Awesome Simulators

Brick Science host Riley Scott wanted to see if he could build a flight simulator out of LEGO bricks. With the help of his friends Christian and Marcel, they came up with a tabletop machine with a remote joystick and throttle which control the airplane’s propellor, pitch, and roll. Its motors are controlled by a Mindstorms EV3 module.

Most driving games involve competitive racing. But Anslo’s driving game is about relaxation. The browser-based Slow Roads drops you behind the wheel of a virtual car as it drives along an endless, procedurally-generated road filled with scenic vistas. You can control the car using your keyboard or mouse, or enable autopilot.

These days, the military uses powerful computers and high-end graphics cards to simulate missions. But in the 1970s, one of the ways to simulate driving a tank was using a miniature city, a motion camera rig, and a remote screen that displayed the first-person perspective to the pilot. Tom Scott took this vintage sim for a ride.

This engineering sandbox game lets players make their own working machines, structures, and interactive objects. It features a robust visual programming interface for controlling movements and encourages players to share their creations. Coming to Steam in early 2023. A PC demo is available now.

The upcoming game Retro Gadgets from Evil Licorice challenges players to create virtual electronic gadgets in a digital workshop. The game will test your creativity and improve your electronics skills as you invent, build, and solder together your projects, then write code to make them work. Coming to Steam.

Cars in racing games don’t have the most realistic-sounding engine sounds. AngeTheGreat’s Engine Simulator not only can replicate the mechanisms and physics of a car engine, but it also produces realistic procedurally-generated sounds. You can grab the source code for Windows on GitHub.

No time to go to the beach? Creative coder Neal Agarwal’s online toy Rocks lets you enjoy a soothing oceanside pastime from the comfort of your computer screen. The browser-based rock simulator offers sounds of the surf and four virtual rocks for your balancing enjoyment.

Described as a “Slow-life town destruction game,” DEEEER Simulator invites players to frolic about for a leisurely stroll or wreak havoc and destroy the place. After watching the trailer, we still have no idea what’s going on, but we need to play this. Coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. It’s on Steam Early Access for PC too.

This unique sim game asks players to visit homes and offices to perform electrical repairs. Scenarios include fixing broken switches and outlets, installing wiring, and troubleshooting devices. And yes, electrocution is always a risk. First Shock, a free prologue to the full Electrician Simulator is coming to Steam 11.2021.

Developed by Madnetic Games, this unique sim game sends you on a global hunt as a wildlife photographer. It features photorealistic scenery and animals to shoot (with your lens). As they build their photo skills, players collect camera gear and sell their photos to magazines. Add it to your Steam wishlist.

With an amazing amount of graphical detail and real-world map data, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is closer than ever to recreating the experience of flight. Digital pilot TheNinjaCowboy shared this video footage of some of their favorite locations from the game, looking out from the pilot’s window and above their single-engine plane.

New Zealand tech startup Eight360 has created a motion simulator that looks like something out of Jurassic World or Oblivion. The sphere can rotate untethered in any direction, meaning its occupant can tumble, roll, and spin. Its movements are synced with a VR headset, so motion sickness isn’t as likely as stationary VR.

Completely revamped from top to bottom, Microsoft Flight Simulator aims to be the most realistic aviation sim ever. The game includes data from over 2 million cities around the globe, rendered in incredible detail, with 4K and HDR support, along with real-time atmospheric and weather conditions. Coming to Windows 10, 8.18.20.

This physics-based moving sim game asks players to move furniture around the town of Packmore, as you live your life as a newly-certified Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician. It’s packed with hilarious and tricky levels, and looks even more fun in co-op mode. Drops 4/28/2020 on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Whenever we fly, we just assume that the runway is long enough for our airplane to safely take off and land. But what would happen if you tried to use the world’s shortest airstrip with the world’s largest commercial jets? Aviation hobbyist Swiss001 decided to try just that using a flight simulator.

No, you’re not looking at actual 4K aerial footage here – this is in-engine imagery from the next-generation version of Microsoft’s famed Flight Simulator. The game uses satellite data, along with Azure AI tech to power its incredibly realistic flying. Coming to Xbox in 2020.

Learning to weld can be a daunting task. But with this slick bit of technology from Miller Welders, students can practice using an augmented reality welding headset which lets them practice all they need, and get detailed feedback on their progress.

Maneater is an upcoming action RPG in which you assume the role of a man-eating bull shark. Your objective? Build your skills to become the most deadly predator in the ocean, as you chomp on sea creatures and humans alike. Coming soon to Steam.

From the makers of Punch Club comes another potentially addictive simulator. Graveyard Keeper is like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, except you also manage a graveyard alongside the farming, dungeon delving, and crafting. Drops 8/15/18.

The latest game from Deadly Premonition creator SWERY, and developer Yukio Futatsugi of Phantom Dust fame looks like a trip. It’s a daily life sim RPG in which you play a journalist who must pay off a massive debt, and along the way uncover the secrets of a small UK town.

The military aircraft simulator Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS World) is preparing to launch its “most authentic and detailed simulation” yet. Developed with the help of Boeing, this upcoming add-on introduces the versatile F/A-18C Hornet.

(PG-13: Language) VideogameDunkey simulates his own rise to YouTube fame using the ridiculous sim game YouTubers Life, in which players attempt to create and share the most viral videos. Seriously, is it more than $5000 a month for 649 sq. ft. 1 br apartment in NYC?

We’re dying to take a ride on this platform, which can be used to simulate a wide variety of movements by tugging at its eight steel cables, taking its carbon fiber frame and rider on trips in six different directions. We can only imagine how cool this is with the VR headset on.