Great weight loss tool, I lost 20 pounds in a week just from sweating so hard!

Jokes aside, the backend of the multiplayer in this game needs some serious work. The skill-based matchmaking is non-existent, every game I am paired with players well beyond my skill level and struggle to break even most of the time. I also live in a region where I'm forced to play on 70-80 ping and the game matches me with opponents with <20 ping it makes fair gunfights very difficult as the time-to-kill is so ridiculously quick that I'm often dead before my hits even register on the opponent. This means I'm often forced to play a more camp-y playstyle in the hopes of catching people off guard since I can't win a fair gunfight which isn't very fun. Better skill-based matchmaking and lag compensation would be a place to improve.

If you're a sweat or someone who has a good connection then you'll do just fine tho. I'm sure a lot of people love it but I'm really struggling to enjoy it.

Alright, I'm gonna chuck a positive review here partly because I don't think it's entirely fair that people are jumping on the bandwagon, dropping a negative review when they've played for 20 minutes and haven't even given the game a chance, and also because I think it's a good game!

While the game has its fair share of (relatively minor, especially for day one non-AAA title) bugs and glitches that will be polished out later, the game has a lot going for it:

- All of the content in Bus Simulator 18, including the original map, map extension and all the buses.
- A new map that is beautiful and detailed
- 30+ Incredibly detailed licenced buses
- A fantastic new route management system, which lets you plan routes like in 18, but also lets you assign AI buses for peak-time only, lets you drive multiple different routes back-to-back without a single loading screen, adjust timings and plan routes around peak/demand times, spawns all your AI buses you have scheduled so you can watch them (and then take over if you wish) drive around in real-time, and you have the option to skip time so you can drive whatever, wherever, whenever you like!
- Dynamic weather system that change as you are driving around.
- Play multiplayer with up to 3 of your mates, either ride around in a convoy, all four of you can drive separate routes on the same map, or you can all pile onto the same bus!

Though I will admit there are a few issues. In my opinion there's nothing game-breaking, but I reckon the game needed a few more weeks to iron out bugs before release. That's it, it's really not the unplayable mess that other reviewers claim it to be. There are issues with some external wheels and controllers not working well (for the record, I play using an Xbox one controller an have had no issues) but an update will be pushed out for that ASAP. The AI vehicles drive erratically, sometimes they are very hesitant and block intersections, sometimes they're impatient af and can't wait to pull out in front of you or overtake you at intersections. There are some minor graphics bugs here and there but nothing I would consider gameplay-affecting. And in denser areas the game is a bit of a performance-hog and you can experience fps drops but I am sure that'll be improved once the bigger issues are ironed out. Just make sure all your wheel/controller/graphics drivers are up-to-date!

All in all, not the smoothest launch ever, but I honestly don't believe the reviews at the moment are truly representative of the game as a whole. If you loved BS18 but the negative reviews have scared you off, come back in a couple weeks when the first couple of hotfixes have dropped and I you won't be disappointed.

Good game but a total sweat-fest and very unfriendly for beginners. I liked the game itself but most of the games I played were utterly miserable.

Good game thanks for sharing

This game isn't perfect. Being released in 2003 (14 years ago!) and having almost zero updates since then means that this game isn't really made for current machines. It still works, but there are resolution issues and some minor issues that might arise (I haven't had any on this computer, but my old one had some).

However, I whole-heartedly believe this is still one of the best city-builders out there. The graphics aren't amazing but they really let you appreciate the scale of the cities you can create.

The terrain generator can take some practice to make interesting, natural-looking landscapes, but it is pretty deep and can let you create anything you like if you have the patience for it.
The city-builder is where this game shines though. There's so much depth to it. You start off with an empty plot of land and can basically go nuts. It's so damn satisfying starting off with a small town and slowly growing it, zoning higher-density lots in the middle of town, and before you know it you've got a sweet city. With decent education, health and stuff like parks, richer people move in, and the inner-city shops are replaced by towering office blocks, and cheap apartment blocks are replaced by grand towers with beautiful gardens. It certainly rewards patience and careful planning.

But why stop there? Make another city in an adjacent block of land and build another! Linke them up with roads and railways, and now you have neighbour cities! Now you can specialise your cities. Don't want your cities to have all that power-hungry, polluting industry? Have an industry-only city and put all your residential in another! Neighbour cities share demand, and you can even share power, water and garbage disposal between cities so eventually it'll transform from several linked cities to one massive metropolis.

I could go on, but I'll leave it there.

If you love city-builders, this game is fantastic. An older game, but can still compete with the best games of today. Definitely recommend.