Two Point Hospital is unabashedly a Theme Hospital remake; built from the ground up for a 2018 audience. For those unaware of Theme Hospital, it was a game released by Bullfrog in 1997 and while it reviewed really well at the time, it has gained almost legendary status as the years have gone by. To this day it is one of the best construction and management simulation games ever made.
Two Point Studios, creators of this new hospital sim was formed in 2017 by some of those involved in the iconic 1997 game. They set out to make the sequel that fans had always wanted. From the start Two Point Studios has been very hands on with it’s community, even going so far as to run a contest where the winner would get their hilariously thought up illness added to the game.
You start your adventure in a small empty hospital with a tutorial that is both helpful for newcomers to the game and an overdose of nostalgia for those who played the original. The game does a great job of easing you in to how things work. First you need to create a reception desk. Then hire a receptionist. Following that you need a GP’s office, then a doctor to work in that office. The game starts with the absolute bare essentials of what’s needed and then branches out in ways that never feel overwhelming.
The illnesses in the game are a real highlight and do a great job of bringing a sense of humour to a place that let’s face it, isn’t anyone’s ideal day out. One of the first outbreaks you are introduced to is a condition called ‘Lightheadedness’. You will be able to spot patients with this affliction pretty easily as they have light bulbs for heads. The cure is to build a De-Lux clinic to treat the patients.
It gets better. If you decide to stick around and watch a patient get treatment you see a huge mechanical arm unscrew their light bulb head, drop it in a bin, 3D print them a new head and stick it on. Explaining this process does not do it justice, but watching this play out for the first time I just loved how clever it was. This is just one of the many funny and well thought out illnesses that you will come across as you make your way through the game.
All members of staff have their place and contribute. One of my favourites is definitely the janitors who clean, repair equipment and even moonlight as Ghostbusters when someone dies in the hospital. That’s right they actually pull out a dustbuster and chase the ghost around the hospital until they catch them. That is, if they have the required skill, which brings me to another added layer of the game. Employee training. This allows you to teach the likes of doctors new skills such a psychiatry. Being able to develop your staff is something that becomes an essential tool.
The graphics are also superb, as is the animation. Everything from the menus to the design and movement of all the staff and patients has some exceptional attention to detail. The aesthetic isn’t aiming for realism and neither it should given the subject matter. Instead it reminded me of Wallace and Gromit.
It would have been easy for the sound to be pretty generic but again Two Point Studios has went over and above to deliver a dynamic experience by adding a Hospital Radio. Here you have three DJ’s that drop in from time to time adding to the humour and all around experience. One even sounds identical to Edward Hibbert who played Gil in the popular 90’s sitcom Frasier. Apparently the team were close to securing Alan Partridge which would have been brilliant, but scheduling conflicts meant it was not to be.
If there was one negative to throw in to the mix it would be the games difficulty in later levels. In the later hospitals it can feel like a near impossible task to keep everyone happy and stop patients dying on your premises. This is something that can be balanced post release though and the developers have already shown a willingness to listen to community feedback and have added little things like being able to copy and paste a room should you have a nice blueprint for say a GP’s office or Pharmacy that you want to replicate throughout your hospital.
Overall, Two Point Hospital is a love letter to those that adored Theme Hospital nearly twenty years ago. Two point Studios haven’t rewritten the formula and neither should they have. What they have done is improve on every aspect of the game while preserving what made the original so special. In the press release it is said that they hope this is the start of something big for the studio and they want to continue to grow with other games. Could this mean a new Theme Park? Maybe. Whatever this team decide to do next sign me up. Day one. Because this is absolutely one of the best games of 2018 and in a year that may well go down as the best in gaming history that is not a statement I make lightly.
-Craig
Reviewed on PC. This game is also available on Mac. Review code provided by the publisher.
