Flying has been forever once of humanity’s greatest desires, and not even Icarus’ memorable death managed to curb these instincts. Nowadays we have planes, helicopters, and all kinds of other vehicles and gadgets letting us conquer the skies. We also have video games which, thankfully, don’t require a pilot’s license nor expensive equipment before they let you fly.

Below we present to you 7 games which let you take to the skies. Incidentally, most of them are technically about gliding, and this is how we refer to it, but the practical difference is slight – you’re still ruling the skies and get a decent amount of control. That said, let’s dive into the list of 7 games where you can fly.

GameReleaseGenreDeveloper
Prototype 2009-06-10 Adventure Radical Entertainment
Prototype 2 2012-07-26 Adventure Radical Entertainment
Prototype Franchise Pack 2013-07-24 Arcade & Platform Radical Entertainment
Prototype 2 Radnet Edition 2012-07-26 Adventure
Superflight 2017-11-09 Indie GrizzlyGames
Saints Row IV 2013-08-22 Adventure High Voltage Software
Saints Row IV Game Of The Century Edition 2014-07-15 Adventure
Just Cause 4 2018-12-04 Action & Shooter Avalanche Studios
Just Cause 4 Complete Edition 2018-12-04 Adventure Avalanche Studios
The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind Goty Edition 2002-04-29 RPG Bethesda Game Studios

Infamous (series)

Release:2009-05-26
Genre:Action-adventure
Developer:Sucker Punch Productions

Infamous has a simple premise: you play a character given urban-themed superpowers with various applications. In Infamous 1 and 2 it’s just electricity, while in Second Son your powers are broader and more creative. In both cases you get to hover mid-air, potentially with some way to propel yourself. For extra spectacle: your moral stance during the game appropriately colors these powers.

Infamous Second Son
Image credit: Sucker Punch Productions

The flight, such as it is, is probably the most pronounced in Second Son, where the Video branch of abilities gives you holographic wings as you shift from hovering to dashing through the air or up the walls. Moving around in Infamous games always feels amazing, especially once you get the hang of grounded parkour and aerial movement.

Key features
  • Your characters’ moral choices affect the appearance of their powers
  • The first two games let you soar on the currents of electricity
  • Creative powers in Second Son include Video and Concrete themed abilities
  • Branching endings

Prototype 1&2

Release:2013-07-24
Genre:Arcade & Platform
Developer:Radical Entertainment

Shifting away from clean, nice superpowers of Infamous, Prototype has meaty, fleshy mutations caused by a very weird, very aggressive virus. It gives the protagonists an ability to consume people’s biomass and use it to channel all kinds of shapeshifting powers, dramatically enhanced strength, agility, and resilience, and, indeed, a way to propel themselves through the air.

Admittedly, both Mercer in the first game and Heller in the second glide more than actively fly, but they can also dash mid-air to gain some momentum and direction control. While you can’t clear the entire map this way, you can chain glides and dashes with some wall-running. And when you’re done you can meteor-smash into the ground and engage in chaotic body horror mayhem at your leisure.

Key features
  • You can consume any NPC to take them appearance and skills
  • Gruesome and awesome bio-superpowers
  • Surprisingly satisfying stories
  • The first game’s protagonist is the second game’s antagonist

Superflight

Release:2017-11-09
Genre:Indie
Developer:GrizzlyGames

Superflight might be the least stressful game on this list. There are no enemies shooting at you, no destructive objectives to achieve, there’s only you, your wingsuit, and procedurally generated maps. The gamer doesn’t even try to hide fun gliding behind weird controls. It’s all intuitive and intended to let you soar at high speed through colorful, blocky maps.

If you like a bit of a challenge, then you should be happy to learn that there are, in fact, leaderboards. You can earn points for flying close to walls and through narrow gaps. Superflight’s simple, but appealing aesthetic, the wonderful sense of speed, and simple, seed-based map generation make it a perfect game for a quick break.

Key features
  • Simple controls
  • Score points by flying close to walls, or just fly around and have fun
  • Fantastic sense of speed
  • Created by a small group of students

Saints Row 4

Release:2014-07-15
Genre:Adventure
Developer:

Saints Row 4 is a riot and a half. After the success of the pretty silly SR3, Volition went full steam ahead, and Saints Row 4 can be downright ridiculous. Very quickly the story takes you into an alien-controlled computer simulation where you get to unlock superpowers. They include blasts of energy, telekinesis and, indeed, enhanced agility which allows you to glide and dash almost gracefully.

The way it works is very similar to Prototype’s: while you technically just glide, you can perform up to three dashes (after upgrading) to change direction or gain extra momentum. And if you fly high enough, another power allows you to make a truly meteoric descent, causing a massive explosion. Yeah, it’s that kind of game. It’s a cheesy counterpart to Prototype’s grim-faced superpower sandbox.

Key features
  • The game begins in a silly way, and then it gets entertainingly ridiculous
  • Deep and flexible character customisation
  • A large crew composed of lovable weirdoes
  • Great voice cast

Just Cause 4

Release:2018-12-04
Genre:Action & Shooter
Developer:Avalanche Studios

Just Cause is a series about revolutionary adventures of agent Rico Rodriguez, who has a talent for getting jobs revolving around overthrowing oppressive island governments in explosive manners. As a proper secret agent, he has plenty of tools at his disposal, including a wingsuit which allows Rico to glide gracefully, with extra speed and airtime provided by the easy-to-use grappling hook.

There’s also the Sky Striker wingsuit, which is a massive upgrade over the base version. Not only does it include a rocket launcher, but it features a booster engine, turning your grappler-assisted glide into a proper powered flight. Now there’s no place on the entire island you can’t find and destroy if you set your mind to it. Now fly, you fool, and liberate Solís from the Black Hand and bad weather.

Key features
  • The fourth instalment in a series about the most overt secret agent in popculture
  • Highly explosive sandbox powered by fun gadgets
  • Highly entertaining traversal, including multi-function grappling hook and a wingsuit
  • Large open world

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Release:2002-04-29
Genre:RPG
Developer:Bethesda Game Studios

This one’s a little bit cheeky, but it does apply in spirit. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind doesn’t have flying even in the expanded sense of “gliding” the way other games on this list do. But it does have a levitation magical effect, which pretty much delivers the same end result: you move through the air in a more or less controlled manner. Doesn’t matter that you’re upright when you use it, flight is flight.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - levitate spell

Morrowind, in its open-world open-endedness and unashamed weirdness also features a scroll increasing your Acrobatics by a thousand points. It’s extremely not recommended to use it without a Slow Fall effect, however. It’s also in Morrowind’s nature to let you tweak existing spells, potentially increasing their power or efficiency, so you might be able to make a buffed-up levitation.

Key features
  • A fascinating setting covered in volcanic ash and inhabited by weird animals
  • Entirely free-form progression, your skills improve organically when you use them
  • Deep and weird lore
  • Incredibly moddable

Batman: Arkham (series)

Release:2018-11-28
Genre:Action
Developer:Rocksteady Studios

Early in the series, in Arkham Asylum, we had a good appetizer of things to come. When the maps truly opened up in Arkham City and beyond, soaring through the night sky as the Caped Crusader himself truly and fully felt amazing. Thanks to improved controls, with some planning one can glide across the entire map and dive bomb into some poor goon’s head in a fluid motion.

The trick to success is using the grappling hook to catapult Bats without landing on anything. You can even perform quick dives for extra speed at the cost of altitude. Whether you’re navigating between buildings or letting the streets pass by beneath you as you glide over the rooftops, at no point do you stop feeling like one of the most famous superheroes in history.

Key features
  • A series of the finest Batman simulators one could hope for
  • Excellent, fluid combat system perfect for fighting against many enemies at once
  • Many appearances from allies and villains you know from the comics
  • In some entries you can also play as Robin, Nightwing, or even Catwoman

Prepare for landing

This concludes our suggestions of games which let you take to the skies and before a terror that flaps in the night, or otherwise a death from above. Hopefully something here sparked your interest and you’re already thinking about maneuvering between obstacles or prepping to descend with great vengeance onto the streets below. Either way, hopefully we gave you wings to fly on.