The driving simulator "Desert Bus" has a new remake. The new version has virtual reality (VR) support, high-resolution textures, and additional audio clips. However, it remains true to its title of being the most boring and "worst video game ever made."
"Desert Bus" is a driving simulator in the most literal sense of the term. In it, players take the role of a driver who mans the wheels of the titular desert bus. Players will have to drive from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in a machine that has a top speed of 45 miles per hour. That is driving for a total time of at least eight hours.
There is no oncoming traffic, no exciting events other than the same highway scenery chugging along, the sun setting or rising, or the occasional bug being crushed on the windshield. The game cannot even be paused. What's more, the bus is slightly out of alignment, so it always veers off in one direction even when driving in a straight road.
Then again, "Desert Bus" was never exactly meant to be taken as a "serious" video game. It was supposed to be a mocking response by game creator Penn Jillette to a United States Attorney General's claim that video games are "murder simulators."
In any case, the mundane content of the game ironically launched it to popularity. Dinosaur Entertainment and Gearbox Software were the ones behind this remake, and it is free to download on Steam and the game's official website. The game supports VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, but the game can still be played without VR.
One addition that the original did not have, besides the new textures and VR support, is the "multiplayer" aspect. Other players can now act as passengers on any bus that is being driven. Passengers cannot do much other than wave or throw stuff at the bus driver, though.
The original "Desert Bus" was part of an unreleased Sega CD game collection called "Penn & Teller: Smoke and Mirrors." It leaked some years later, and since then it has been dubbed by some as the worst video game ever made.
