Happy Monday, folks, and welcome to the Weekly Video Games Thread!

Let’s dive—or soar—right into the prompt: Flight Simulators. I enjoyed Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X for my monthly writing project back in August, and one of the things that really stood out to me was how unique it was to control an aircraft in a game. You move differently. You have to take into account vertical movement as more than just “walk up a hill” or “have a double jump.” You are literally always moving forward. And while H.A.W.X was an ultimately okay game with a very problematic military-industrial backing behind it, it was fun, and it has made me intrigued by the wider genre. Part of that’s just me trying to as always broaden my horizons, but it’d be nice to explore more of the genre, especially for entries that are perhaps a bit more polished or a bit more open-ended.

And thus, as often seems to be the case with my prompts, I look to you for suggestions and memories. Have you dipped your toes into this genre, and have you enjoyed it? What games did you especially like? Do you play more military-focused flight sims or ones that are more pacifist in nature? And regardless of whether or not you have an answer for this, what did you play this weekend? Obviously, I played a lot—that’s what happens when a new Zelda comes out. But I’d like to hear more from you.