![bus simulator 18 map bus simulator 18 map](https://www.bussimulator.com/img/bus18/thumb-map-pdf.jpg)
I say that because even after putting 38 hours into the main campaign, I still had more missions to complete, leaving the expanded area totally inaccessible. If you play the game this way, you need to basically be done with the core game, as far as I know.
![bus simulator 18 map bus simulator 18 map](https://cdn-products.eneba.com/resized-products/ZHJ2Tjptyv_sH3f_UPP1ynprjPb2RjexJGeF3wXlUBY_350x200_1x-0.jpeg)
These missions are not short, and they increase in length the deeper into the game you get. In Campaign, you play through missions and slowly expand your network of bus routes across the map. If you’ve played Bus Simulator 18 before, then you know the game has two single-player modes: Campaign and Sandbox. Well, while I’ve enjoyed the scenery itself, the payoff from the gameplay is a bit of a different story. Judging by all the positive things I’ve been saying about this expansion, you might conclude that I love it. So, the distance isn’t huge, but it’s certainly respectable.Īccessing the new missions is no Sunday drive. I made a third which connected one stop of each of the two new towns to the Central Bus Station that’s a part of the original map, and that came to about 35 minutes. As far as pure driving time goes, then, each of these new towns adds approximately an hour’s worth of new road networks. I created two main new routes for each new town, and each came to just under 30 minutes. It does add a nice bit of eye-candy to the package, and there is a bus stop there. It’s a pretty basic addition, but at least there are now plane models flying above the map (with audio). The final small addition of new scenery is an airport that’s connected to Sonnstein but basically lies almost exactly between each of the two new towns.
![bus simulator 18 map bus simulator 18 map](https://i.redd.it/drokhdcgxr061.jpg)
You can tell they constructed these two new areas with care. Between this and Sonnstein, I’m really impressed with the scenery that the designers and artists of Bus Simulator 18 put together for this expansion. Driving down that road in Kerststadt reminded me of the Miraflores strip in Lima, which is quite similar. Just like Kerststadt, Lima is a modern city that also happens to have a coast on the cliffs. It reminded me of another place I’ve visited: Lima, Peru. The real-world parallel I mentioned earlier really clicked when I drove this for the first time. I wish there were more vistas like this in the game after all, the map is called Seaside Valley. The view is beautiful, and the houses riding alongside it really make it “picture perfect”. It has a single road that straddles high above the coastline on a cliff. Despite my love of Sonnstein, my favorite road in the entire game is in Kerststadt. However, the layout of the bus stops are pretty much in one big circle, so prepare yourself for a lot of cornering. It’s not really in the mountains like Sonnstein is, so driving through is a little easier. That said, due to the small size of the town, it’s still not nearly as congested as areas on the original map. The traffic here is worse than Sonnstein. The architecture is far more modern and minimalist. Unlike Sonnstein, Kerststadt is very modern and has lots of businesses and schools. Calming coastĪnother real-world parallel I found was with the aforementioned new town of Kerststadt. This seaside stretch of Kerststadt is easily the prettiest spot in the game now. It was like going through a virtual rendition of Cuenca. So, driving through Sonnstein was almost surreal for me. On top of that, Cuenca is also a relatively quiet place, and you don’t have to drive far to get to the countryside, which is just like Sonnstein. Despite Cuenca being Spanish, the look of its buildings is very similar to Sonnstein, most likely due to both of them having roots in European inspiration. Like Sonnstein, Cuenca consists primarily of historical architecture. That’s a real-world mountain city that I lived in from 2016 to 2018, and it’s still my favorite spot on the planet. I think what really sold me on Sonnstein was how it reminds me very much of Cuenca, Ecuador. I couldn’t stop myself from snapping photos. Bus Simulator 18 can be a little stressful much of the time, but driving through here was far more relaxing than I expected. The architecture is clearly quite a few decades old, perhaps even more so. The reward, though, is cruising through the streets of the sleepy little town. Trying to successfully swivel the longer buses around these bends can prove especially harrowing. The serpentine turns also provide their own challenge. You can hear the engine of the bus straining as it tries to make its way up the slope. Sonnstein is every kind of tranquil and beautiful, providing a very different driving experience from the other towns.