Two Points Hospital - A Perfect Reimagining?

in Hive Gaming3 years ago

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Two Point Hospital is one of those quintessential business tycoon games, with you as the God-like CEO of a chain of Hospitals in the fictitious county of Two Points. Your goal is simple, create hospitals, train your staff and cure comical ailments. Two Point Hospital was developed by Two Point Studios and published by Sega for Linux, MacOS, and Microsoft Windows in 2018. Console versions for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch were released two years later in February 2020. If you've played Bullfrog Interactive's cult classic Theme Hospital then you should already be familiar with the game, to some extent. Some of the staff of Two Point Studios even worked on the original Theme Hospital!

In Two Point Hospital, your role as Hospital Manager will mainly consist of several repetitive, but enjoyable tasks. Which include building rooms for staff to diagnose and treat patients. As well as amenities for general use, like magazine racks, staff rooms and toilets. You will also need to hire a litany of skilled, but quirky labor to run your hospital. Including janitors and secretaries.

I am a big fan of what I call "unique repetition" that simulator games provide. The mechanics of tasks remain consistent, while the simulation provides problems for you to solve in the world that help keep the game interesting. To quote James Franco in The Interview; "Same-same, but different."

Two Point Hospital can be considered the spiritual successor to Theme Hospital, a 1997 simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions. Among those involved in the development of both games were Theme Hospital's producer Mark Webley, as well as artist Gary Carr, and composer Russell Shaw. Ideas of a sequel to Theme Hospital had been tossed around for some time until some 20 years later when producer Webly and artist Carr decided the time was right to start working on a new Hospital Simulator. Much like the original Theme Hospital, the team at Two Point studio decided on humor being key, as people tend to not like hospitals much. As such they attempt to shy away from real world diseases and ailments in favor of silly alternatives. Disco-Dancing lunatics in need of a psychiatrist, or a pandemic of pot heads. People with literal saucepans stuck to their heads.

The style, the music, the sound effects all have me back in love with managing my hospital. The wacky theme is also spot-on. I am especially fond of the people that come in with a crab stuck to their head. It's a lot of fun to watch all the little details in the animations. They are really well-done. The management side of things is quite good. It does sort of repeat the same pattern again and again with each new hospital. But the new stuff is introduced each time you start and the ability to copy and paste rooms help make the gameplay feel less like it's a chore. You can also earn the in-game Kudoshes and buy new items to spread around. And this is where it turns into playing "The Sims" I guess. But that's okay because I like decorating my hospital. Admittedly, some of it gets a bit tiring as most rooms need a basic set of stuff each time. But it's fun to top it off with new posters and plants that you recently purchased with your points.

If you are a fan of simulator games I highly recommend this titles if it slipped by under your radar. It sure sliped by underneath mine. I would also advise old players that first tried the game in 2018 to try it again. The developers have fixed a ton of bugs from what I've been reading and the game is in its best state ever!

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Pros:

  • funny
  • casual
  • good graphics
  • the sequel you've been waiting for

Cons:

  • repetitive
  • minor bugs
  • not that hard

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