Two Point Museum Review

Two Point Museum builds on the stellar catalog of Two Point Studios’ critically acclaimed simulation games. Both Two Point Campus and Two Point Hospital represent some of the very best the genre has to offer, but how much fun can managing a boring old museum really be?

Two Point Museum Review

That was the question I asked myself as I was booting up the game. A few years removed from my time in Two Point Campus, I’d forgotten the wit, charm, and just delightful experience offered in every Two Point Studios game – and Two Point Museum is no different.

Two Point Museum walks on familiar ground. Those with experience with the previous two games will immediately feel at home navigating the complex user interface and seemingly endless array of menus and sub-menus, but it all flows together well – even with a controller.

While the core mechanics are relatively predictable, everything from managing staff happiness and pay, to ensuring security stops anyone grabbing a five-finger discount, show Two Point Museum’s strength in always keeping things fresh.

Five unique museum designs, and several pop-up challenges, feel far more dynamic than the genre has any right to be – and I love it.

Passwater Cove, the aquarium museum, features a more compact approach to managing your exhibits. Large tanks, with each fish counting as their own attraction. Managing the food, heating, and social requirements of each type of fish.

Wailon Lodge, the spooky museum and easily my favorite, tasks the player with hunting down spirits. Storing them in appropriate polterguest lodgings, matching the decorations and interior to the time period the spirit is from.

Memento Mile, the prehistory museum, allows the player to fill it with awesome fossil and bone exhibits, focusing more on grander, more decorative areas for guests to explore.

Pebberley Heights, investing an alien artifact that sees Experts sent on Expeditions around the galaxy, meeting alien species and inviting them to visit.

Bungle Wasteland, an abandoned scientific facility, tasking players with researching new technologies to solve environmental problems. My museum here is in absolute disarray, so no screenshots.

Each location in Two Point Museum almost feels like a game in its own right, doing a fantastic job of providing a remedy to the otherwise exhausting nature of these games.

Jumping through the same hoops at each location, raising the Museum rating, attracting more guests – much of the fatigue is forgotten, as each location provides enough variety to feel like it’s worth starting fresh.

Frank. The Security guy. Who should definitely be watching those monitors

Switching between each location in Two Point Museum is as simple as opening the map and picking a location. The freedom to choose the challenges and objectives you want to tackle at any given time keeps things interesting and engaging every step of the way.

It does mean the traditional challenges take a bit of a backseat. I never had any difficulty managing finances, staff, or anything, really. Progressing in Two Point Museum feels effortless, flowing from objective to objective with relative ease.

It focuses more on the “action” side of the simulation experience. Unlocking and displaying new exhibits, exploring the world with Expeditions to unlock new technologies, and training staff to streamline and speed up the more time-consuming elements.

It’s a better game for it, but those hoping for a more by-the-numbers approach to the running and managing of the museum may walk away disappointed.

Expeditions play a huge role and is one of the few consistent core mechanics between each museum. You train an expert in a particular field and send them out via helicopter to discover new exhibits and unlock new technologies.

These are exciting throughout the campaign, unlocking new exhibits in a loot-crate style system is a lot of fun, and adding perks to exhibits to improve specific functions adds a lot of customization options, but none of it transitions to Sandbox Mode.

And that’s about the only real fault I could find through my time in Two Point Museum. Career Mode unlocks being specific to Career Mode makes the Sandbox option a tough sell.

Oh, and the staff; it’s always the staff.

While not a serious problem, it’s one annoying enough to mention. Staff would often do, well, nothing? Everything? I don’t know.

I’d hire and train a specific Assistant to work on the front desk, speeding up their ticketing process to get more visitors into the museum. I’d assign the appropriate work placement and area. Five minutes later, they’d be off selling items in the gift shop.

Another time, my crowning jewel of a gift shop completely fell apart. I’d researched a unique technology that let me place devices around the museum that spews out chemicals (totally organic and harmless, or so I am told), scents that “motivate” guests to buy more gifts.

I’d have a queue of 15 marks visitors, all happy to bow to my capitalist machine, only for my assistant to sit at the desk and do nothing. It’s a minor problem, one I expect to be addressed relatively quickly, but annoying nonetheless.

It did take a bit of time to retrain my brain from the typically efficient and organized elements of management simulation. Maximizing every inch of space, building everything in squares – Two Point Museum rewards a more organic approach to design and structure.

Wider, more open areas boasting several exhibits, all benefiting from carefully placed decorations, fact boards, and donation bins. It adds to the already rewarding experience of discovering and adding each exhibit, adding another layer that benefits from prior planning and careful construction.

Two Point Studios just doesn’t miss – Two Point Museum is another funny, deep, and incredibly creative dive into the simulation genre that’s sure to be another hit.

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