Enjoy a 6-hour flight in real-time with economy class sim Airplane Mode from tomorrow
Boarding on Mac and PC.
Airplane Mode, the sim that lets you recreate the sky-high thrills and spills (or rather, the relentless, soul-splintering monotony) of a six-hour economy class flight in first-person and in real-time, launches tomorrow, 15th October, on PC and Mac.
Airplane Mode, developed Hosni Auji and Bacronym Games and published by AMC, is inspired by Penn and Teller's infamous monotony simulator Desert Bus, but switches that game's wonky wheel and Arizona sprawl for more familiar tedium among the clouds.
Passengers will have a choice of two flights - a six hour run between JFK and Reykjavik, or a somewhat brisker two-and-a-half-hour journey from JFK to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - and, once they've safely boarded their plane, they're free to pass the time however they please.
As you might expect, fellow passengers, cabin crew, questionable in-flight cuisine, and randomised events - delays, turbulence, bad wifi, and screaming babies, for instance - constantly threaten to worsen the ordeal, but Airplane Mode does at least offer a few distractions help pass the time more tolerably.
Players can make use of a pen, book, and headphones, all carefully ensconced in their carry-on luggage, as well as a complimentary aircraft information card (plus convenient overhead reading light), and a fully functioning in-flight entertainment system - featuring the likes of a flight safety video, satellite journey tracker, and "hit movies of the 1930s". There's even an in-flight magazine, with articles to peruse, crosswords to complete, and Sudoku. Oh, and booze.
"Other flight simulators give you high-definition cockpits with a billion switches and dials," says AMC, "but Airplane Mode is the only one that offers a realistically rendered seatback trays."
Airplane Mode - which stars Bennett Foddy of Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy fame as your captain - will be available on Steam tomorrow, 15th October, and costs $11.99 (around £9).