Simulator games span many vocations and hobbies. Some, like the ever popular Microsoft Flight Simulator and Euro (and American) Truck Simulator, let you experience things you're unlikely to do in real life, be it flying planes around the world or delivering cargo across an entire continent. Other, more niche entries offer experiences that are slightly more achievable, such as PC Building Simulator. However, they all have one thing in common: replicating reality, gamifying it in some way, and making it fun.

While driving a taxi isn't quite as much of a stretch as becoming a pilot or long-haul truck driver, it's still something many of us will never experience, except maybe from the passenger seat. On the surface it may seem like a relatively boring job, driving around the same streets day in and day out, often with passengers who like to ride in silence. But Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator highlights the exciting parts of being a cabbie.

Most of this excitement comes from the city of Barcelona, which developer Simteract has recreated at a 1:1 scale. The team "carefully analyzed many cities," but ultimately decided on Barcelona because from the "narrow streets of the old town's Barri Gòtic to the modernist grid-based road network, it's all diverse, interesting, and demanding—ideal for our game about driving," said Marcin Gomoła, the Head of Studio at Simteract. Gomoła explained that they recreated Barcelona "as close as possible to reality, especially in the context of the layout of the city."

Recreating the city with an eye towards accuracy also meant its architecture and art, including all of Barcelona's most famous landmarks and monuments—over 200, all told. Gomoła explained they have "packed Barcelona with rich, well-recreated details and dynamic events that make every corner of the city a new discovery, ensuring players always have something new to explore and experience within this vibrant, living cityscape". From car accidents to parades or construction work making certain roads inaccessible, you'll quickly become accustomed to the unpredictable as you adapt your route and take in the sights.

Dynamic events also apply to the AI model Simteract used in Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator, called Traffic AI. "The team has put a lot of time and work into making an enjoyable—but also challenging—experience for the player," said Gomoła.

Outside of Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator, Traffic AI is used in professional driving simulators to train driver assistance systems and control autonomous vehicles, which makes this one of the most realistic portrayals of on-road vehicles in a video games. You'll need to react to drivers cutting you off, switching lanes, causing accidents, and even being rear-ended, as opposed to other driving simulators where the other cars on the road are often quite predictable. Gomoła is keen to stress that it won't "hinder your experience in a negative way" though, instead encouraging players to "think of creative ways to get around the city."

You're not just driving in silence, either. Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator lets you engage in conversations with your passengers. This is another way Simteract wants the player "to feel like a real taxi driver" according to Gomoła. Topics can range from the city of Barcelona—like when you pick up tourists—to what it's like being a taxi driver or even the car itself. You choose how to respond, but the chattier and friendlier you are, the more tips you'll earn. Good conversational skills also boost a passenger's patience, so they'll be more forgiving if you make mistakes, such as forgetting to indicate or taking the wrong route to your destination.

You'll sometimes encounter passengers who act a little differently, as well. While nobody will jump in and tell you to "Follow that car!" like in the movies, you will pick up the occasional passenger who instructs you to ignore all the rules and get them to their destination as quickly as possible. Doing so would usually "result in tickets for breaking the law if police spot it, or losing a tip if the customer feels threatened" Gomoła explained—but when these special passengers are in your cab, they'll have a quick word with the Spanish police on your behalf. For one trip only, you're above the law.

That said, you are still limited to the capabilities of your car. You can speed, but this isn't a racing game. There are no supercars. At launch there are six vehicles to drive, each offering something radically different, from your bog-standard taxi sedan to seven-seater vans and electric cars. Gomoła revealed that "You can customize your car in the game's garage, both the interior and exterior," said Gomoła, "so you can look cool as you ferry passengers around. You can also tweak performance or transmission type."

You can also make your driving experience as realistic (or arcade-like) as you want. If you lack experience behind the wheel and want to focus on acceleration, braking, and steering only, there's a mode for that—or you can whip out a wheel and pedals and go for the full shebang in manual. Simteract has "put a lot of effort into creating a believable city driving experience," appropriate for a simulator. But Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator is also perfectly accessible to those who want something a little more casual.

And when at long last you acquire your second car, that's when your taxi empire begins. Much like the business side of the Truck Simulator games, you'll start hiring (and firing) other drivers to earn you more cash, even as you continue exploring Barcelona from behind the wheel.

Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator is available now in the Epic Games Store.