Play Game Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride Online for Free
Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride – Whenever an indie product becomes successful, the public starts paying more attention to its creator. Suddenly, everything they’ve ever done, no matter how insignificant, becomes a fascinating subject. And sometimes, this newly-found appreciation for the artist’s early works is well-deserved. Thanks to the incredible popularity of Baldis Basics, Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride emerged from obscurity.
Apparently, prior to his magnum opus, mystman12 had another title in the works. It was a virtual pinball machine with a bizarre theme and some interesting mechanics. According to the developer’s blog, they haven’t given up on it.
But why should gamers look forward to its release, or care about it at all? As a matter of fact, there is more to the idea than meets the eye. It may even be connected to the Baldi Basic game universe. Read this overview to learn more about the forgotten curiosity.
Stroke of Genius
More games with Baldi
Those unaware of Micah McGonigal are probably confused. How can a simple pinball-based arcade simulator be of any interest to so many people? The hype stems primarily from the fascinating personality of its creator. Everything he touches has a distinctive and recognizable, albeit somewhat odd, style.
Baldi’s Basics Kickstarter campaign allowed him to realize his vision. The result was a refreshing survival horror with a refreshingly comedic tone. Its absurd storytelling, low-res style, and insane atmosphere attracted a huge following. Since then, the community has been eagerly researching everything related to the IP. Eventually, enthusiasts got interested in their icon’s previous undertakings.
One of them was the aforementioned Bus Ride for Future Pinball. It’s based on a free 3D engine that specializes in pinball-style level design and physics. But even the most limited tool set cannot restrict the flow of raw talent.
Both the concept and the implementation were unique and incorporated some intriguing feature, namely:
- Intuitive gameplay with tons of amusing twists and gimmicks
- Unusual cross-country road trip theme
- Special Bus Ride music and sound effects
- Incredibly inventive layout, consisting of multiple diverse zones
- Neat, strikingly colorful visuals
- Intuitive and responsive controls
The signature weirdness which fans associate with Basically, Games! is also present. However, it’s not as pronounced, at least in the current pre-release state. The mechanics are also relatively conventional.
How to Play Joe’s Ultimate Pinball
There is nothing especially irregular about the rules. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to reiterate them. Not to mention that some aspects of the process are not that obvious.
It goes something like this:
- Send the metal ball towards the top and hit various objects
- If it drops past the flippers, the challenger loses a life
- The goal is to accumulate the highest score possible
- There are special areas and optional objectives that require activating certain buttons and switches
Unfortunately, searching for additional information about the game online is an arduous task. Many of the pages mentioning it have been taken down. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will never see the light of day.
Setting, Locations, and Characters
It’s not common for such a simple app to have any kind of lore. But in this case, there is definitely some world-building involved. The playing field is a simplified model of public transportation. By introducing specific tasks and missions in games, Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride reveals its narrative.
It’s meant to represent a tour bus journey through the United States. The driver is also the owner of the vehicle and the venture as a whole. At the moment, nobody knows much about him or his backstory. But it does tie in with a larger mystery of the famous Schoolhouse.
The titular character is nowhere to be found, even in the most obscure BB demos. But the orange school bus parked outside clearly used to belong to him originally. In any recent Baldis Basics download, PC users may approach it, starting a field trip. A keen observer may notice that it has been vandalized.
The headteacher clearly wrote over the previous owner’s name with his own signature. It’s difficult to say what any of it means exactly. But lots of crazy and exciting theories come to mind. Perhaps, audiences will get a chance to learn more in future installments.
Read more:
- Baldi’s Basics Classic
- Baldi’s Basics Plus
- Baldi’s Basics Full
- Baldi’s Basics Birthday Bash
- Baldi’s Basics Development Build
- Baldi Basics Map Challenge Online
Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride – Objects and Items
Before the rise of Baldi, Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride was once an independent project.
Inspired by coin-operated cabinets, it shared many of their traditional attributes and decorative elements:
- The playfield itself that served as a platform for the rest of the assets
- Bumpers of different colors, which the balls would ricochet from
- Green instructional signs with white arrows in the style of interstate navigation
- Numerous blinking lights, shining beneath the smooth surface layer
- Wireframe ramps, ejectors, and diverters
- Manual mechanical levers, more commonly known as flippers
But after their first introduction to Baldi, Kickstarter users went wild. Upon hitting all the funding milestones, the developer had to shift his focus. Thankfully, by that point, JUBR already looked quite convincing. It’s unlikely that all that work could possibly go to waste. Moreover, the fact that BB references it, even if as an Easter egg, is promising.
Endings
Typically, these kinds of amusements have no logical end. The best conclusion imaginable is setting a high-score record. But for his Bus Ride, mystman12 clearly had more ambitious plans. He wanted to ensure that players would be invested in each session.
To accomplish that, he was implementing an intricate system of rounds set in different states. Triggering them required performing sequences of actions and progressing through something resembling a single-player campaign.
This suggests that a conventional free play was not the only option. It’s not hard to imagine having a finale, or even several outcomes. At the very least, it’s safe to expect some kind of congratulatory message.
How To Get Baldi’s Basics Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride
Sadly, there is no way to obtain a functioning copy of this lost treasure. Not even a pirated build or a demo of any kind exist. The development is officially on hold, and there is no telling for how long. But mystman continues to drop hints, indicating that he hasn’t abandoned the idea.
For example, there is a tag for the driver’s name in the Classic Remastered edition. Once, he exclaimed during a stream of Baldi’s Basics “Welcome to Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride!”. In his Twitter, he openly stated that the spin-off is coming at some point. But since he is, self-admittedly, not good with dates, the exact timeframe remains a mystery. It could even be included in one of the future updates to the existing titles.
In that case, it should also quickly become available as an online free game. For now, consider checking out fan-made Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride SFM animations and related memes.
Putting something on the back burner usually leads to even more slowdowns and delays. Some companies eventually abandon their long-term plans altogether. But judging by this author’s previous track record, the fanbase has nothing to worry about.
The mastermind behind the franchise clearly cares about his supporters. It’s only a matter of time before he publishes Joe’s Ultimate Bus Ride download links.
