The best plane games

Our guide to the best plane games on Switch and mobile is here to send you soaring above the earth, or somewhere entirely different. We’ve picked out some of our favorite titles full of piloting escapades, from dogfighting action games to more relaxed flight simulators. Whatever way you want to zip through the sky, we’ve got something for you.

If you’d rather keep your feet on the floor, check out our picks for the best racing games, football games, golf games, basketball games, volleyball games, and baseball games. Or, if you want to take a flight to a world of fantasy, have a look at our lists of the best Star Wars games and Marvel games on Switch and mobile

Here are the best plane games:

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – Switch

Plane games don’t come much more prestigious than the Ace Combat series, and this seventh installment brings high-octane action to the forefront. If you’re looking for something full of barrel-rolling and dogfighting combat, this is the way to go.

Usually, we’d caveat a game like this and mention how it’s probably worth playing on a different console, but the Switch port is seriously impressive. The graphics are fantastic, offering a level of visual detail we’re not used to seeing on Nintendo’s console. Combine that with the hours of engaging gameplay, and you’ve got something you’re going to struggle to put down.

Galaga Wars – mobile (Apple Arcade)

Though these days we’ve got all manner of realistic flight sims, back in 1981 Galaga (along with its sibling, Xevious) was one of the OGs. While you’re technically in a spacecraft rather than a plane, it’s still giving you that vintage flight experience. Galaga Wars gives this classic game a modern coat of paint.

At its core, it’s the same experience from all those years ago (and you wouldn’t want too much to be changed), but with plenty of extra vessels to unlock (many based on other Namco properties, including a Pac-Man shuttle!) and a greater sense of progression, with additional levels to pass through. If you like flying around in games, and you like retro arcade goodness, take Galaga Wars for a spin.

Red Wings: Aces of the Sky – Switch

Red Wings: Aces of the Sky is a dogfighting delight, putting you in the cockpit of a WWII-style fighter plane. With countless classic planes to fly, an engaging storyline featuring the legendary Red Baron, and a nice variety of locations to light up with gunfire, you can’t ask for much more from a dogfighting simulator.

If you prefer to take to the skies with friends, Red Wings: Aces of the Sky offers both online and split-screen multiplayer, leading to some frenzied fighting in the sky. All this is made better by some gorgeous cell-shaded graphics, with a real Borderlands feel to the visual style.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Switch

Ok, so it might come as a surprise, but with the addition of the ultrahand ability, Tears of the Kingdom is essentially a plane game. I mean, you can create your own planes (not a jumbo jet, but imagine a Zonai recreation of that), and fly across Hyrule with ease. Who needs first class when you’ve got a Zonai glider and a few rockets, anyway?

Outside of gliding and soaring, there’s plenty to do in TotK, and we’re on hand to help with our guides to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gleeoks, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom koroks, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom shrines, and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom depths. For some lovely in-flight reading, check out our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review.

Airline Commander: Flight Game – mobile

There’s no shortage of copycat versions of Microsoft’s iconic Flight Simulator for mobile, but Airline Commander: Flight Game might be the best one on Switch. Admittedly, there aren’t a bunch, but we have to pick one and it’s this.

Combining impressive in-flight graphics with a deep simulator engine, you can pick out your fleet of fliers, set up your routes, and get busy with transporting the good people of planet Earth from destination to destination. The quality might not be as high as the true Flight Simulator experience, but until that arrives on mobile, you’re going to have to take flight any way you can.

Infinite Flight – mobile

The closest thing you can get to a proper flight sim on the go, Infinite Flight has been on an upward trajectory ever since its release. While at the start, some of the plane models were a bit lacking, nowadays this flying game is competing with the best and offers an excellently realistic experience for those who are after that.

There’s no shortage of ways to fly here, either. With multiple camera options, you can watch your steel bird cruise through the skies, or get in the cockpit and take the controls by the hand. Providing you don’t fly over the Bermuda Triangle, you’re in for a good time.

Pilotwings 64 – Switch (NSO)

When it comes to plane games, Pilotwings 64 is a classic. Now available as part of the library of Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo 64 games, Pilotwings might be a simple concept of just taking off and landing, but there’s something in the mechanics of this one that stops you from putting it down.

Sure, it might seem a bit light on characters and available aircraft compared to modern plane games, but it’s worth trying out this iconic flying simulator to see why it’s such a popular title with Nintendo 64 enthusiasts. It’s certainly one for the nostalgia gamers, anyway.

Jumbo Airport Story – Switch

Kairosoft seems to have a game for everything, from Game Dev Story to the Ramen Sensei, so it only makes sense that we include the developer’s version of the airport sim in our list of the best plane games.

Don’t let the basic graphics fool you, Kairosoft’s tycoon title is surprisingly deep, with plenty of options to customize your own version of LAX or Heathrow. You might not be taking off yourself in this game, but you’re certain to feel on top of the world when you become the richest airport around.

Wings of Heroes – mobile

Another game from RORTOS, the creators of Airline Commander: Flight Game, Wings of Heroes swaps out domestic travel for dangerous dogfights in the skies over warring nations. There are other games with dogfights on this list, but not quite as many that feel like a true simulation of the skies of 1944.

With some of the most famous planes from all the WWII documentaries your grandad made you sit through, this title is like a high-definition history lesson with gun turrets. Better still, you can upgrade your preferred planes, making it easier to declare yourself as a legend of the skies.

Sky Gamblers – Switch and mobile

Some of the best portable flying games out there, the Sky Gamblers series offers lots of thrills in an easy-to-manage package. With lively dogfights, great graphics, and lots of replay value, I’ve always found it odd that this series doesn’t get more love.

While the genre may not be mainstream, it’s pretty darn tough to make a good dogfighting game, but Sky Gamblers does it excellently. This pick isn’t exactly as calming as some of the other options on this list, but if you’re looking for high-octane and high-speed action, it’s a great call.

Merge Plane – mobile

If you’d rather have an idle plane game, Merge Plane can kill hours of your time, endlessly tapping at the screen to keep your aircraft earning for you. The content isn’t as demanding as the other plane games on this list, but there is something about the unique mechanic of crossing over types of planes to create new ones that keep the fingers tapping.

Like most idle games, this one’s all about gathering resources, so you spend much of your time making new planes and putting them into action to keep the funds rolling in. Just make sure to keep your planes flying to add even more to your imaginary hangar.

Bomber Crew – Switch and mobile

Bomber Crew is a management sim set during WWII. You need to manage your crew before a mission, including their clothing and different roles, before setting off on a dangerous mission to take down the enemy. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.

Anything can happen mid-flight, from fuel leaks to engine failures, and your crew can even take too much damage. If you’re looking for something on our list of plane games that keeps the brain occupied with all manner of menus and options, this might be the flight sim for you.

The Fly Plane: Flight Simulator – Switch

If you’re looking for something altogether more psychedelic than the average aircraft sim, The Fly Plane: Flight Simulator is the one for you. This title strips out the landscape of the real world and replaces it with pink, purple, and orange structures that pierce the sky.

The Fly Plane experience is one of the most unique offerings from the genre on Switch, providing you with a new way to test your abilities behind the yoke. Maybe just don’t try this one late at night, as we’re not sure what sort of peculiar dream it may lead to.

Jump Into the Plane – Switch

Ok, so this one is a bit wacky but deserves a place on our list of the best plane games for its concept alone. If you can’t guess from the title – and I’m judging you a little if that is the case – Jump Into The Plane is a game where you take a car up a ramp and try and land it inside of a moving aircraft.

Sounds off the wall, right? It is, but for less than twenty dollars, there’s a surprising amount of fun in trying to find the angle to slide your Ferrari into the back of a military cargo plane.

Sky Rogue – Switch

Sky Rogue is a retro-style pick for our list of plane games, with some real PS1 vibes in its simplistic graphics and intense action. With an infinite number of procedurally generated landscapes to pierce the sky above, there’s some real replay value here.

There’s also a unique element to the Switch’s version of Sky Rogue. You can use motion controls to pilot your jet, with your Joy-Cons acting as your yoke while traversing the endless game worlds. It’s not as multiplayer-heavy as some of the other games on this list, but it’s a very engaging solo experience.

Flying Motorbike Simulator

Is it a plane? Is it a motorbike? No, it’s both! This game truly offers what it says on the tin, flying motorbikes. Still, for this guide, we’re saying that they’re planes as these motorbikes have wings and carry passengers, and as far as I’m concerned, that fits the criteria.

While the graphics aren’t the most impressive of the games on this list, there’s something eerily engaging about this game that keeps you coming back to transport more customers and soar over the city on your flying bike. It’s also a free-to-play game, so you can experience the thrill of barrel-rolling a superbike without having to part with a single dollar.

Take Off: The Flight Simulator – Switch

Take Off – The Flight Simulator is exactly what it says on the tin, and that’s why we love it. Let’s be honest, the Switch is never going to be able to handle Microsoft’s iconic flight simulation game, but if you can deal with slightly less depth in mechanics and visuals that are a touch more primitive, there’s a fun time to be had soaring through the sky here.

With 24 planes to pilot, 21 destinations to visit, and over 50 missions to challenge yourself, there’s no shortage of content to get stuck into here. It might last on our list, but it’s certainly not the least engaging.

There you have it, our picks for the best plane games on Switch and mobile. If you’d rather float through the galaxy than the blue skies above us, check out our picks for the best space games on Switch and mobile.