Lunar Flight is the most fun I've had in a sim for years! I cannot wait to try this with an Oculus Rift. DIFFICULTY (tl;dr Challenging but not overly difficult) This simulation hits the sweet spot like Baby Bear's porridge: Not too hardcore and not too casual. At first it may seem overly challenging to the point of intimidating the more casual players as you are almost certain to crash and burn on your first few flights. However, don't be discouraged! Take just a few minutes to glance at the (not overly lengthy) manual and watch the series of 2 minute flight tutorial videos (especially #7: Maintaining Stable Flight) and before you know it, you'll manage to get things under control and experience the satisfying thud as your lander's legs touch down precisely oriented with the 4 markers on the landing pad. Once you start to get a feel for 6-DOF low-G flight, the sensation is fantastic! Learning becomes *fun* rather than frustrating and it is incredibly rewarding as you feel yourself getting better. The graphics are beautifully done and once again the sensation of flying - or perhaps "controlled drifting" is a better way of putting it - is truly wonderful. It's very addictive. There are enough things you need to pay attention to, to keep it challenging (and therefore rewarding) but not so many that you feel overwhelmed with minutia. GAMEPLAY (tl;dr Flying is a ton of fun but wish there was more mission variety) There are four maps provided (3 on the moon 1 of Mars) each providing progressively more difficult terrain to navigate and Mars also has storms/weather for an additional challenge. Like much of the good design in this game, they are sized nicely so that missions generally take around 5-15 minutes. The game objectives fall into four different types: Deliver cargo (sometimes you need to find it first), survey a spot, time trials and shooting drones (or other players). While they are all enjoyable (I enjoy the search for cargo ones most) I would love to see more diversity with mission design. In the beginning just learning to fly and managing your fuel is engaging and entertaining enough. But as your mastery flight improves to the point where controlled flight isn't a problem, it'd be nice to have a little more involved to actually DO as you're flitting about out there. My biggest wish is that there were more types of missions. MULTIPLAYER (tl;dr Fun to fly together but co-op missions would be more fun than combat) I haven't tried the multiplayer yet but combat (with missles & flares) seems to be the main attraction. For me, this holds little interest as I don't feel this type of flight sim lends itself well to combat style play. The thrill of flight, and mission are far more suited IMHO. You can do (separate) missions in multiplayer and compete to see who does them most efficiently. There are no true co-op mission that require cooperation between players. This would be an extremely welcome addition. GRAPHICS, SOUND & UI (tl:dr Excellent immersion and good UI but could use improvements) While the external graphics and flight modelling are excellent, I'd rate the UI as very good but with room for improvement (I'll be writing the developer after I finish this review ;-) The HUD and UI with it's various views and dual monitors are very good. The vector cam and load/thrust tables are particular helpful. Although all the information you need is there, I wish it was just a little more polished, a little more consistent and a little more convenient. The vector cam shows overall speed and isolated vertical velocity but not isolated horizontal velocity. The radar altimeter is only viewable from the cockpit HUD and isn't included on any of the monitor views. The top cam can't be zoomed out for a larger situational view. There are two identical monitors but not all views/info are not available on both. Etc. These small but noticeable inconsistencies are not game breaking at all. They just require a little more juking around the different modes/views as you're flying than I feel should be required. Regardless of the view I prefer, I want all the data I need front and center. I think this will be even more important when using a RIFT as you won't be able to see your keyboard and will need every feature/function you need to access on your gamepad where you can feel it. CONCLUSION (tl;dr It's a under-priced hidden gem! Highly recommended!) I bought this game thinking it would be good but it surprised me by being great. It's strength is walking the difficult line between a casual and hardcore sim. It's what I'd call an accessible sim. The game is a hidden gem and my biggest complaint is that there isn't more of it. At $10 it's a steal. Go out and buy it. Highly recommended!

Surprisingly good and realistic game. I wish there was more room for improvements and upgrades. And more different missions. But all in all it is a very satisfying simulator.

As of October 13th 2013 this game has made a lot of improvements. If you have an Oculus, this game is a must have! A truly amazing rift experience. So far, the best Oculus VR example available.