Compare Bus Simulator 27 vs Monster Energy Supercross 25

Sandbox mode is well liked for removing money and objective pressure, while broader management settings still allow considerable freedom in how routes and companies are built.

Removing the Compound takes away a valued place to ride freely, experiment, and take a break from formal races. For its fans, that loss substantially narrows the experience.

A bespoke fictional city built around public transport gives the game more personality than another one-to-one recreation of a real location.

Career and reward structures can feel borrowed from older sports games and seasonal progression templates. The criticism centers on familiar design rather than a lack of racing content altogether.

Story mode and the tutorials generally do a good job introducing a complex simulation organically, though one critic found the opening poorly put together.

The academy frequently explains which inputs exist without showing when or why to use them. Several players turn to community videos to learn techniques the game leaves unclear.

The 45-plus licensed buses across many brands, sizes, and powertrains are one of the most consistently praised parts of the package.

Having many bikes does not always create meaningful handling variety. The cited critics find that changes in sound and stats fail to make each choice feel distinct enough.

Story-mode characters are described as fun and colorful, giving the structured campaign more personality than simple route objectives alone.

Text-only rivals struggle to feel like people the player knows. Limited meaningful interaction weakens the sense of a personal racing relationship.

Felicia Bay has a strong sense of place, helped by dynamic weather, day-night changes, Mediterranean scenery, and a relaxed road-trip feel.

Stadium energy is uneven. Attractive lighting and convincing engine acoustics help, but static crowds and empty-feeling venues repeatedly weaken the sense of a live event.

Tutorials are usually concise and helpful, though route-building instructions can initially leave players confused by the number of systems.

The academy is a frequent weak point, with checklists and basic inputs replacing deeper explanation. A few find it useful, but many want clearer guidance on timing, weight transfer, and racing technique.

The grading and penalty systems are a recurring frustration, often docking points or money for signals, collisions, or other situations players believe were handled correctly.

Weight transfer and rhythm management provide satisfying depth for some racers. Others find the same flow-based demands as frustrating as they are rewarding.

The default HUD can feel cluttered enough to distract from driving, but unwanted elements can be removed for a cleaner view.

The racing HUD makes good use of ultrawide displays, with elements correctly positioned across the wider view. Menus and replays do not receive the same full-width treatment.

Company management is usually satisfying and approachable, with hiring, routes, fleets, and visible AI drivers, but some systems feel shallow, buggy, or too simplistic.

Restrictive level requirements can keep desired parts unavailable despite active play. One customization-focused player would prefer earning credits and directly buying the items they want.

Traffic AI is the clearest weak spot: cars stop, ram buses, jam intersections, and trigger unfair penalties, though later Xbox hotfixes appear to have improved it somewhat.

Opponents can deliver fast, aggressive battles that challenge experienced riders, and some consider them the series' best. Others report poor awareness, inconsistent pace, and collisions that feel unfair.

The switchable Classic and Realistic looks are a hit, with strong color grading and the ability to choose between vibrant and more natural presentation.

The presentation has a recognizable sense of style, but its loud Monster Energy aesthetic can feel excessive. Menu flair appeals more to some players than the aggressive branding does to others.

The tutorial is praised for teaching the basics without dragging on too long.

Minimal story interruptions keep career moving for some players. Others find long repetitive races or mandatory side events slow the experience down.

Story mode is useful and enjoyable for some because it gives goals and structure, but others find the plot easy to ignore or poorly written.

Career offers little meaningful drama or character development for players seeking a story. Basic text exchanges do not fill that gap for the critics.

Extensive assists and automation let players simplify doors, kneeling, engine functions, penalties, and other simulation details without giving up the core driving experience.

Assists can automate shifting and weight transfer, slow the action, and soften the physics, but their usefulness varies sharply. Several players still find the game punishing or wish for better control tuning.

There are many controls and systems to absorb, but most become manageable after some practice and the game offers enough guidance to ease newcomers in.

Expect a substantial period of practice before riding reliably. For some that process is rewarding, but weak technique explanations and unfamiliar countersteering make it needlessly frustrating for others.

Difficulty and realism are unusually flexible, letting players choose a relaxed drive or a stricter simulation with more rules and penalties.

The challenge can feel demanding and rewarding, but even easy settings may punish newcomers. Some later tuning makes mistakes fairer, while uneven AI difficulty remains a concern elsewhere.

Performance can be uneven, with drops below a stable 60 FPS on capable PCs and larger dips reported even on high-end hardware.

PS5 and a powerful tested PC can deliver steady performance, while Steam Deck shows dips and occasional long stutters. Another PC session suffers substantial drops before graphics adjustments restore smoothness.

Driving is divisive: many like the weight, precision, and bus-specific controls, while others find the handling loose, awkward, or less refined than competing bus sims.

Nailing jumps and flowing through rhythm sections can feel excellent. Cornering is much more contentious, with heavy steering, inconsistent grip, and sudden overcorrection repeatedly interrupting that flow.

District upgrades, route growth, company expansion, and visible improvements to bus stops create a rewarding sense of progress.

Moving up classes, attracting teams, and developing a bike can provide satisfying direction. Other players find the career predictable or dislike long level-gated cosmetic reward tracks.

Driving routes, serving passengers, and building the company can be highly addictive, but the moment-to-moment loop loses appeal when feedback systems and handling fall short.

Perfecting a clean lap can create a compelling drive to improve. That rhythm is less successful for players who find repeated career races monotonous.

ROG Ally testing suggests the game is playable at medium settings with upscaling around a solid 30 FPS, though visual compromises are noticeable.

Steam Deck performance is playable with reduced resolution, low settings, and a 30 FPS target. It is a compromised option, especially where stutters or online timing matter.

Controller feedback can feel good, but steering-wheel force feedback is inconsistent and sometimes described as lifeless or effectively nonfunctional.

DualSense vibration and trigger tension can communicate track texture and racing intensity very well. Collision feedback is less convincing in another account, leaving bumps feeling disconnected.

Different routes help prevent the driving routine from becoming repetitive.

Sponsors, rivalries, and events can keep career goals interesting, but repeated seasonal objectives and limited side-event types reduce variety for others. The balance depends on how engaging the core racing remains.

Its unusually broad mix of bus driving, company management, on-foot exploration, customization, and multiplayer makes it one of the year's more ambitious bus sims.

Some see a meaningful rebirth through new physics, ruts, and career changes. Others consider it an incremental update that advances too little while removing useful features.

Weather and lighting can look strong, but rain visibility, ghosting, shimmer, blur, and motion-blur issues keep the effects from feeling polished.

Lighting, rain, roost, and dirt accumulation can look excellent. Dated fireworks and missing mud splashes expose weaker parts of the effects work.

Upgrading districts and bus stops produces visible and gameplay changes, making progression feel tangible rather than purely numerical.

Bike development and team synergy add useful strategic goals, and upgrades can make a substantial difference. Critics find the system simplistic or question starting factory-team bikes with weak performance.

The foundation is strong, but the launch build repeatedly feels unfinished, with bugs, AI problems, penalties, crashes, and presentation issues adding up across normal play.

Presentation ranges from slick menus and a convincing broadcast feel to unfinished details and rough launch tracks. The degree of polish is uneven across modes and builds.

Multiple modes, varied routes, two cities, coach trips, management tasks, and different bus types keep the experience from feeling like the same run repeated endlessly.

Career, quick races, championships, Time Attack, and Rhythm Attack provide several ways to ride. Opinions differ on whether this is enough variety or merely the same racing repackaged.

Multiplayer has suffered disconnects and crashes, but recent patches have addressed spawning, loading, and passenger-sync problems.

Connection reports range from stable, lag-free racing to frequent frustrating network problems. A later update-focused account finds improved consistency, so experiences vary across builds and setups.

Visual opinion is mixed: Felicia Bay and the buses can look impressive, but blur, weak character models, lifeless streets, and inconsistent image quality hold the presentation back.

Lighting, dirt, weather, and detailed bikes often make a strong impression, particularly during races. Off-track models and some close details can look dated, and not everyone sees a major leap over earlier games.

NPC presentation is inconsistent, with clipping and awkward passenger behavior still visible even after some post-launch improvement.

Rider movement divides opinion: some enjoy smoother motion and convincing weight, while others see rigid bodies, awkward whips, and legs popping off the bike. Later animation updates improve matters for some players.

Infinite loading screens were severe enough in one test to force repeated restarts.

Browsing and equipping community designs can involve conspicuously slow waits on PC. The customization itself is highly valued, but accessing it feels less smooth.

First-person driving feels much easier to manage than the more erratic third-person view.

First-person racing can feel intense, but shaky framing and unwanted rotation are recurring complaints. One update still lets the camera rotate during big whips even with that option disabled.

Detailed bus systems and a believable city can be highly immersive, but clipping, broken AI, and constant bugs can quickly shatter that illusion.

Detailed tracks, evolving surfaces, engine sound, and controller feedback can make races feel convincing. Weak off-track presentation and sparse-looking venues sometimes break that connection.

Bugs are widespread in the launch experience, ranging from visual oddities and broken interactions to traffic glitches and gameplay penalties, although later patches have reduced some problems.

Physics oddities, editor slowdowns, camera-setting faults, and occasional rendering problems remain notable complaints. Some testing finds only minor quirks, so the severity varies by build and setup.

Crashes are a serious launch concern, especially on PC and in multiplayer, while later Xbox hotfixes suggest the current console build is becoming more stable.

One returning PC player encounters repeated crashes that interrupt races. Driver and graphics changes eventually help, leaving the precise contribution of the game and that PC uncertain.

Despite the rough launch, many players still find the bus driving, route planning, and company growth genuinely fun; the harshest critics say the bugs and AI overwhelm that enjoyment.

Mastering jumps and linking a clean lap can be exhilarating. Enjoyment falls sharply for players who spend more time fighting steering and grip than finding a racing rhythm.

Bus interiors and many parts of Felicia Bay show impressive detail, although a few critics find the streets and repeated NPCs lifeless.

Detailed stadiums, attractive outdoor scenery, and convincing dirt are frequent visual strengths. A smaller group finds the textures flat or the terrain too similar to older games.

Felicia Bay is one of the most consistent strengths: large, attractive, varied, and full of distinct districts, highways, towns, coastlines, and points of interest.

The removed Compound is one of the most consistent feature complaints. Fictional motocross tracks offer enjoyable racing but do not replace unrestricted exploration and practice for its fans.

The management UI can make simple tasks harder to understand, especially when planning routes or handling company details.

Some players love the clear, stylish menus, while others find the oversized lettering and bright branding excessive. The interface's personality is as divisive as its visual energy.

Co-op meaningfully expands the management simulation by letting up to four players coordinate routes, fleets, and driving duties together.

Racing itself can be enjoyable, but the public-lobby structure divides opinion. Critics particularly miss browsing, voting, class choice, and race-director tools.

Districts stand out as unique and handcrafted rather than feeling copied and pasted, helping routes stay visually distinctive.

Official circuit replicas and large fictional motocross tracks often earn praise for their rhythms and scenery. Oversized SMX courses, similar-looking stadiums, and uneven launch layouts attract criticism.

Engine sounds, electric hums, traffic ambience, rain, and bus rattles are consistently praised for making each vehicle and journey feel distinct.

Convincing engine roar and distinct bike notes are frequent strengths. Exhaust variety, relentless revving, and annoying crowd noise draw criticism in other accounts.

Objectives help break up management-heavy menu work by regularly putting the player back behind the wheel.

Career contracts provide neat short-term objectives alongside the races. These goals give advancement useful direction.

The promised steering-wheel support delivered well in testing, with automatic detection and useful presets rather than the usual setup problems.

Some players dispute the description of ruts as fully dynamic because similar berm patterns recur each race. The feature adds visible change, but its predictability can disappoint expectations.

Optimization needs substantial work, with demanding hardware requirements, frame drops, blur, and other compromises across both PC and console modes.

Steam Deck needs low settings, reduced resolution, and a 30 FPS target to stay playable. CPU load and occasional freezes prevent a fully smooth portable experience.

The music is considered basic, with at least one critic wishing the game had something like a radio station.

Rock and metal can provide energetic racing accompaniment, but opinions are widely split. Some find the selection generic, harsh, or distracting enough to switch off.

Controller and wheel support are generally strong and precise, though one negative review found the handling poor and some wheel-feedback features remain weak.

Steering is the most divisive part of the game: many describe sluggish turns, snap corrections, or confusing input changes. Others praise accurate control, especially after practice or later updates.

Character creation is a welcome extra and offers more flexibility than some expected, but several critics find the models and options fairly limited.

The strongest praise goes to helmet, suit, sticker, and shared community designs. Faces and some base gear choices remain limited, while level-gated unlocks can delay a desired look.

Bus customization can be deep, especially for interiors, seats, floors, colors, wraps, and patterns, though one review found some brand customization limited.

Custom liveries and community graphics are major highlights, with impressive coordinated setups possible. Base designs, career restrictions, and slow unlocks can limit access to the desired bike appearance.

Menus range from clean and quick to overloaded and confusing; the radial bus-control menu works well for some players but feels cumbersome to others.

Main menus are often quick and easy to navigate. The track editor is the exception for one critic, whose missing piece previews and confusing navigation make building frustrating.

Multiple modes, a large fleet, company management, and a long progression loop give the game strong long-term replay potential.

Custom tracks, time improvement, and enjoyable career progression can encourage repeated play. Limited mode variety and restrictive multiplayer leave other players feeling finished surprisingly quickly.

Several critics like the underlying game but still recommend waiting for more patches before paying the launch price.

The critical price assessments favor waiting for a deep discount or considering older entries. Rough handling, removed modes, and limited longevity weaken the full-price case.

Post-launch support is a major positive, with frequent hotfixes targeting crashes, saves, AI, handling, penalties, passengers, and multiplayer.

Post-launch track, animation, and physics updates receive credit for sustained attention. Some changes improve riding substantially, though new handling quirks mean each patch does not please everyone.

Steering wheels and controllers are broadly well supported and often work with little setup, though force-feedback quality remains uneven.

PS5 Pro enhancements earn strong praise for visual quality and controller feel. PC ultrawide support works well in races but leaves menus and replays bordered.

Basic riding can feel awkward enough that even small turns become work. A controller and repeated practice make the experience easier for some players.

Official riders help capture the championship, but the selection does not always feel meaningfully diverse. Critics note reduced numbers or riders who handle too similarly.

Career responses make their moral direction obvious and offer little subtlety. The small number of reply choices limits how nuanced a rider's personality can become.

Four-player co-op is one of the better extras, letting friends coordinate routes and run a company together; disconnects and crashes can still get in the way.

Points of interest and collectibles give players a reason to leave the driver's seat and make Felicia Bay feel more like a place worth exploring.

Announcements are often repetitive and can give incorrect race information. Familiar voices add authenticity, but limited and occasionally jarring lines weaken the broadcast presentation.

Shared helmets, gear, bike graphics, and tracks are among the most warmly received features. Downloading talented players' creations gives even non-designers access to striking custom setups.

Fairness can suffer from unusually weak starts, one exceptionally fast AI rider, or collisions that seem to favor opponents. Competitive pace and collision behavior do not always feel consistent.

The missing Compound is a recurring loss, particularly for fans of free riding. Restricted access to some tracks and absent multiplayer tools also leave parts of the package feeling incomplete.

Story dialogue is one of the weaker narrative elements, described as cheesy, mediocre, and easy to ignore.

Getting out on foot, finding landmarks, visiting points of interest, and roaming a large two-city map adds welcome variety beyond driving fixed routes.

The familiar driving model, bus-management structure, and simulation-heavy controls make this recognizably Bus Simulator, though its rough launch keeps it from feeling like a fully worthy successor yet.

There is substantial longevity, with more than 15 hours leaving plenty of story content and some players expected to spend dozens or even hundreds of hours.

Lowering graphics settings restores a smooth 120 FPS in one troubled PC session. That improvement depends on the particular hardware and configuration.

Career repetition can feel laborious, and cosmetic unlocks attract sharper criticism. Very high rider levels can block a complete custom look for far too long.

Collision bugs and oversized-feeling opponent boundaries can undermine close racing. Contact sometimes pushes the player off line or fails to feel physically convincing.

Amusing butt-patch options add a playful touch to rider customization. They offer a small bit of personality away from the demanding racing.

Playlist matching is convenient for some, while others dislike losing lobby browsing and control over bike classes. Small player counts can also leave races sparsely populated.

Manufacturer progression unlocks bikes and upgrades without extra payment in the cited account. That free reward structure is explicitly appreciated.

This is a sharply divisive Supercross entry with strong visuals, customization, and potentially rewarding racing. Its recommendation hinges on whether the revised handling feels satisfying or remains an obstacle.

Weighty bikes, free aerial movement, and changing grip can produce convincing racing. Random falls, slippery surfaces, and inconsistent turns remain major points of disagreement, even across later updates.

The limited practice track is a poor replacement for open-world learning. The cited review finds it extremely basic and insufficient for mastering the new controls.

Hiring drivers fits naturally into company management, with visible skills and hidden professionalism traits adding some decision-making.

Rain and adjustable outdoor conditions add grip changes and strategic variety. The praised effect is how weather changes riding, rather than merely how wet tracks look.

The cited career assessment values skills that specialize a rider and unlock improved control. That extra progression adds personalization beyond simply winning another race.

Reputation, team chemistry, and rivalries can make career races more personal. Repeated two-choice messages also feel shallow, dated, or intrusive to several players.

Career ranges from a standout, immersive progression mode to a predictable sequence of races. Team synergy and rivalries help, but their depth does not satisfy everyone.

Local split-screen is widely welcomed, with Rhythm Attack a particular highlight. Its extra resource demands make it a weaker proposition on Steam Deck.

Evolving ruts give laps a changing rhythm and are often the standout addition. Others find the berms too predetermined, restrictive, or more visual than physical, especially on some tracks and builds.

Cockpit systems, ticketing, passenger incidents, on-foot exploration, and random road events add impressive interaction depth, though several of those systems can be buggy or repetitive.

The story writing is directly criticized as cheesy and poorly written.

Coordinating rider weight, steering, throttle, and brakes can feel mentally cumbersome. The changed countersteering logic is especially difficult for players accustomed to earlier games.

The custom Felicia Bay map is dense, varied, and purpose-built for bus routes rather than feeling like a generic real-world recreation.

Creating and sharing circuits can greatly extend the game, but editor quality is contentious. Restricted jump sizing, awkward tools, and testing bugs disappoint players seeking more freedom.

Felicia Bay's Spanish-inspired identity and corruption backstory give the city a distinct personality beyond its roads and bus stops.

Crossplay is widely welcomed for connecting PC and console players and expanding the pool of opponents. It makes racing with friends easier, although it cannot solve every lobby restriction.

Spanish text remains available, but English-only voices are criticized as a step backward. Players who valued Spanish spoken presentation lose part of that experience.

Save protection received focused post-launch fixes, improving one of the launch-era reliability concerns on Xbox.

One extended review finds the servers work well once a lobby is running. Its larger complaints concern setting up and choosing races rather than server performance itself.

The voice cast is considered solid, doing a decent job with both story characters and passengers.