Rotor Sim: Whirlybird Adventures
- Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
- 11 minutes ago
- 5 min read
A simcade that lets players fly helicopters as we imagine them
Helicopters are wonderous, highly flexible, complicated aerial vehicles that provide humanity with some of the most versatile mission sets possible. In order to fly these vehicles in the way we imagine them in our mind's eye, you would need a flight simulator that would let you take on sets of jobs helicopters are well known for. Immaculate Lift Studio seemingly created RotorSim to not only let people be enamored by the capabilities of helicopters, but also just enjoy the experience in a nicely packaged, accessible, adventurous experience.
Looking at publicly available information, the developer is self-taught. They create games and functional apps for the Godot Engine. In fact, looking at their Gitbhub repositories, it seems like four key parts of Rotor Sim are readily available for use or to study. An indie developer providing the building blocks of their own projects, Ã la Why485 and Vazgriz, is somewhat uncommon, but great to see. Hopefully others feel a bit inspired to try and make their own projects.
The earliest updates that can be traced through the Discord server and Itch.io at least goes as far back as May 23rd, 2024. The early builds of the game were available through Itch.io, but the version 1.0 release brought with it the release of the game on Steam on July 3rd, 2025. A demo of the game is also available on Steam, which is how I first interacted with this game, buying it shortly afterward.
Rotor Sim has two game modes. The Free Flight game mode, which, as you may have guessed, lets players fly in any condition with any aircraft in the game. An easy way to get familiar with the map.
In the single player campaign, the player flies as a new pilot in AeroAssist aircraft utility services. The description of the company according to the in-game pilot manual (a stylish choice) describes the company in a well-grounded way:
"AeroAssist began as a small venture aimed at providing crucial aerial support to inaccessible areas using governmental grants, at no cost to the affected region. Over the years, we have expanded our services globally, supporting disaster relief, medical transport, time-critical passenger movement and urgent supply delivery."
AeroAssist operates from what looks like a slightly upgraded cargo ship with a helipad on the forward deck. Players operate from this ship throughout the course of their contract. At the start of each mission players lift off from the ship in a helicopter. The mission contract dictates whether it is one of three helicopters: the Sparrow (Robinson R-44 like), the Eagle (UH-1 Huey like) or the Condor (Mi-8 Hip like). Each of them with different, noticeable flight characteristics.
After a mission is complete the level usually closes sending players to the menu to decide their next action, but by setting the Mission Completion Reset option to 'No Reset', players will have to fly back to the boat to complete the mission. The better option to really round out the experience in my opinion. It also increases the amount of flying players do, which is always positive.
In Rotor Sim, all 30 missions of the single player take place in Windy Isle; a compact but diverse set of islands. There are mountains, a literal castle, an airport, a city, air traffic, sea traffic, docks, a shady research facility - just about everything you would expect from a decently populated area.
Most important to the setting, the weather. From fog to rain to a full-blown storm that heavily reduces visibility an effect the way a helicopter flies. Coupling weather conditions with heavy cargo weights can be rather dangerous. Careful flying is required in such conditions. Just slowly trudging through low visibility situations while keeping an eye on terrain is sometimes the only path to success in some missions. This is about as dangerous as the environment gets, but the flight model is detailed enough to have a few more dangerous but realistic points.
You can definitely tell that the seemingly casual flight model that can be enjoyed with a gamepad has a few simulator-like details specific to helicopters. From minor details like the cargo hook only able to pick up objects and a gantry that must be extended to lower a hoist to rescue people. To flight model specifics, I nearly failed a mission due to sudden episodes of Vortex Ring State and Rotor RPM Droop catching me completely unprepared. The momentum and weight these helicopters have with this flight model is manageable with a gamepad but can get out of hand if players are simply mashing the controls and throwing the stick around without a care in the world. Flying helicopters as you would within the real world is the best way to go.
While doing research for this article I happened to come across the game's developer, who elaborated a bit more on Rotor Sim. Quoting them directly:
"I originally started this project because I couldn't for the life of me find a simple heli sim that felt good to play without it being attached to something much larger and more complicated (like ARMA or GTA). I just wanted to fly around and do helicopter things. I've played basically every heli game that's come out in the last 10 years and most of them feel like asset flips, or at least not made with the attention that a true nerd would have. The control and feel of the helicopter was based on many years of flying in helicopters and wanting to recapture that sense of motion and chaos."
All of this being done in a non-combat scenario may sound boring, but let me tell you, that is a major part of the enjoyment of Rotor Sim. Not constantly ducking between hills to evade ground fire or have a mission potentially fail because of a roving fighter jet gives players time to fully enjoy the flight model and immerse themselves in "helicopter things" as the developer puts it. Plucking people from dangerous situations with a hoist, delivering supplies, transporting VIPs, searching for lost hikers - a nice helicopter specific set of tasks.
Each mission has a small story within it and around it told by the contract description text and commentary from the characters during the mission. Working with different clients in this location gives one-off stories and a consistent storyline that is rather eyebrow raising from time to time. It is so interesting I do not feel like completely disclosing it in this article but know that there is intrigue abound.
Immaculate Lift Studio is already working on a sequel that is taking the concept of the original game even farther. Currently known as Rotor Sim World, some of the known details posted on the studio's Github mentions:
Many more interesting helicopters (all shapes and sizes).
Get out of your helicopter and drive cars, trucks, complete missions, and explore.
64km² world with cities, a coastline, forests, and secrets.
Expanded mission types, such as firefighting, more involved and complicated cargo operations, and smuggling.
NPCs! Thousands of citizens going about their daily lives and interacting with you.
The story of AeroAssist continues, with new characters and some old favorites coming back.
While I seem to have joined in to the Rotor Sim party a bit late, I am just on time for the pre-alpha phase of Rotor Sim World. I look forward to presenting my thoughts on the project so far and seeing where the developer takes it.
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About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
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