Airplane Mode is a very specific sim for a very specific crowd

This intentionally boring game is someone’s dream come true

At this point, I’m convinced you could make a simulation game for any niche on this planet.

On one end, we’ve got Microsoft Flight Simulator – a jaw-dropping recreation that lets you fly planes around the world above eerily accurate landscapes and cities. On the other end, there’s Airplane Mode.

I simultaneously can and can’t believe something like this exists.

Airplane Mode is a video game that simulates flying – but as a passenger. On a commercial transatlantic flight. With crossword puzzles, crying babies, inflight entertainment, slow meal service, and those blasted little overhead nozzles that put out entirely too much or too little air despite your best efforts.

“The circumstances of your flight will change every time you play,” according to creator Hosni Auji. A few examples of randomized events include the usual “turbulence, bad Wi-Fi, and delays.”

Airplane Mode is inspired by Desert Bus – a criminally boring yet weirdly entertaining game about driving a bus from Tucson to Las Vegas in real-time – and, in a clever bit of cross-promotion, it’ll make an appearance on the Desert Bus For Hope 2019 charity stream on November 12, 2019.

Following the charity drive, Airplane Mode will launch on Steam in 2020. It’s published by AMC Games of all places. “The game is as insightful as it is absurd; a meditation on life between destinations, and one that we will be proud to bring to players worldwide next year,” said Clayton Neuman, VP of Gaming.

I watch some peculiar stuff on YouTube to wind down, so I can’t judge anyone who’s into this premise.

Airplane Mode [Steam]