In 2011, Stunt Flyer: Hero of the Skies was released exclusively to Nintendo Wii, where players could take to the skies in a kid-friendly, arcade-like flight simulation game. The game even came packaged with its own peripheral, which was designed to look like a plane steering wheel with a slot for the Wii Remote to utilise its motion controls.

Now in 2025, the Wii-exclusive game has been ported to modern consoles, published by Ultimate Games S.A. and developed by Torus Games, known simply as Stunt Flyer, ready to take flight on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch.

In this vibrant flying adventure led by sibling duo Jimmy and Sophie, players will take to the skies in a world filled with wild inventions and fantastical flying machines. Each aircraft is unique and fully customisable with various gadgets and gear, from UFOs and gyrocopters to nimble jets.

The game has no main menu and puts you straight into it, beginning with a tutorial to get you acquainted. Unlike the original Wii version, which used motion controls, the modern ports use a traditional control scheme with joysticks and buttons to steer, turn, and perform barrel rolls. The controls are simple, easy to pick up and play, and suitable for all ages.

Players can fly around the map at their own free will or take on a variety of missions. These include flying through rings, watering plants, shooting targets, taking photos, and more. Each mission is straightforward and easy to follow but can be challenging.

Whether the challenge is fun or not is subjective because it can feel long and tedious to complete since the plane doesn’t move that fast. I looked up videos of the original Wii version, and it’s clear that it was a much faster game than this, but that could be by design since this game is aimed at kids. Even so, an option for faster gameplay would’ve been nice because the Wii version looks more fun to play. This is more apparent when comparing times between the Wii and modern versions.

Players will have a selection of different pilots, unlock more planes of different types, even a UFO, and can unlock more maps for more missions and more fun. Aside from the missions, there is also a long list of in-game achievements and presents to find that will keep players busy.

The graphics don’t look like they’ve improved much or at all from the Wii version, especially with character faces, as they’re blurry and pixelated despite the Wii and especially modern consoles being capable of better graphics. Overall, they have a bright, colourful, and cartoonish-friendly look, like something out of a kids’ picture book.

The animations are simple and flow nicely without many frame drops. If players crash their plane, there aren’t any explosions as the plane will fall like dropping a toy plane before respawning. If they fall into the water, the pilot will exit their plane and float angrily, shaking their fist at the player.

The respawns can occasionally be problematic, with players being spawned right in front of a building, mountain, or object and having no time to react and avoid them. Eventually, players will respawn in a safe area, but this can be a little annoying.

There isn’t much else to say about this game, but enough content keeps kids entertained. All children have dreamt about flying in the air, and this game helps recreate that feeling of soaring through the skies.

It feels like an inferior version of the Wii game with its slower speed and doesn’t do much to improve in other areas, but its target players are children, and they will find plenty to enjoy. Stunt Flyer is a fun, simple, kid-friendly flying simulation game that keeps kids busy and entertained.

Written by: Sammy Hanson