Game: Fruitbus
Genre: Simulation, Adventure, Indie
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers | Publishers: Krillbite Studio
Controller Support: Full
Price: US $24.99 | UK £20.99 | EU € 24,49
Release Date: October 28th, 2024
A review code was used, and many thanks to NeonHive PR.
Fruitbus is a cute, funny little story about inheriting a food truck from your grandmother after she passes away. You need to go around the island where she used to work, making friends with her old customers and feeding the masses with fruity recipes.
Fruitbus is So Cute and Weird
Fruitbus has a very weird sense of humor; it’s very cartoony, but the story is sweet and kind of sad at the same time. You play as a family member dealing with the death of a woman who was very important to a lot of people. The beginning is a sweet connection of the main character hanging out with their grandmother, playing hide-and-seek and making fruit salad.
After her passing, you get her fruit truck and head to her old stomping grounds: the Banamas. The NPCs that inhabit the island all remember her fondly; if you feed them their favorite recipes, they will decide to help you with the old lady’s celebration of life party.
In order to do this, you will need to collect a whole bunch of different fruit, fruit collection devices, and things like smoothie machines, plates, cups, and an oven. Sell some fruit salads and sandwiches to make money, then funnel that back into more objects to help you make more money.
All the while, you are meeting strange and friendly NPCs, including the embattled LARPers, an emo musician, and even a food critic. There are three different islands to run around and find new plants, new people, new locations, and recipes. You need to decorate your Fruitbus, make food, fulfil quests, and chat with the locals.
A Playful Experience
Fruitbus is one of those games that just tickles me. The sound design, the music, the characters, the animations, and the story all work in seamless harmony to make a video game that feels like a good time. You don’t just interact with the game, but you dive into a whole world that has so much to offer, and it will make you laugh, cry, and feel things.
While you do have quests and things to keep you going, there’s no time limit and no pressure to complete anything quickly. It’s just a story that allows you to explore every inch of every island at your leisure or speed through the storyline as quickly as you want.
The main thing holding you back is money, and that’s pretty easy to come by if you don’t mind combing the island for new and unique fruits. Gasoline to keep your bus going is pretty cheap, and you just need to keep plates, cups, bowls, etc. stocked to sell your wares.
It’s a relaxing experience where you don’t have to worry too much about things like serving customers too slowly or losing a reputation for not having the right veggies on hand. Fruitbus is the most chill, relaxing, silly game of 2024 so far, and I’m in love.
Some Bugs in the Fruitbus
In spite of the fact that Fruitbus has a dedicated bugs channel in the official Discord, there were still quite a few bugs while I was playing. There were a lot of visual bugs, including people floating far away from the benches they were supposed to be sitting on and gameplay bugs, like some fruits never regrowing. It didn’t change how much I adored Fruitbus, but it was a keenly present part of my gameplay.
I ended up in a place where I could no longer continue to play Fruitbus. So I never got to the third island, and I never got to finish the game, but what I played of it was so lovely, in spite of all the weird little glitches.
However, if you check out Discord, you can really see the developers fixing things in real-time. I fully believe that when this game drops in a couple of days, it is going to be a pretty clean experience. Fruitbus can get a little repetitive at times, but it’s worth it just to get to experience the plot and see all the wonderful little details in the world.
Conclusion
Fruitbus is a lot of fun. It has fun characters, great animations, funny moments, and an overall heartwarming tale. The first two islands, which I have traipsed from one end to the other, are filled with characters, interesting things, and weird new fruit salad combinations.
If you like simulation titles with heart, I cannot recommend Fruitbus enough. It’s got a few bugs, but it seems like the developers are really on point with trying to make the game as good as it can be. It’s fun; the gameplay does get a little repetitive after a while, but overall, Fruitbus is the most I’ve ever had with a blender and a bunch of veggies.
Final Verdict: I Like it a LotÂ
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