Short yet fun horror game
Last Bus Home is a free horror game from developer majik. In this first-person simulation game, players are at a dark and secluded bus stop, waiting for the last bus to arrive so they can get home. It’s a bite-sized horror game similar to Slide in the Woods.
Last Bus Home is presented in a low-poly graphics style often found in indie titles. The game has a total of three endings and a bonus secret ending for players eager to find it. It features simple mechanics: players can only walk around the bus stop, look around, and interact with objects.
Be wary of the stranger
Last Bus Home starts with the player alone at a dark bus stop. There’s a dim light and apart from the signage, a bench, and a trash bin, there’s nothing else. Both ends of the road are pitch dark and the area is surrounded by bushes. The low-poly graphics, eerie silence, and suffocating darkness of the place succeed in creating a creepy atmosphere.
He seems friendly and eager to spark up a conversation. It is yours to decide what to do. Will you ignore him and ride the bus as soon as it arrives? Or will you converse with them? Your decision will dictate the kind of ending you will get in this horror game. As the player waits in silence, a mysterious stranger emerges from the dark and greets them.
Each run of the game is around five minutes, giving it a total playtime of around 20 minutes if the player decides to find all endings. Players don’t have anything to do while waiting, but the creepy atmosphere makes every second full of tension, especially when the stranger shows up. Unfortunately, this tension is lost after the first playthrough since players already know what to expect.
A promising concept
What Last Bus Home accomplishes despite its minuscule size can only be described as interesting. It gets the horror genre right without resorting to cheap jump scares and audio effects. The game proves the genius of its own concept, yet there’s vast room for improvement. If you’ve got 20 minutes to kill, don’t hesitate to spend it on this indie horror title. It’s truly a fun and creepy experience.
