Lovely title to the post, Chillindan!
Our home sims have come a long way since the last 2010 posts. Forgetting the heavy iron, which is simulated amazingly now, we do have some gems, such as the A2A C172 trainer which, with some good scenery, can be pretty realistic. However, as always pointed out, "it's as real as it gets" is still not real - and the control forces and seat of the pants feel of real flying just aren't there. Never mind. It's still a very useful tool, particularly in practising instrument flying, or (especially with photo scenery) flying a planned flight! Also, X-plane 10.25 (PC or Mac) is now superb, and flying characteristics are much more accurate than MSFS. Flight simming is, in itself, a great hobby.
It's also a lot cheaper than the real thing, but it can't compare to turning up at the airfield (better with friends), checking the plane, doing some flying and then the eggs and coffee, mutual debriefs and hangar flying.
Good for you in getting going again. Might it be better to go for the EASA LAPL now, rather than the NPPL?