BUS DRIVER SIMULATOR 2019 Preview on Steam

When it comes to simulator games, there are two types. One type is a goofy game with a hint of eccentrism, but with a lots of enjoyment. Usually, those games do fine as is. Then, there are the second type of simulator games, the ones that are more serious and try to be as realistic and such. When it comes to these kind of games, it’s either a hit or miss. Some games are a hit, like Farming Simulator, while others are the unlucky ones who receive the shaft.  When I heard the title, Bus Driver Simulator, I was intrigued by the thoughts of how the game will work out. But, before we dive into the nitty-gritty of the game, let’s take a look at the developer(s) and/or publisher(s).

Bus Driver Simulator is developed and published by KishMish Games, an American-based Indie Studio. Not much is known about the studio, with exceptions to the facts that it is a recently made company, and the main focus of the studio’s team are on two games: Bus Driver Simulator 2019 and Metro Simulator 2019, as said on their official website.

Now, let’s take a look at what the game is about.

According to the Steam page, Bus Driver Simulator puts you in the seat as a Passenger Bus Driver, transporting riders from one destination to another, while driving through virtual cities in Russia and Germany, which were, as the page puts it, “recreated very accurate, in every detail…” The page then states that the player has the freedom to choose how they can drive their bus (to a certain legal extent, as the game penalizes for improper behavior on the road) and decorate it how they please, with them having to earn money to buy other buses and upgrades, Lastly, as if to put in an extra touch of realism, the page warns the players about making sure they keep their bus’ filled, or they will have to call a tow truck to get their bus towed, additionally stating that the players must be prepared to spend a copious amount of time in one of the garages where the buses can get upgraded,

All of those details are what had made Bus Driver Simulator 2019 sound interesting, but is the game actually fun and will it be a hit?

Unfortunately, Bus Driver Simulator 2019 ends up being a miss. Sure, the idea of driving around foreign cities of Germany or Russia seem enticing, but that’s the only major appeal to it. What’s wrong with the game?

Well, to start, the title seems to lag a bit, nothing too bad, but when I click on the tutorial in the “Career” mode, I am treated with a long loading screen. The loading took a very long time. Once the game finally loaded, I was treated with having to memorize a whole bunch of keyboard buttons, one to open the door, one to activate the park mode, you know, stuff that bus drivers do. To some people, like me, it would be pretty difficult having to memorize all those buttons, and I found myself having to look back at the menu, which wasn’t too much of a help. Once I managed to get started on the tutorial, the part where I start driving and picking up passengers, there was a big issue: the game lagged terribly! It was so difficult to drive properly with all of the lag.  Once I managed to finish the tutorial on a rather imperfect note, I decided to see the Career mode again. All I saw were just the two maps that were mentioned in the Steam page. As a matter of fact, when I attempted to go back to the Career mode, and I started the Russian map, I was met with not only the long loading screen but another longer loading screen.

Now, I understand that this is an “Early Access” game, but taking a look at when the game was first published shows that this game was released January 31st of 2018. Worse, you actually have to pay money for a game, that not only has two maps, and two DLC’s that you have to pay for, but is practically incomplete.

So, to summarize what I think of this game:

It’s not worth your 10 dollars. The game would’ve worked out fine, had the developers put more effort in the game by:

• Polishing some details here and there
• Make the controls more easy to remember, or make it easier with less buttons
• Update the game to add more maps
• Fix the lagging and optimize the game

Bus Driver Simulator 2019 is currently available for PC for $9.99 via Steam Early Access.