10 Best Transport Simulation Games (2024)

Riding public transport is fun and all, but sometimes getting behind the wheel in a Transport Simulator can't be beat. Sitting in that driver's chair with a screen filled with buttons, toggles, switches and more with passengers impatiently banging on the doors. It can all get quite cathartic.

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From planes, trains, and automobiles, if you can drive, fly or crash it into a depot, you bet there's a simulator game for it. There's everything from the mundane to maddeningly multi-layered, with the quality of them also being equally inconsistent. To help you get your sim on, here's a handy list of the best Transport Simulator games out now.

10 Euro Truck Simulator

The highways and byways of Europe lay open before you, the sat nav is set up and the load is packed away, all that's left is to turn the key. There's a reason Euro Truck is popular in the transport sim community and that's because it absolutely nails what it's like to drive long haul across continents.

Time drifts past, each route has been accurately mapped to reflect the real journey, and the smallest thing like a missed gear or traffic can become the biggest problem. It's tough being a trucker, but someone has to do it. It's a series that's constantly dropping new titles and with the option to run a 1:1 copy of a real route with long hours required for it, they can be a genuine test of your skills. More so for those with a full physical setup. Just don't fall asleep at the wheel.

9 Train Sim World 3

Driving a train may look simple. Just sit in the seat, keep the forward lever held down, and stop at stations, but there's quite a bit more to it than that. There's a multitude of signals, rules, speed limits, and more that can plague your average train journey and they're all perfectly portrayed in the Train Simulator series.

Cruise into exotic cities around the globe on a sleek luxury sleeper, power through valleys in a big burly Freight Train, or just run a local route in a little electric model. There's plenty of tutorials for newbies and lots to tinker with for full-time train heads. All you need is an engine, a route to drive, and time to kill.

8 Microsoft Flight Simulator

A series that increased in popularity, complexity, and aircraft variety over the years, Microsoft Flight Sim is perhaps the penultimate flight simulator available right now. Often used as a source of practice for budding hobbyist pilots, the onboarding to becoming an Aeronaut has never been more open and digestible to everyone. More or less.

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That's not to say just because you can fly in a simulator means you're a pilot, but the attention to accuracy with the simulated aircraft is definitely praiseworthy. Everything from small single propellor models to titanic airliners and even fictional flying craft like the Pelican from Halo, are available. Ideal for beginners and hardcore joystick enthusiasts alike, Microsoft Flight Simulator promises the perfect pilot experience.

7 Bus Simulator 18

Considered by many to be the best entry in the cult-classic Bus Simulator series, before the franchise took a bit of a quality dip over the years. If you’re looking for the best example of what it’s like being a bus driver across Europe, Bus Simulator 18 is worth the ticket price. Developed by StillAlive Studios, there are a lot of interesting moving parts to tinker with under the proverbial bonnet.

Featuring single and multiplayer, as well as extensive modding support and a plethora of DLC, there’s a lot of toys in the bus driver box. Drive through replicas of famous cities, or go rogue and make your own routes, liveries, and bus fleets from scratch. There’s a lot of detail that’s been put into making each model feel unique and there are plenty of buttons and switches to mess around with when you’re making your stops. Just watch out for speed cameras.

6 Rail Route

If you've ever wanted to see how busy it can get in a dispatch box in a metro station then Rail Route by Bitrich is a good place to start. This management game lets you build up, watch and operate multiple rail routes and metro lines at the same time.

Though your screen can get busy fast, there's plenty of unlockable tech that can help streamline the process and automate your trains. However, that doesn't mean you can go completely AFK in this Early Access game as it'll still manage to throw a few curve balls when you least expect it. With a lot of depth and plenty of user-created maps to churn through, Rail Route is sure to keep you busy.

5 The Long Drive

Nothing beats just you and the open road, and that’s something The Long Drive is keenly aware of. Developed by Genesz, this Early Access post-apocalyptic road trip simulator gives you miles and miles of randomly generated wasteland to drive around as you see fit. Everything in the car can be tinkered and messed with from the mirrors to the nitty gritty mechanical parts.

Plus, unlike other sims which burn through your fuel at an ungodly pace, in The Long Drive, a full tank means hundreds of kilometers can be covered with ease before the next pit stop. Offering a chilled road trip experience that’s perfect for podcasts or just flooring it around your own infinitely procedurally generated racetrack, you can really put the pedal to the metal in The Long Drive. Or recreate those mind-numbingly long cross-country family road trips if you’re feeling particularly sadistic.

4 Transport INC

Build a transport empire across entire real-world continents in Transport Inc by DIGIFOX. This absolutely massive transport simulator gives you the entire globe to stomp around on as you create your budding business. Don’t be slow though as there’s competitors to beat in this surprisingly indepth logistics game.

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You can focus on one market like Trains around Europe, or diversify and branch out into planes, buses, and freight connections throughout the US. With a heartwarming story campaign to crawl through, a freeplay mode for purists, and a constantly changing world with dynamic events, Transport INC certainly knows how to keep you busy.

3 Snow Runner

Strap on some snow chains and stick the truck into high gear, because there are some tough trails to climb and heavy loads to carry. Another successful installment in the Runner series by Saber Interactive, Snow Runner gives the classic mud-covered rabbit warrens of rural America a snowy makeover where arctic temperatures and intimidating tracks leave a chill in your spine.

There’s a tonne of multi-wheeled vehicles to try out including specialized recovery equipment and snorkels for those brave enough to ford sunken pathways. Plus, with the ability to bring in some friends, you can create quite a colorful convoy as you slip and slide your way around the massive map. With plenty of missions to keep you busy and a lot of fun customization options for your car of choice, Snowrunner keeps things fresh as the powder-filled snowfields you’ll be plowing through.

2 Mini Metro

If a simplified simulator is what you’re after then the abstract and linear lines of Mini Metro by Dinosaur Polo Club should be your next destination. Manage a growing subway line for a city and keep efficiency at its peak whilst running on limited resources, just like a real inner city metro. Minus the odd smell.

The tracks between stations are drawn by you, and they can be redrawn should the need to increase efficiency arise. With three unique game modes, including a stress-free sandbox mode, designs based on real-world cities such as London, New York, Auckland and Paris, as well as procedural city growth ensuring no two sessions are the same. Mini Metro is a sim that’s simple, streamlined, and satisfying.

1 Motor Town: Behind The Wheel

Earn cash as a driver for hire in Motor Town: Behind The Wheel. This cutesy Early Access title from P3 Games is one transport sim that won’t melt your GPU with its graphics, but don’t let that fool you. There’s a lot of depth lurking just below the surface as there’s plenty of vehicles to tinker with and tear apart as you build up your career as a driver.

Ferry passengers in buses, build a taxi empire, deliver goods in trucks, or invest in a muscle car that can outrun the cops and start selling contraband. There’s lots to do and with the option for multiplayer available, you can start a company with friends or just enjoy long road trips around the map.

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