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Bus-Simulator 2012

Bus-Simulator 2012 Game Cover
36%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, humor
Most mentioned negative aspects:graphics, optimization
36% User Score Based on 421 reviews

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PCWindows
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Bus-Simulator 2012 Game Cover

About Bus-Simulator 2012

Bus-Simulator 2012 is a single player and multiplayer open world simulation game. It was developed by TML-Studios and was released on November 22, 2013. It received negative reviews from players.

Catch the bus and let it take you to a detailed, virtual world. Every technical detail of the original bus has been reproduced true-to-live. Switch on the air-conditioning when your front-shields are steaming up and keep an eye on the speedograph, to stay in schedule – even though you have a lot of missions, you will still need to rest in order to stay fit! Thanks to the digital readouts in the bu…

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Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
Bus-Simulator 2012 screenshot
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Reviews

36%Audience ScoreBased on 421 reviews
gameplay6 positive mentions
graphics12 negative mentions
  • Highly detailed simulation including bus management features such as toggling dashboard buttons, entering driver ID and passcodes, and handling ticket sales, adding to realism.
  • Large and immersive city environment with numerous bus stops and a functioning urban traffic system, giving a convincing bus driving experience.
  • The buses feel weighty and deliberate with a focus on realistic driving physics and operational procedures, pleasing to simulation enthusiasts who enjoy a challenging experience.
  • The game suffers from poor optimization and frequent crashes, running laggy even on capable hardware, severely impacting playability.
  • Controls and user interface are overly complicated and poorly explained, with a steep learning curve and an ineffective tutorial making it frustrating for new players to start driving.
  • Numerous bugs and glitches, including problematic AI behavior, imprecise physics, passenger and traffic issues, and lack of save functionality, further degrade the overall experience.

  • graphics

    49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    20% positive mentions, 56% neutral mentions, 24% negative mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely criticized for being outdated, simplistic, and often laggy, with some calling them poor or even a disaster. While a few users note decent or crisp visuals and good lighting effects, most agree the graphics lack detail, polish, and optimization, requiring high specs without delivering significant improvements. Overall, the visuals do not meet modern expectations and detract from the experience.

    • “Bus Simulator 2012 took a while to understand how it works and runs but is a very good game with very good graphics and a very good setup.”
    • “One thing I will say is that the graphics were very nice and the night lighting was superb.”
    • “Graphics were great, and after 3 hours, I did learn how to drive the bus.”
    • “There’s no difference in resource consumption between low and high settings, even though visually, when lowering the graphics quality, the game looks noticeably worse, but the fps doesn't significantly improve.”
    • “The game is an incredible clunky mess; you can actually still play other old games, like TD Unlimited 2, and get a good experience, while this game is totally ancient in both execution, graphics, and features.”
    • “Last thing this is the only game I've played where the lowest graphic settings look better than the highest.”

  • optimization

    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    19% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 56% negative mentions

    The game offers detailed mechanics but suffers from severe optimization issues, including frequent bugs, frame drops, and stuttering that significantly hinder performance even on high-end systems. Many players find it unplayable or unstable without extensive trial-and-error adjustments, making it frustrating despite its potential.

    • “Engine temperature, air conditioning, oil pressure, and even windshield condensation can affect performance and passenger comfort.”
    • “If you drive too recklessly, passengers will complain, and your performance rating will drop.”
    • “A lot of people have problems with performance and bugs but with a bit of trial and error and settings adjustments, you can make the game semi-stable on your machine even with low to average hardware.”
    • “Because of the terrible optimization, the game is unplayable.”
    • “The game is very poorly optimized despite its detailed design.”
    • “The game runs poorly in terms of optimization and stability; having a high-end rig does not help.”

  • stability

    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game suffers from numerous stability issues, including frequent crashes, glitches, and buggy physics that often render it unplayable or frustrating. Users report problems with AI behavior, display rendering, and compatibility with steering wheels, indicating that the game requires significant patches to become stable and enjoyable.

    • “The game is very buggy, for me unplayable as the display didn't render properly, leaving a black screen with a minimap.”
    • “This game really needs patching. The amount of glitches and bugs make it feel abandoned. Every time you go up or down a hill, the bus gets stuck and you have to open and close the doors to move again. It's frustrating when all you want is to play without issues.”
    • “Crashing freezes the whole computer, necessitating pulling the plug to get anywhere.”

  • gameplay

    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions

    The gameplay aims to offer a detailed urban transport simulation with mechanical fidelity and operational challenges, but suffers from control issues, glitches, and a lack of smoothness that hinder enjoyment. While experienced simulation fans may find value after overcoming initial difficulties, the game falls short in intuitive mechanics and polish compared to top titles in the genre.

    • “Rather than focusing solely on driving, the game seeks to simulate the broader experience of being part of an urban transport network—following schedules, serving passengers, maintaining mechanical systems, and navigating traffic under pressure.”
    • “One of the game’s strongest elements is its mechanical fidelity.”
    • “Once you’ve mastered the mechanics and mapped the city’s layout, the only remaining challenge is to maintain perfection across increasingly familiar routes.”
    • “But lousy way to control the gameplay if only by keyboard!”
    • “Gameplay sucks, the bus flies up in the air if you crash and signals don't work with sound sometimes.”

  • humor

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's humor largely stems from its clunky physics, odd AI behavior, and frequent glitches, which create an unintentionally funny experience that users consistently find hilarious.

    • “On paper, it’s a detailed simulator with solid ideas, but in practice, the clunky physics, odd AI behavior, and frequent glitches turn it into something unintentionally hilarious.”
    • “We found this whole experience incredibly funny.”
    • “The feels you get when you get on the bus, this game is just hilarious.”

  • story

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The story in this game is seen as compelling by some users, standing out compared to newer entries in the series which lack depth and focus mainly on gameplay elements like driving. However, the missions can feel repetitive over time, leading to a blurring of objectives. Overall, the narrative is regarded as a strong point that adds value to the experience.

    • “Bought for the compelling story.”
    • “The missions, while structured around realistic timetables, begin to blur together after several hours.”
    • “The new games lack something special that this one has... this was the one to end all of them and it's a shame that they went all bubble graphics and story mode when there isn't a story to be told... you're a driver.”

  • atmosphere

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The atmosphere is subdued yet convincing, effectively immersing players in a realistic, though somewhat unremarkable, city routine.

  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The emotional aspect highlights the game's satisfying and engaging interactions, such as easily creating pile-ups and flipping cars with simple touches, adding a fun and dynamic feel.

  • grinding

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in these simulators, including New York City Bus Simulator, OMSI series, farming sims, and ETS2/ATS, is often noted as a core gameplay element that requires repetitive tasks to progress, appealing to players who enjoy immersive, routine-based experiences.

  • replayability

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game offers a high level of replayability due to the variety of bus routes available to drive, providing players with diverse experiences each time they play.

    • “I like the amount of bus routes that are available to drive; it gives a lot of replayability to the game.”
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Play Times

1h Median play time
1h Average play time
1-1h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Bus-Simulator 2012 is a open world simulation game. Common tags for Bus-Simulator 2012 include first-person, driving, realistic and fast-paced.

Bus-Simulator 2012 is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 1 hours playing Bus-Simulator 2012.

Bus-Simulator 2012 was released on November 22, 2013.

Bus-Simulator 2012 was developed by TML-Studios.

Bus-Simulator 2012 has received negative reviews from players. Most players liked Bus-Simulator 2012 for its gameplay but disliked it for its graphics.

Bus-Simulator 2012 is a single player game with multiplayer support.

Similar games include OMSI 2, Bus Simulator 16, Bus Simulator 18, Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop, Fernbus Simulator and others.