Google Flight Simulator
Ranked 4 of 5 flight simulators by recommenders
Recommended as a fun, charming arcade-style flyer whose controls work normally on desktop. Critics say the flight model is too lenient and not a real simulator.
6 people recommended Google Flight Simulator in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
6 of the 6 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Google Flight Simulator”.
Summary written by Claude from 11 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 10 of those comments still count.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- mixed feelings
- 2
- warn against or regret it
- 6
The record
Recommended in 1 of 12 months
In 1 different thread.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 1 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 1 threadNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 6 of its 6 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 10 of the 14 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun, charming arcade-style game
“they brought something fun and charming forward”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” “It'a an arcade game and it's fun”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” Controls work normally on desktop
“Controls work normally for me on a desktop”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Flight model too lenient, not realistic
“calling this a flight simulator is doing a disservice to the communities and efforts putting in an immense amount of work to make actual flight…”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” “Bit disappointing how lazy the implementation is though, you never fall out of the sky even with throttle at 0%”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” “whoever did the controls for this doesn't understand how airplanes work”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” Laggy or spinning controls
“the controls got really laggy”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” “It doesn't seem to work very well - my plane is spinning around like crazy and I can't stop the spinning.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” Weaker than Microsoft Flight Simulator
“If only they took this seriously as a competitor to Microsoft Flight Simulator”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator” “this seems way worse than the one in the desktop version”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “Google Flight Simulator”
Other flight simulators people recommend
The four most recommended other flight simulators, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | 13 | 7 | 8 | 62% | 9 | — | — |
| Comanche by NovaLogic | 8 | 2 | 2 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| F-15 Strike Eagle II | 8 | 2 | 1 | 89% | 1 | — | — |
| Google Flight SimulatorThis page | 6 | 2 | 6 | 50% | 1 | — | — |
| DCS World | 5 | 2 | 2 | 71% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
10 of the 14 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“this seems way worse than the one in the desktop version”
“calling this a flight simulator is doing a disservice to the communities and efforts putting in an immense amount of work to make actual flight…”
“the controls got really laggy”
“It'a an arcade game and it's fun”
“If only they took this seriously as a competitor to Microsoft Flight Simulator”
“It doesn't seem to work very well - my plane is spinning around like crazy and I can't stop the spinning.”
“Controls work normally for me on a desktop”
“whoever did the controls for this doesn't understand how airplanes work”
“Bit disappointing how lazy the implementation is though, you never fall out of the sky even with throttle at 0%”
“they brought something fun and charming forward”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.