly anyone would want to write a book with such a setting has been asked by many subsequent generations of English students, but today that spirit has returned in force with a new indie video game that invokes the hellish environs of a transatlantic flight.

Apparently the thing that small developer Bacronym missed the most about a pre COVID-19 world was the experience of being trapped in a small metal cylinder with terrible in flight food while being kept awake by a crying baby. The game, called Airplane Mode, offers gameplay far more realistic than most realistic game developers ever seek.

Taxi, take-off, and landing.
Fairly accurate satellite imagery of your flight path.
Snacks, premium beverages, and meal service (incl. fish option).
Carry-on bag with a book, headphones, pen, and charging cable.
Overhead reading light and complimentary aircraft information card.
Inflight safety video produced by IFC’s in-house team of expert air hosts.
Randomized events on every playthrough, such as turbulence, bad wifi, and delays.
Authentic ambient noise—whose baby is that???*
Inflight entertainment system featuring a flight tracker and hit movies of the 1930s.
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Advertised Features of Airplane Mode

Why anyone would want to play this game is a mystery, but it has nevertheless already generated buzz and has a relatively popular Steam profile. Perhaps given the strange state of the world, anything familiar, even something so miserable as a transatlantic flight, is appealing.

Players who are interested certainly won’t miss out on the experience as Airplane Mode offers nearly six hours of gameplay. So the next time distance learning has you feeling bored, consider playing Airplane Mode. It won’t be entertaining but at least it can guarantee a new and interesting kind of boredom.