PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews

Bus Bound is a simulation game with purpose, and seeing Emberville City grow as you breathe life into it is more of a reward than you’ll often find in this genre.

The developers at stillalive studios have achieved their best iteration of a simulation game with the release of Bus Bound. Strong gameplay, great variety in vehicles, a brilliant weather system and a thin, if not endearing, narrative help propel this genre into new heights. I do have some problems with bugs, animations and some lenient gameplay decisions, but overall, this is a great simulator game in a genre that I am rapidly falling in love with. I’m going back to the routes.

If you're after an accessible and welcoming bus simulation title, Bus Bound fits the bill in a serviceable fashion. Riding buses, collecting passengers and managing routes are all well implemented, and the handling of each vehicle makes each journey slightly different. Hardcore sim fans may be displeased with the lack of esoteric manual features and the inability to walk outside of the buses, but ultimately Bus Bound is a welcome aboard for anybody who wants a sim offering without the torturous nitty gritty technical graft.

Bus Bound is one of the most accessible bus simulators out there, expecting you to drive with care but not bogging you down with too many intricacies. It works both for and against it: this will be enjoyable for many, but a lack of depth means that it soon becomes quite repetitive. Still, it's worth a look, especially with its budget price.

Bus Bound's premise is to make the city evolve with the routes we take, and while this is an interesting way to give purpose to this type of game, it ends up becoming highly repetitive in its progression. At least the varied garage and dynamic weather create some interesting variations each time we enter a route.