For some, gaming is escapism. When real life work feels mundane, uninspiring, or just too plain difficult to face, slipping into a virtual world can do wonders. For others, however, working in the real world is only the beginning. Thankfully for those people, gaming has evolved to fulfill the desires of just about any dream occupation or challenge.

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With extensively detailed simulators mirroring the reality of driving buses, trains, and planes, having a job in a videogame can be just as challenging and time-consuming as in real life. For those of us that prefer total escapism, it’s fortunate that there are also many games out there of ordinary jobs with exciting and unexpected twists.

7 Crazy Taxi

Taking customers to the Record Store in Crazy Taxi

The ultimate nostalgia trip for gamers, and the ultimate vomit-inducing trip for your passengers, Crazy Taxi is perhaps the ultimate ordinary job game. In 1999, Sega unleashed this unrelentingly fun arcade classic onto the world, seeing players race around an open world to pick up and drop off passengers.

The twist is hinted at in the titular term “Crazy”, however, with regular road rules thrown straight out of the window. Players are rewarded with tips for near-misses and of course, the speed at which they can drop off their passengers, so blare out some Bad Religion and The Offspring and put your foot down.

6 Trauma Center: New Blood

Trauma Center: New Blood operation

Where Surgeon Simulator was all-out chaos, New Blood could be all-out stressful at the best of times. Perfectly paired with motion controls, this series saw players take the role of a surgeon, bringing a whole new level of importance to having steady hands. Utilizing the Wii remote and Nunchuck as surgical tools, players were tasked with battling the man-made Stigma virus through detailed operational procedures.

Detracting from the realism ever-so-slightly was the fact that the game’s protagonists possessed the ability of the Healing Touch, a powerful unique ability that aided in the player's speed and stabilization, allowing for smoother operations.

5 Papers, Please

Papers, Please puzzle gameplay

Who’d have thought that playing as an immigration officer could be so much fun and emotional at the same time? Papers, Please, the highly acclaimed 2013 puzzle game put players in the role of border defense, tasking them with granting and denying citizens entry into the fictional country of Arstotzka. The bleak puzzler amped up the difficulty as the game progressed, requiring players to not only inspect the paperwork provided by the numerous citizens but spot any discrepancies that don’t add up in their alibis.

Checking fingerprints, mugshots, identity cards, passports, permits, and more would seem monotonous at first, but set against the moody intensity of the political setting, the immersion, and intimacy of Papers, Please makes it all the more compelling.

4 PowerWash Simulator

Cleaning a vehicle in PowerWash Simulator

Branded by players as one of the most satisfying games ever made, PowerWash Simulator walks and succeeds along the fine line of parody and genuine fun. Ideal for perfectionists and obsessive cleaners, this game enabled players to fulfill their wildest desires of jet-blasting grime from all manners of filthy appliances, cars, gardens, homes, and more.

Armed with nozzles of different strengths and customizable washers, an element of strategy is involved as players must decide what equipment to take to what job. Jokes aside, though, the game was well-received for its satisfying, casual gameplay and relaxing aesthetic. Also, the game’s set in a town called Muckingham, so what’s not to love?

3 Euro Truck Simulator 2

Gameplay of a drive in Euro Truck Simulator 2

This highly anticipated sequel built on everything that made the first game great and more. The iconic truck driving simulator has built a plethora of fan bases, both ironic and unironic. Cruising down freeways in a safe and timely manner whilst ensuring the wellbeing of your deliveries has become a massively popular trend for streamers and ASMR content creators alike.

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Players can make themselves at home with customizable dashboards, paint jobs, trailers, and more, to best suit them for whatever delivery comes next. A simultaneously relaxing, strategy-reliant, and accurate game of being a trucker, without the sleep deprivation and cramp.

2 Demolition Company

An excavator tears down a building in Demolition Company

What better way to de-stress after work than by playing a realistic demolition simulator? Pretend your office building is the one you’re destroying in Demolition Company with a range of tools at your disposal.

From breaking the foundations of your building down with jackhammers and sledgehammers to plowing it down with bulldozers, wrecking balls, and excavators, it’s hard not to feel some sort of childlike glee when whacking on the yellow hardhat and hi-vis. Satisfying demolition physics that are reminiscent of Red Faction: Guerrilla have enabled this game to still hold up today as a perfect, exciting, and practical simulator for winding down.

1 The Bus

Driving around town in The Bus

Where some simulators poke fun at themselves for their finicky micro-realism and others strive to maximize it to its full potential, The Bus is a prime example of the latter. Set in a 1:1 scale representation of Berlin, The Bus puts players behind the wheel of, you guessed it, a bus.

You can create routes for passenger services, whilst also be challenged with overcoming randomly generated adversaries, such as the weather, pedestrians, and traffic behavior. Astounding graphics and the oh-so-satisfying noise of rain upon the vehicle roof make The Bus a go-to for immersive realism in simulator gaming.

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