91É«ÇéƬ

NEXT week, I am leaving the UK for the first time in over half a decade, having been travel-constrained since 2016 by a combination of young children and the coronavirus pandemic. With that in mind, I have been thinking about the best travel games for people who might also be unable to go much further afield than their living room.

Where better to start than Microsoft Flight Simulator? It is one of the longest-running video game series in the world, first launching in 1982 (a few years before the first version of the Windows operating system!) and one I have enjoyed dipping in and out of over the years. The latest version, released in 2020, leans on Microsoft’s expertise in cloud computing to let you explore the entire world from above in striking detail – it is impossible for an ordinary PC or console to store the data for the whole planet, so landscapes are streamed in from beefy servers elsewhere. A recent update even added in Top Gun-themed planes, if you fancy channelling your inner Maverick.

For a more down-to-earth experience, there is American Truck Simulator, which lets you live out your dreams of being a heavy goods vehicle driver. It is a slightly odd, slightly zen experience, as you take various shipping jobs and simply drive from A to B, aiming to deliver the goods on time and with minimal damage.

The game has a strong cult following thanks to its detailed rendering of the US West Coast, with major cities like Seattle depicted at 1:1 scale with realistic local landmarks (other areas are at 20:1 scale, to spare you the boredom of having to drive on cross-country highways in real time). If you prefer the other side of the Atlantic, the older offers much the same.

If you are looking for a bit more excitement, Forza Horizon 5 is the game for you. Set across a stylised Mexico, you can have great fun roaming the open world in hundreds of different cars, from sandy beaches to the tip of a volcano. Once you are done taking in the sights, jump into one of a huge variety of contests, from off-road tussles and screeching round corners in a street race to facing off against trains and planes.

Video-game travel doesn’t just have to take place in representations of the real world, of course. Subnautica, which I have talked about in previous columns, is worth another mention here for allowing you to explore beneath the waves of a fictional planet called 4546B. After crash-landing, you build an underwater refuge for yourself by scavenging materials and creatures from the seabed, while investigating signs of a mysterious alien species.

Going one step further, No Man’s Sky offers an entire galaxy to discover. The game was launched in 2016 to great fanfare, boasting 18 quintillion worlds for exploration, but players (including myself) were disappointed to discover that, through random generation, all of the planets basically looked and felt the same.

Since then, developers Hello Games have been working tirelessly to update and improve the game, to the point where it is now quite a lot of fun: planets are far more diverse, you can build your own settlements, join other players in multiplayer mode and more. If you are looking to stay busy without leaving home, No Man’s Sky will certainly keep you entertained.