Desert Bus VR is finally on Steam

Originally part of the Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors mini-game pack (a mini-game pack, it should be added, which never commercially released), Desert Bus is among the most boring games of all time. As the name implies, you're on a bus, driving through the desert, from Arizona to Nevada.  And that's all. 

The banality of the project is exactly what makes it special though, and over the years its established a cult following and even the Desert Bus For Hope charity initiative. Now the experience can be had in VR, and better still, it can be had in VR for free on both Vive and Oculus Rift.

As the image above suggests, it's a full VR remake. Among the major additions is the new multiplayer functionality, which allows you to make the soul-crushingly meaningless trip with three other friends in VR. There's a radio in the truck too, which should take the edge off a bit, and you're apparently able to honk the truck's horn.

The launch follows last week's annual Desert Bus For Hope, which raised more than $650,000 for Child's Play. While the game is standalone, and not among a bundle of other mini-games as initially promised, it certainly helps that it's free. Anyone after an authentic experience about driving a bus in a desert, today is your lucky day.

If you're curious to see it in action, YouTuber reznoire has you sorted:

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.