Everyone gets on the bus out of town
And the lights start going out one by one
So last week, I got sent Bus Driver Simulator for the Switch. And, I suppose, if you really wanted the quickest review possible, it’s exactly what it says on the tin.
As for a more in depth review…
Well, for starters, there’s really not any sort of story, because this is a ___ Simulator game. So, if that’s a deal breaker, sucks to be you, eh? The story is whatever justification you can make up.
As for the controls, I’d be lying if I didn’t say they took a bit of getting used to. But once you do, you still need to realize that this is a sim and buses are big and heavy and they handle like it.
As for the sim elements, they’re all here. You have stops you are supposed to make, and you have to do so on time. You stay there for the amount of time you’re supposed to, or you get docked points. You also get docked if you’re early to a stop by a significant amount. Or late by a significant amount. Or if you drive slightly off the road, which is easy to do. Rana red light? Oh, you better believe that’s a paddlin’ docking.
You also need to manage your fuel, but you can’t stop in the middle of a route, so you either have to do it free drive, or after the end of a route.
But really, the game is about ferrying uncanny-looking people around Cologne, Germany or Serpukhov, Russia. And making as much money as possible as you do.
side from fuel, you can use that money earned to buy all kinds of things. Namely, decor for your buses, and different buses. Each bus has different parameters, so none of them drive exactly the same. They also have different passenger capacities, so that’s a good thing to keep in mind.
But other than that, it’s just tooling around as a bus driver. Which, thanks to this game, I’ve discovered to be a job that I’d really be quite bad at. Like, extremely bad at.
So… it’s really hard to say what the recommendation would be. If you’re into sims, Bus Driver Simulator might just be your game. If you want to play it like it’s Crazy Taxi, it’s probably not your game. I guess that’s the most I can say about it.
Pros:
+ Offers you the full bus-driving sim experience
+ Will teach you to treat people working this job with a little more respect
+ Amazing NPC faces
Cons:
– “Amazing” NPC faces
– Getting back to the garage the normal way is a pain
– The fun of being in traffic… while not actually being in traffic.
Final Score:
“The wheels on the bus go round and round.”
*Review copy provided by the publisher*
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