Neglected bus simmers eye City Transport Simulator: Bus

Compared to the bustling train and tram sim sectors, the bus sim scene has felt pretty stagnant of late. Besides a couple of strong OMSI 2 add-ons, omnibus enthusiasts have had little to get excited about this year. Assuming SimBus remains chimeric, Early Access The Bus stays in low gear, Euro Truck Simulator 2’s people porters aren’t imminent, and Astragon don’t spring any surprises in Q3 and 4, the highlight of 2025 for PC-owning PCV lovers could well turn out to be next week’s release of City Transport Simulator: Bus.

Read MoreNeglected bus simmers eye City Transport Simulator: Bus
Review Reprise: War and Peace 1796-1815

I’ve written hundreds of reviews, previews, and retrospectives during my twenty-odd years as a games inspector. As many of these appeared in the British version of PC Gamer magazine and nowhere else, now and again something from my archive may appear as one of THC’s daily posts. Pyro Studios wasn’t the only outfit to ‘Total War’ the Napoleonic era before Creative Assembly got around to it. Two years before Imperial Glory appeared, Microids released a NTW foreshadower called War and Peace.

Read MoreReview Reprise: War and Peace 1796-1815
Squad 22 is aimed squarely at the vatnik demographic

“When diplomacy fails, our time comes – the time of warriors.”…Squad 22: ZOV starts spouting pro-SMO claptrap seconds after launching. A hastily developed Door Kickers knockoff “officially recommended by the Russian Military”, the game appears to be the brainchild of Alexander Tolkach, an ex-Gaijin community manager who, not all that long ago, was happy to develop for the Ukrainian government.

Read MoreSquad 22 is aimed squarely at the vatnik demographic
Friday Foxer #230

Every Friday, Tally-Ho Corner’s cleverest clogs come together to solve a ‘foxer’ handcrafted by my sadistic chum and colleague, Roman. A complete ‘defoxing’ sometimes takes several days and usually involves the little grey cells of many readers.

Read MoreFriday Foxer #230
“We’ve got our hands full” (DeGenerals talk candidly about Tank Squad’s torrid past and uncertain future)

Missing tutorials and Zimmerit-rough in places, flawed-but-fun Tank Squad feels like it should have launched as an Early Access title. The following Q&A explains why it didn’t, and reveals just how much DeGenerals had to sacrifice in order to keep their ambitious AFV sim alive.

Read More“We’ve got our hands full” (DeGenerals talk candidly about Tank Squad’s torrid past and uncertain future)
Alphabetised game news (V2Z)

V is for Verisimilitudinous virtual tides. The tiny selection of maritime sims that acknowledge the Moon’s effect on sea levels grew by one late last month. Not only do eSail owners who opt in to the V3 beta get improved visuals and a new ‘Trade Islands’ map with dynamic tide heights (tidal flows have yet to be implemented), when close to land they may now encounter anabatic and katabatic breezes in addition to wind shadows.

Read MoreAlphabetised game news (V2Z)