High risk, high reward. It applies even to jobs in which you’re safeguarding lives instead of ending them. Few positions are more stressful than those relating to air traffic control for major airports. Tomorrow marks ATC 4’s seventh anniversary since its official release.

It took five more years for the current Steam port I’m reviewing, but 2020 marked quite ironically, the start of both the global Covid-19 pandemic and the introduction of this professional ATC sim alongside the most recent rendition of Microsoft Flight Simulator on the Steam Store. Real life airlines were struggling, yet digital flight enthusiasts at least had a couple of reasons to rejoice once the incoming lockdown was enforced.

ATC 4 is almost a complementary experience to professional flight sims since the hands-on approach to aviation games still depends on the continuous support of simulated air traffic controllers. From small rural airstrips to huge airports servicing a metropolis, you can be certain that dedicated individuals shall guide your aircraft to safety in a most organized manner.

“I am an Air Traffic Controller 4” by its full name, is the brainchild of a Japanese developer and self-publisher aptly called TechnoBrain. Since 1998, they’ve been tirelessly working on improving their simulators regarding air traffic control.

Judging by the online footage of their previous ATC versions (some of which were even ported to mobile platforms), I am pleased to say that such simulations are helping popularize the very crucial role played by air traffic controllers in our daily lives within the 21st century globalisation which enabled low-cost airlines to prosper to a certain point. Setbacks are still only temporary.

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There’s obviously no such thing as a story mode or any narrative thread to an in-depth simulation like ATC 4. Even the tutorial I strongly recommend you dive into as soon as you’ve installed the game, shall simply guide you through the basics in a very formal manner. Consider it all an elaborate test towards a potential career path.

That’s what I did, and let me tell you that at some point in my life that was closer to reality than mere speculation. If nothing else, it enabled me to experience some of the trials which trained traffic controllers have to endure constantly. There is no room for failure, even the slightest hypothetical error could result in tragedy given real life circumstances.

Air traffic controllers don’t get directly featured in a lot of TV shows or movies, but without spoiling anything, you might wanna check out their roles in “Breaking Bad” (season 2) and 1997’s “Turbulence”. They exemplify what stress and distraction can inflict in terms of negative consequences and also the positive aspects through which ATC can literally guide someone on how to pilot an aircraft.

You see, air traffic controllers lack the practice of actual flight, yet they must have the theoretical knowledge nailed down to a fault. Flying is “easy”. Landing and taking off are not. Even a distressed flight attendant can be a quick learner when lives are at stake.

Proprietary graphics engine, as expected. The performance was also quite smooth, I doubt you couldn’t run this even on an entry level laptop. Now compare that to Microsoft Flight Simulator requiring a beastly system if one desires the eye candy AND a stable, decent frame rate. Apples to oranges, I know.

Such educational simulations shouldn’t be restrictive from a technical perspective. The “paywall” type of price tag is deterrent enough, for us to worry about also spending on a high-end PC what others might “splurge” on a second hand car. Priorities, I guess. ATC 4 won’t mesmerize anyone with its graphics, but they’re serviceable and the stability is par on course.

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Lots of radio banter. Occasional, discreet musical tracks which get boring really fast and you end up muting them and listening to whatever genre might relax you instead. And yet your eyes and ears are required for the immediate tasks at hand. “Blink and you’ve missed it” won’t cut it in an ATC tower. I hope you didn’t expect any emotional voice acting. ATC 4 shows about as much emotion as an answering machine’s voice input. I didn’t mind it at all though.

Like any veritable simulator, the gameplay has to compensate for the missing storyline. Not as much customization as I would have preferred, yet the experience still gets tailored by how efficiently you learn to manage your in-game duties. As much as I want to call it a smooth learning process, bear in mind that the complexity can be overwhelming in the first few hours, tutorial or not.

Adaptive difficulty at the very least. “Juggling” between several airplanes which all require your immediate assistance can be quite daunting, but also gives plenty of satisfaction as you keep progressing and decreasing the reaction time necessary for completion of various objectives.

Now if only the actual featured airports would be as diversified in the base game, like those fictional airplanes and airlines. Sadly, you’ll have to contend with just Tokyo’s Haneda Airport unless you pick up the DLCs that unlock airports from Okinawa and Hokkaido. Base game features only civilian aircraft, while the Naha Airport DLC will be your final stop if you wish to manage fighter jets as well.

Even without purchasing any DLC however, you shall still find the initial simulation adequate in terms of location and the auxiliary gameplay elements blurring the line between entertainment and instructional purposes.

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Fortunately, there’s a bite-sized demo for you to enjoy before deciding if you’ll sink your teeth into the retail version or not. For someone learning the ropes in real life as they prepare for this particular career path, this might just be a perfect introduction at home or wherever a laptop can be carried around.

I think that flight enthusiasts can learn a thing or two as well. Being behind the cockpit is only half of the full experience, as I like to regard it. ATC 4 and Steam Sales are a great combo and patience is paramount. Cleared for takeoff, runway zero three.

+ Complex simulation.
+ Replay and educational value.
+ Decent graphics & soundtrack.

- Limited airport selection even with the separately purchased DLCs.
- No Steam Trading Cards nor Achievements.

This article was submitted for Imperial Reviews. Following my Curator Page, will help me keep publishing new reviews as soon as I can. Thank you for your support!