GroundFall

SHORT REVIEW Wonderful and regularly updated indie game that mixes proper flight simulation with some more adventure/career elements, that satisfy the desire for escape and the great outdoors, allowing you to live them at our own space, whether that's daredevil flying or a more relaxing slow experience. You are a bush pilot in Alaska and have to complete various jobs (delivery etc) or simply fly around for fun. The simulation is focused on STOL (short take-off and landing) with small planes, as the territory you're flying over is w,ild and you would mostly land on improvised airfields. The simulation is rather precise (you can hit rocks and wildlife if you're not careful), graphics are immersive, and control compatibility could be improved. LONG REVIEW This is the kind of game I've been waiting for. I love flight simulation, but I am mostly focused on bush flying on small propeller planes in wild locations, rather than big commercial flights and airports. This title is exactly about this. You are a bush pilot in Alaska (but there are many various maps, including islands and deserts) and have to complete various jobs, or simply enjoy flying about for leisure. The gameplay is intuitive and rich. You can both use your plane and walk. The flight simulation is accurate: there's a fuel system, the flying and cargo physics are accurate. The game simulates different flying conditions and terrains and you can really interact exhaustively with your plane, including pushing it manually when on the ground. The flying mostly focuses on short trips and short takeoffs and landings on small strips. If you don't enjoy the career mode, you can simply enjoy flying through the maps - however if you are ONLY looking for that, you could just do with Microsoft Flight Simulator or X-Plane. What this game adds to those titles is the proper bush pilot adventure experience: the ability to have jobs to complete, the need to look after yourself and your plane in the wilderness. The fact that you can control a character on foot (in first person) other than the plane, allows for a number of activities that are relevant to flying but cannot be experienced in a traditional simulator. You can physically load cargo on your plane, repair it, upgrade it and refuel it manually (no sliders, you will have to pick up the cargo/tools and walk to the plane to do the job). The availability of a character also enables other dynamics: for instance, there is an (optional) survival mode, with a system of hunger, sleep and stamina, and you can camp and use a variety of tools, which makes the game unique and much more interesting and complete than just a flight simulator. The maps are beautifully designed and immersive enough, although I don't believe they represent actual territories and, therefore, they don't rely on photogrammetry. The graphics settings can be really pushed to stellar levels, but my computer doesn't support those. Even with medium resolutions, however, the game is very enjoyable. The day/night cycle is well done, and I like that we can stumble across accurate wildlife. I haven't yet played any missions, and I'm focusing on exploring the vast territories before I take on any missions. These are optional and can be undertaken at any time. There are three categories of objectives: Exploring, Runways, and Missions. There are multiple objectives for each category, and the goal of each map is to achieve all of them. I might update the review as soon as I start (or complete!) the missions. As of today, the game has been constantly updated and considerably expanded with new maps, missions and game dynamics. So the game is very much alive, and it has a community on Discord. So this is the perfect game for someone who wants to add to the technicality of flight simulation, the thrill and excitement of outdoor adventuring. Whether you like to enjoy the career elements, fly dangerous routes at high speeds with your little bush plane (e.g. flying under bridges or in narrow creeks) or whether you want a more relaxing experience and fly at a leasurly pace to admire the landscape and pick a spot to camp for the night, this is the game for you. A title like this was long needed. Highly recommended to all lovers of bush flying, but also outdoors and adventure. CHECKLIST Gameplay- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Nothing special ☐ Okay ☐ Bad Graphics- ☐ Masterpiece ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Will do ☐ Bad ☐ Awful Audio ☑ Amazing ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad Audience ☐ Kids ☐ Teens ☐ Adults ☑ Everyone Story- ☐ Lovely ☑ Good ☐ Average ☐ Not great ☐ None Difficult- ☐ Just press a bunch of buttons ☐ Easy ☐ Significant brain usage ☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Not so easy ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls Grind- ☐ Nothing ☐ Only if you care about leaderboards/ranks ☑ Isnt necessary to progress ☐ A bit grindy sometimes ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ Insanity Game Time- ☐ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☐ Depends on you ☑ Endless Price ☐ Just buy it ☑ Worth the price ☐ Wait for sale ☐ Maybe if you have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended

-arcade flight/survival sim -1 active developer [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198166188351]SnowCreature[/url] -[url=https://discord.gg/kFf8X37xTy]groundfall discord server[/url] *just keep in mind the game is in beta and has many bugs and unfinished features that are constantly being worked on

very promising. seems like the dev did a great job at a survival. but the plane mechanics need some work for sure. i have thousands of hrs in flight sims and its hard for me to fly the plane. other than that soooooo much potential :) keep up the good work i look forward too seeing what comes of this amazing simulator.

GroundFall presents itself as a bush-flying survival sandbox, but what makes it memorable is not any single system—it’s the way its small, deliberate parts come together to create an experience that feels quietly adventurous. Rather than overwhelming you with complex avionics or a dense survival grind, it thrusts you into a rugged wilderness with a dependable STOL bush plane and lets you carve your own routes, destinations, and footholds. The premise is refreshingly hands-off: you are a pilot with a machine, a handful of tools, and a vast, uneven landscape that dares you to explore it. From the very first flight, you sense the game’s intention to blend freedom with tension. Every uneven riverbank you approach, every patch of grass you test for takeoff, and every improvised landing spot pushes you into small gambles that feel quintessentially “bush pilot”—half-official, half reckless, but incredibly satisfying when they succeed. The flight model aims for authenticity without drowning you in manuals. Your aircraft has weight, momentum, and limits that you quickly learn to respect. Short takeoffs, rough landings, and approaches into tight treelines demand attention to speed, flaps, and terrain, but the controls stay accessible enough for even casual players to enjoy the challenge. Where other flight sims obsess over instrumentation, GroundFall puts its focus on the physicality of flying—on how the tires grab mud or slide on wet grass, on how a botched flare risks bending the landing gear, and on how a narrow margin of airspeed can turn a rough landing into a catastrophic one. There is a pleasure in its simplicity, because that simplicity highlights the precarious nature of backcountry aviation. The plane feels like a trustworthy companion rather than a technological maze, and that makes every successful landing feel earned. What elevates the experience is the relationship between flying and the terrain. Ground interaction is not just a novelty; it’s central to how the world functions. Different surfaces have distinct friction, and slopes, vegetation density, and weather conditions can all determine whether a landing zone is viable. This adds a layer of environmental puzzle-solving that remains engaging throughout. The game’s survival elements wrap around this concept rather than competing with it. Hunger, thirst, and energy exist to make your expeditions more deliberate, but they never overwhelm the pace. You gather resources, craft tools, and gradually develop camps or shelters that act as forward bases for deeper expeditions. At your discretion, you can keep survival on the gentler side and treat the game more like a peaceful bush-flying sandbox, or lean into the harsher settings and make each expedition a risky balancing act. Missions function as light guidance rather than strict goals. They give you reasons to fly to new places—hauling supplies, scouting locations, delivering goods—but they never restrict your freedom. The best moments often happen outside these tasks: being caught in sudden fog, realizing you’ve misjudged your fuel, or trying to coax a half-damaged aircraft across a valley to a strip you barely prepared earlier. Those improvised stories become the real heart of the game. Weather and seasonal variation also play an important role, shaping how the world feels and how safe your routes are. Snow, rain, mist, and shifting lighting conditions influence not just atmosphere but also the practical viability of your landings and takeoffs. Even though the environmental simulation isn’t hyper-realistic, it creates enough variability to keep each flight interesting. Visually, GroundFall embraces a minimalist but evocative approach. The landscapes are broad and clean, focusing on readable shapes, dense forests, and striking lighting rather than photorealistic detail. It’s an aesthetic that suits the game’s identity: a quiet, natural world that invites exploration rather than distracting you with noise. Light fog rolling through a clearing, a sudden flurry of snow, or the warm color of dawn on a remote lake all contribute to a sense of place that is surprisingly atmospheric for such a small-scale project. The world never feels empty; instead, it feels untouched, as though you’re operating on the fringes of civilization where a single strip carved into a hillside becomes your personal claim on the wilderness. GroundFall’s survival layer remains intentionally modest. While you can craft tools, weapons, and basic gear, the progression is light and focused more on utility than deep specialization. The game relies less on grinding for resources and more on using what you gather to support your flying endeavors. This balance makes it appealing if you prefer a slow, peaceful rhythm punctuated by moments of risk. However, players who expect dense crafting trees or complex base-building will likely find that part of the game too shallow. In GroundFall, your plane is the real progression system, and the wilderness itself is the main challenge. Because the game is still in Early Access and has been for several years, it carries the kind of rough edges you would expect from a lone-developer project. Content updates arrive gradually, and while the core concept is strong, the amount of handcrafted missions, maps, and structured progression remains limited. Bugs, performance hiccups, and occasional interface awkwardness still occur. The experience is therefore best suited for players who enjoy shaping their own adventures rather than relying on a fully curated campaign. Those who enter expecting a complete, polished product may quickly grow frustrated, but those who appreciate growing mechanics, emergent stories, and open-ended exploration will see the charm beneath the unfinished surfaces. For players who resonate with the fantasy of backcountry aviation, GroundFall offers something few games attempt: an honest portrayal of improvised flying in wild terrain, with just enough survival flavor to ground the experience. It is a game that trusts you to create moments worth remembering—sliding across a snowy lake to steal a few meters of takeoff distance, landing on a narrow gravel bar because it’s the only flat spot for miles, or building a tiny cabin in the woods so you have a safe haven on return trips. While the content may not yet be expansive and the polish is still catching up, its atmosphere and core mechanics already provide a distinctive and rewarding experience. If you’re drawn to quiet, self-directed aviation and the meditative rhythm of forging your own paths through remote landscapes, GroundFall can be a uniquely satisfying place to escape to—even if its full potential is still unfolding. Rating: 6/10

I wish I could give the game a positive rating but in the current state that would not reflect my experience with it. Flying the plane in the game is very tricky and frustrating. There's really no mission briefing or tutorial. The concept of this product is certainly good, but I think it still needs a tremendous amount of work.

Far from finished: But is has the potential to be a cool little game. A lot is still missing. Just a few things that I've noticed in a short session. - Support for multiple screensizes - headtracker, be it VR or Trackir - ASI doesn't show white bar for flap operation

buyer beware: cheap and not worth the money. lets stop buying games from crackheads. this project is abandoned. cant invert look up and down anymore now. tried to give the new update a shot but still obscure and nothing much to do. if you like this game youre a joker.

Single developer that works on the game whenever they want. Will be outdated if it is ever completed.

Excited to see Joystick support the 360 Controller/KB&M Combo work ok. Would like to see more work on this concept but MP is broken.

Pues la verdad es que no he podido jugar desde que ha salido... Si alguien sabe como resolver que no pasa de la pantalla de inicio que lo diga... De momento le pongo Thumbdown por no funcionar