Bus Bound - PS5 Review

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Simulator titles based on relatively mundane jobs are like marmite. You either love them or hate them. Personally, I quite like getting stuck into a virtual job. More so than my real job, anyway. Developed by stillalive studios, Bus Bound is the latest sim that puts players behind the wheel of the most unreliable of all public transport: the bus. Clue’s in the name really…

Available now for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S, is Bus Bound another surprisingly fun public transport sim from the developer that brought us the well-received Bus Simulator 21? Let’s find out!

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

A blue, single decker bus can be seen driving down a long stretch of road. There is a queue of cars up ahead. — The bus that couldn’t slow down.

In my short time working at Thumb Culture, I feel like I’ve covered a lot of simulators. However, I’ve yet to review one centred around buses! Although I don’t like actual buses (they turn up late and kids sit at the back blasting rubbish music), I do find games based around them super calming. I’d love to hear some of your go-to titles that help you unwind, since people constantly tell me I need to relax more! Let us know in the comments below, but for now, the bus has arrived, so on with the review!

Gameplay

Each in-game day starts the same. Pick a route to take (or plot out your own!), select the bus you wish to drive, and off you go! Your aim is to pick up and drop off passengers at designated stops along your route. Despite the simulator moniker, Bus Bound is more of an entry-level approach to the genre and keeps to the basics. There’s no getting up from the driver’s seat to check tickets and no hassle with giving the correct change. That’s because these buses are free, and the city supports your company based on the reviews given by passengers. Absolutely crazy way to run public transport, but you do you Emberville.

An overhead map view where the player is currently adding a new bus line. Once connected, they will be able to navigate this route in-game. — Next stop, Phoenix High!

Bus Bound rates you on pretty much everything. Doing things such as speeding, not indicating when turning, or hitting the kerb when pulling up at a stop will negatively impact your score. Driving like a sane person generates Bus Bound‘s form of currency: goodwill. The more goodwill you accumulate, the more stops, customisation options, upgrades, and buses will unlock. It’s quite simple in its premise, but the steady stream of unlocks and upgrades keeps the game engaging for a time.

There’s less of a hardcore-like sim feel to it all than what you may be used to. But, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s much more accessible because of this, and being able to pretty much just pick up and play the game feels like a novel concept for a sim.

Graphics & Audio

Whilst games in the simulator genre aren’t known for their stunning graphics, Bus Bound isn’t half bad! The city itself is perhaps the star of the show. Seeing it change as you progress is a really nice touch. As you earn goodwill, Emberville physically changes to reflect the shift from cars to a more pedestrianised, public-transport-reliant city. It’s cool to see routes you’ve travelled countless times suddenly look and feel different. It doesn’t change the gameplay, but it did feel gratifying to greenify Emberville. Oh, and the weather, especially when it’s stormy, can look really nice when driving in first-person. Don’t forget to turn your wipers on!

The first-person camera from the drivers perspective. It's a rainy, overcast day, with rain blanketing the front windscreen. The bus is currently idle in a traffic jam. — You just know there’s an impatient BMW driver close by trying to cut you off.

You’re also able to customise your fleet of buses from a pretty wide range of cosmetic options. From sleek, modern designs, racing stripes that will make your bus go faster (don’t fact-check this), and retro-inspired paint jobs, there is plenty here to spruce up your buses!

There isn’t too much to say for the audio. The buses themselves sound true to life, with their big, menacing-sounding engines and squeaky doors. The rest of the sounds you’ll here though aren’t anything special. The music is your standard simulator generic royalty-free radio stations, for instance. The limited voice acting isn’t terrible, but you’re not here for a gripping narrative anyway! Overall, the audio design does the job, but unfortunately doesn’t do anything to make Bus Bound stand out amongst other titles like it.

Longevity

Bus Bound can feel like a bit of a slog at times. The core driving never changes, and when you’re repeating the same routes over and over to unlock new stops, it can become tiresome. This is a game you could play indefinitely. Although there is a cap on areas and bus stops to unlock, you are able to freely drive around for as long as you’re kept entertained.

I felt done with Bus Bound after around 15 or so hours. Yes, the handling is good, with each bus having a slightly different feel to them, and the city is an interesting area to navigate. But, there just wasn’t enough variety in the gameplay to keep me hooked.

Final Thoughts

A customisation window is open on the left, with a variety of colours available. Each can be used to change the look of the selected bus, which is currently painted a bluish green shade. — How do I add flame decals?

As I mentioned earlier, I did enjoy Bus Bound for a time. Eventually, though, there was less and less for me to do besides heading out on the road and picking up passengers. Sure, it makes sense that that should be the main focus of a bus simulator, but I would have liked a more in-depth sim to keep me engaged.

However, for the budget-friendly price of £24.99, there’s quite a lot of fun to be had. Depending on what you’d call fun, of course… It looks great, the performance is smooth throughout, and it’s just a pretty laid-back simulator that doesn’t overwhelm players with too much.

Therefore, Bus Bound receives the Thumb Culture Silver Award!