That familiarity of driving through a real city can really enhance the realism and immersion of a sim. I would have preferred a real city to a fictional one, though. The map is fun to drive around, with a nice range of scenery and a good mix of built-up and quiet aras. I think most people at some point have wondered what it would be like driving a bus, and I found stepping aboard my Mercedes-Benz Citaro K for the first time oddly thrilling-a feeling amplified by the incredibly enthusiastic woman who walks you through the tutorial. The latest weirdly specific simulator to arrive on PC is Bus Simulator 18, which lets you drive a city bus around a fictional city, picking up passengers, printing out tickets, and making stops on time.
I’m not equating sitting on my arse playing Garbage Truck Simulator for an hour to a hard day’s graft, but you know what I mean. Whenever a truck rumbles past me on the street I think of my hours spent in Euro Truck Simulator 2 and I feel like I understand the job, at least on some superficial level. Since playing World of Subways 3: London Underground I’ve never been bothered by a tube delay. What I love about simulators is how they give you a glimpse into the lives of people who drive buses, dump garbage, and haul cargo lives that are, for most people, a mystery.
