I find simulators interesting but a part of me just wants to cause chaos or drive around fast in the case of Bus Simulator. Thankfully, the new expansion has a free roam, which could be my favourite addition ever.
I was intrigued enough by reviews of Astragon Entertainment and Sillalive Studios’ Bus Simulator to take a look and while I enjoyed the town and general idea of the game, the constant chat from the passengers provided the most entertainment. The base game involves earning money and building up the bus company by carefully sticking to the route, getting fares right and delivering your bus back in the evening without bumps and scratches and, for the most part. the new DLC is the same.
The new routes, Sonnstein and Kerstadt, feel quite different from those in the base game, with more scenery and some really nice roads to drive as well as an airport and university to boot. It’s really a great addition if you enjoyed the main game and even the story is better in that it’s a lot more fluid.
Organising the expansion of routes is both interesting and gives a good sense of achievement when you start to ferry passengers further afield. The difficultly level is about the same, too, though there are lots of options to fiddle with to make things a little easier for you. For me the main issue was getting fine for my driving, especially when some of the new roads have some pretty sharp bends and the bus really didn’t want to go around them!
In my opinion, though, the best part of the new DLC is the free roam. It ignores the financial aspects of the game and the need to take pesky passengers wherever they want and just gives you any bus, even the ones you might not have unlocked, and sets you off wherever you want to go. A busman’s holiday, I guess. It’s great because I can just try all the things out that would normally give me a stern look and a huge bill. Fancy seeing just how fast you can take the bend? No problem. Ignore speed bumps? Yep, Recreating the final scene from the Young Ones? You bet!
The expansion feels, well, expansive and well worth your time if you’re an avid bus sim fan.
Bus Simulator Map Expansion
Pros
- A great new map extension
- Lovely scenery
- Free roam is great fun
- New bus types
Cons
- Still the same annoying passengers
