Ah, those crazy Germans and their love for long-haul driving simulators. They love nothing more than donning a neck-pillow, tying up a pair of fluffy dice, and heading out on the roads at no more than 50mph. Who are we to stop them?
If you have a truck cockpit setup in your living room, then prepare to fall in love. Fernbus Coach Simulator brings 50,000km of European roads to your Xbox and PlayStation, taking you from the Brandenburg Gate in Germany all the way to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and beyond. Whether you can get five-stars and a SWAT team chasing you, should you plough into the Champs-Élysées, is another matter.
Publisher Aerosoft and developers TML Studios and Zero Games Studio have aimed to replicate the cockpit of five different long-haul coaches all in the official Flixbus livery (we don’t know who Flixbus are either, so we’re going to mentally switch it to National Express coaches whenever it comes up).
The premise is giving us theory test flashbacks. You have to keep your eye out for hazards, construction sites, traffic jams and accidents, and handle them accordingly. We’ll be pressing the button as the hazard develops, obviously. You can also travel at night, so do your utmost to keep your hundreds of passengers safe and cozy.
There are 100 landmarks from across Europe to visit, and you’ll have to be timely: there is a tight itinerary, and you’ll get docked pay and presumably Uber ranking score if you don’t meet the deadlines. Sounds like there might be some time pressures after all.
Fernbus Coach Simulator is priced at a reasonably hefty £31.99, which is still cheaper than buying a coach outright. Obviously, it gets more expensive if you want to buy a steering wheel and pedals. You know you want to.Â
The key features of Fernbus Coach Simulator on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 include:
- Original MAN Lion’s Coach 2nd Gen, MAN Lion’s Coach C 2nd Gen, MAN Lion Intercity, Neoplan Skyliner, BB40.
- Over 50,000 km of motorway and rural road network in over 100 European cities
- Dynamic weather with seasons and night driving
- Bus driver can leave the bus
- Animated passengers, check-in and ticket sales at the driver’s desk and true-to-life announcements
- Traffic jams, accidents and road works
- Free ride mode
- Including map DLCs for an extensive European experience: Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium.
- Further new buses as DLCs are already being planned.
Fernbus Coach Simulator is on the usual digital stores right now – the Xbox Store being the best place to pick up the Xbox Series X|S edition of the game. If you’re driving an Xbox One, then Fernbus is going to be out of reach. Of course, should you prefer PlayStation 5, you should be equally sorted.
Our review of Fernbus Coach Simulator will no doubt be incoming. We’re looking around for the best person to don the cap and give this a long-haul review.
Game Description:
Experience the world of coaches on the highways and country roads of Europe in over 100 cities and on more than 50,000 km of recreated routes. Drive the MAN Lion’s Coach coach, faithfully recreated in cooperation with FlixBus, safely and on time to Europe’s bus stations – day and night and in every season. Face challenges like road works, traffic jams and accidents to stay on schedule, check in passengers and sell tickets. True-to-the-original cockpits including many functions, the detailed interior and exterior of the buses as well as the original passenger announcements allow for an immersive, realistic atmosphere. Are you ready for your adventure with FlixBus?
