I am a nineties kid and being a nineties kid meant growing up alongside computers, the internet, and video games. I remember the height of entertainment being Beehive Bedlam, a game played through your Sky box on your TV. I witnessed the birth of The Sims franchise and am still playing the game in it's fourth iteration today. I recall dial-up, download speeds of days, and the original iPod in all it's chunky, clunky glory. You might be wondering why I'm telling you all of this, taking you on this walk down memory lane, but I promise you, it's all relevant. Because growing up in the nineties/early noughties means I remember a popular videogame from that era that has recently been revived and given a long overdue makeover to bring it up to today's gaming standards. In 1997 that game went by Theme Hospital, a business simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts for PC. In 2018 Theme Hospital's 'spiritual sequel' was released to the world as Two Point Hospital and whilst I have played and will review this one at some point, today I want to talk about the follow-up to Two Point Hospital (no, not one of it's many DLCs either): Two Point Campus.
Just like it's predecessor, Two Point Campus is a business simulation game released in 2022 for pretty much every platform you could want to play a video game on (yes, even the Switch!) Two Point Campus was developed by Two Point Studios which, fun fact, is a studio created by two ex-Bullfrog employees to realise their dream of releasing a successor to Theme Hospital, which they did with Two Point Hospital. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to and success of Two Point Hospital led to the creation of it's successor, Two Point Campus, a game tasking the player with building and managing not a hospital this time but a university/college campus. Published by Sega, Two Point Campus is a simple yet fantastic concept of a game that actually delivers on that concept to provide endless hours of entertaining, challenging and genuinely fun gameplay. I'd even go so far as to say that Two Point Campus bests Two Point Hospital and early predecessor Theme Hospital.
I recall a number of issues with original Theme Hospital and although it's been a year or two since I last played Two Point Hospital I remember why I stopped playing it. It's hard. Too hard. I think I made it to the third hospital (or level, if you prefer) before rage-quitting because I kept getting into debt and failing the level. I just could not find a way forward without plunging myself into the red and so I gave up. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy a challenge. This, though, felt more like an impossibility than a challenge. So I put it aside and forgot all about it. That being said, I did approach Two Point Campus with a little trepidation. I did wonder if it would be as challenging. I wondered if I'd just end up rage-quitting again and letting the game gather dust. But I needn't have worried. It seems that since their first two games, Theme Hospital and Two Point Hospital, Two Point Studios have found their sweet spot and created a game that is challenging enough but not at all impossible and I am pleased to report there were zero incidents of rage-quitting this time around!
Videogames, I'm sure you'll agree, are an escape from real-life for many of us. We want something fun, different, and a little bit silly. Even if you're a die-hard shooter or horror gamer I'm sure you can appreciate something that breaks away from the mould set by the current crop of videogames. Two Point Campus really shines in it's emphasis on having fun, breaking that mould, being something different and a little bit silly. It's a real joy to play, in short.
Two Point Campus is also incredibly rich in content for a game that is quite far below the regular price-point for videogames today. I didn't expect much, but I was constantly surprised as more and more levels (or campuses) unlocked with each success. Each level (or campus) has a different theme and I especially enjoyed Spiffinmoore, a campus clearly taking inspiration from a certain infamous magic school. I'll say no more on that though, because to do so would be to spoil it for future players. All of that then, plus the Sandbox mode which offers you multiple different ways to play each level so that really the education world is your oyster. Not to mention Challenge mode which, as the name suggests, is considerably more challenging. Plus all the seasonal updates and new content; the Chrismas Kiosk being one of my favourite additions to the game for, you guessed it, Christmas. Two Point Campus really is the gift that keeps on giving. And all for the low, low price of £35.
I'm also briefly, I promise, going to touch on Two Point Campus' first, but I'm sure not last, DLC: Space Academy. Arriving very shortly after the release of Two Point Campus, Space Academy must have been a DLC the team over at Two Point Studios had been planning for some time. I do wonder if it was originally intended to be a part of the playthrough of Two Point Campus, not DLC, but the studio felt they had enough content without Space Academy and so made it a DLC. No complaints here though; for only £8 you can access three new levels (or campuses) all of which are, as might be expected, space themed. A small word of warning, though. Getting three stars in the final level? Hard! Not rage-quit inducing, but a little more frustrating than previous levels.
Overall, Two Point Studios really have gone above and beyond with Two Point Campus and Two Point Campus DLC Space Academy. I'm very excited for any future DLC they bring out and to see what the future holds for this small studio putting out graphically goofy but technically brilliant games. Until then, you can find me in Sandbox mode creating the best and the worst campuses possible.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Have you played any of the Two Point games? If so, what did you enjoy most and least about them?
Linktree
I am a nineties kid and being a nineties kid meant growing up alongside computers, the internet, and video games. I remember the height of entertainment being Beehive Bedlam, a game played through your Sky box on your TV. I witnessed the birth of The Sims franchise and am still playing the game in it's fourth iteration today. I recall dial-up, download speeds of days, and the original iPod in all it's chunky, clunky glory. You might be wondering why I'm telling you all of this, taking you on this walk down memory lane, but I promise you, it's all relevant. Because growing up in the nineties/early noughties means I remember a popular videogame from that era that has recently been revived and given a long overdue makeover to bring it up to today's gaming standards. In 1997 that game went by Theme Hospital, a business simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts for PC. In 2018 Theme Hospital's 'spiritual sequel' was released to the world as Two Point Hospital and whilst I have played and will review this one at some point, today I want to talk about the follow-up to Two Point Hospital (no, not one of it's many DLCs either): Two Point Campus.
Just like it's predecessor, Two Point Campus is a business simulation game released in 2022 for pretty much every platform you could want to play a video game on (yes, even the Switch!) Two Point Campus was developed by Two Point Studios which, fun fact, is a studio created by two ex-Bullfrog employees to realise their dream of releasing a successor to Theme Hospital, which they did with Two Point Hospital. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to and success of Two Point Hospital led to the creation of it's successor, Two Point Campus, a game tasking the player with building and managing not a hospital this time but a university/college campus. Published by Sega, Two Point Campus is a simple yet fantastic concept of a game that actually delivers on that concept to provide endless hours of entertaining, challenging and genuinely fun gameplay. I'd even go so far as to say that Two Point Campus bests Two Point Hospital and early predecessor Theme Hospital.
I recall a number of issues with original Theme Hospital and although it's been a year or two since I last played Two Point Hospital I remember why I stopped playing it. It's hard. Too hard. I think I made it to the third hospital (or level, if you prefer) before rage-quitting because I kept getting into debt and failing the level. I just could not find a way forward without plunging myself into the red and so I gave up. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy a challenge. This, though, felt more like an impossibility than a challenge. So I put it aside and forgot all about it. That being said, I did approach Two Point Campus with a little trepidation. I did wonder if it would be as challenging. I wondered if I'd just end up rage-quitting again and letting the game gather dust. But I needn't have worried. It seems that since their first two games, Theme Hospital and Two Point Hospital, Two Point Studios have found their sweet spot and created a game that is challenging enough but not at all impossible and I am pleased to report there were zero incidents of rage-quitting this time around!
Videogames, I'm sure you'll agree, are an escape from real-life for many of us. We want something fun, different, and a little bit silly. Even if you're a die-hard shooter or horror gamer I'm sure you can appreciate something that breaks away from the mould set by the current crop of videogames. Two Point Campus really shines in it's emphasis on having fun, breaking that mould, being something different and a little bit silly. It's a real joy to play, in short.
Two Point Campus is also incredibly rich in content for a game that is quite far below the regular price-point for videogames today. I didn't expect much, but I was constantly surprised as more and more levels (or campuses) unlocked with each success. Each level (or campus) has a different theme and I especially enjoyed Spiffinmoore, a campus clearly taking inspiration from a certain infamous magic school. I'll say no more on that though, because to do so would be to spoil it for future players. All of that then, plus the Sandbox mode which offers you multiple different ways to play each level so that really the education world is your oyster. Not to mention Challenge mode which, as the name suggests, is considerably more challenging. Plus all the seasonal updates and new content; the Chrismas Kiosk being one of my favourite additions to the game for, you guessed it, Christmas. Two Point Campus really is the gift that keeps on giving. And all for the low, low price of £35.
I'm also briefly, I promise, going to touch on Two Point Campus' first, but I'm sure not last, DLC: Space Academy. Arriving very shortly after the release of Two Point Campus, Space Academy must have been a DLC the team over at Two Point Studios had been planning for some time. I do wonder if it was originally intended to be a part of the playthrough of Two Point Campus, not DLC, but the studio felt they had enough content without Space Academy and so made it a DLC. No complaints here though; for only £8 you can access three new levels (or campuses) all of which are, as might be expected, space themed. A small word of warning, though. Getting three stars in the final level? Hard! Not rage-quit inducing, but a little more frustrating than previous levels.
Overall, Two Point Studios really have gone above and beyond with Two Point Campus and Two Point Campus DLC Space Academy. I'm very excited for any future DLC they bring out and to see what the future holds for this small studio putting out graphically goofy but technically brilliant games. Until then, you can find me in Sandbox mode creating the best and the worst campuses possible.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Have you played any of the Two Point games? If so, what did you enjoy most and least about them?
Linktree
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