This September 7, 2021, the 3rd opus of Bus Simulator is released. The studio stillalive has been working on the Unreal Engine for 5 years for its realistic city bus driving. Because here, there is no question of long journeys over several hundred kilometers as with Fernbus, we remain confined to the scale of a city, the brand new Angel Shores.
And to explore this area, stillalive and astragon Entertaiment have once again surrounded themselves with the greatest manufacturers (see full list here) such as Volvo, Alexander Dennis, Scania, Iveco, Mercedes-Benz, Man, or Blue Bird. The main gameplay remains unchanged from Bus Simulator 18, and old and new players alike will pick up the game very quickly.
At the helm of an urban transport company, you will have to manage your fleet, your employees, but above all your routes through a coherent and well-structured scripted mode, in order to increase your experience and satisfy users. At the first launch, you will be able to choose between 4 profiles according to your driving style. In short, the player will move towards pure and hard simulation or towards arcade driving with simplified controls. Something to satisfy everyone.
A compelling scenario
Like any good self-respecting simulation, you will be free to move around and drive your buses as you see fit, as long as you respect the signs. But the most interesting gameplay undoubtedly comes from the scenario mode, in which you will be guided by the municipal team and Mira, who returns to service by your side for your first hours walking the alleys of Angel Shores. The progression is quite linear, with clear and easily achievable goals. For example, you will have to create routes, interconnect them, allocate night buses to meet the demand of certain neighborhoods (nightclubs oblige), buy ecological buses (electric buses are a novelty in BS 21), increase the level of frequentation of certain stops, etc. Enough to occupy you a hundred hours all the same.
And the hours, we do not count them at the wheel of the very complete fleet of the game. Accordion, gas, electric, and for the first time double-decker buses, you will have to earn your living to unlock them and be able to buy them. But on that side, don't worry, Bus Simulator 21 is not a game where you will spend most of your time doing the accounting. No. The money falls quickly enough and in sufficient quantity to allow an unrestrained progression. stillalive managed to manage the balance "Playing pleasure / economic difficulty" wonderfully, so that aspiring drivers can concentrate on the most interesting: city driving.
Under the spell of Angel Shores
And what a city! Angel Shores, the new American card, is simply magical, magical. The old map, Seaside Valley is also present, but stuck when launching the game. The US city won't let you go anyway. The work done here is unprecedented in a bus simulation. Even the recent and ultra realistic The bus is not as alive. Because yes, in Angel Shores, the population is present, whether by car, with intelligent and dense traffic, or by its pedestrians, who like to cross the road (on the nails anyway) before your arrival.
The part taken by the developers for a colorful and rather fun environment (just see the proportions and the approach of the NPCs for a laugh) contrasts radically with the competing games. A choice that pays off. Angel Shores tickles the eyes and totally takes it off. Details abound, until you find cans in front of the trash cans, the buildings (ALL buildings) have pseudo 3D interiors like what Giants Software does on the Erlengrat map of the Alpine Farming DLC. We take as much pleasure in walking as in the bus, that is to say!
Angel Shores also has a strong personality, with recognizable neighborhoods: industrial zone, China Town, waterfront, hills, shopping areas… And such a large map is not made for one player. The AI will come to your support in the first place.
AI isn't waiting for you
Artificial intelligence has been reviewed. We're not talking about improvement here, no. The way to operate is different. In Bus Simulator 21, the city, life and transport don't turn off, they are continuous. In other words, when you are not playing and you are just pedestrians, your fleet continues to supply the city, which contributes even more to give that feeling of life. Moreover, when you want to take a bus to attack a route, solo, you will have the choice between starting from scratch with the bus (too bad for your IA colleague if he was in it) or then get on the bus with an IA driver. . You can start with a little “ticket check please” before asking the driver to move their back of the seat to let you drive. Better, if you are pedestrians, you can consult the times of passages on a stop, the game will then tell you at what time the next bus will pass. And believe me, your colleagues are on time. At least for AI… because human colleagues are another thing.
The multiplayer company remains a benchmark
Multiplayer works pretty much the same as Bus Simulator 18. You start a business, then invite up to 3 friends for a 4-player game. You can leave the game in free mode, in which case anyone can join you. . A system of rights allows you to regulate who can do what (buying a bus, creating a route, etc.) in order to preserve your game.
Multiplayer works in synchronized mode. That is to say that each player who is part of the company has a copy of the company on his own platform. Concretely, if "Kevin" wants to play alone in his corner to progress in the missions, "Vincent" and "Bruno" will see this progression when they return on the part later. Again, life and business never ends! This multiplayer management is quite simply the best in terms of simplicity. It is not uncommon to see your buddies getting off their bus, while you are driving and were unaware of their presence. Everyone remains free to do their own thing, but Bus Simulator 21 offers you a "spectator" mode in which you will go to check tickets while your friend is driving. Full immersion !
In the end, we can say that the recipe is taking well, once again and that the franchise now has a solid base. The developers do not deviate, and polish the game both on the technique and on the gameplay. Bus Simulator 21 is available on almost all platforms: PC Steam, PS4, Xbox One, and next-gen consoles in backward compatibility (no optimized mode for the moment… but do we need it…).
The Steam version is on sale at Gamesplanet for its release: less than 30 €!