Two Point Campus is a building management game that follows as a sequel to the popular Two Point Hospital, brought to you by Two Point Studios and SEGA. It’s set for launch on August 9, 2022.
As with the first game, you need to manage facilities, people, and resources to earn money and points towards improving your levels. In this case, you’re managing academic buildings towards the final university.
That means you’ll need to care for staff and students as you provide the best rooms for comfort and education. While it may sound tedious, there are plenty of elements that make Two Point Campus fun to play. I especially loved the Hogwarts references later in the game. Here’s a complete review of my experience with TPC.
Do you have what it takes to run a university?
Let’s take an introductory run with this Two Point Campus review. In this section, I’ll discuss the main campaign points and what you’ll need to focus on from the start. Essentially, you’ll work your way towards managing the ultimate TPC university facility at the end.
Starting small
When you start your journey in Two Point Campus, you have a rectangular, relatively small facility. Thankfully, you have tons of funds to use, but don’t go splashing out just yet. You’ll need to manage your money over time, only buying what you need as the missions progress further.
The game sets the scene with you as the facility manager of the campus. You’ll get the hang of meeting your students, teachers, assistants, and janitors. They’ll even develop relationships over time, which you can monitor.
Managing people and resources
As with its predecessor, Two Point Campus expects you to manage people and resources effectively so you don’t run out of funds. Every student and employee has a happiness level, and you’ll need to provide specific items to increase it. The happier they are, the more willing they are to learn or pay rent for the dorm rooms.
Increasing levels
The whole point of kitting out your campus and making the people happy is to earn Course Points. Two Point Campus bases these rewards on the number of rooms, students, and staff. Whenever your campus levels up, you’ll earn 10 Course Points, which you can allocate at the end of the academic year.
Stages and courses
Another exciting aspect I enjoyed with Two Point Campus was the different stages and the courses you unlock with them. For example, the second level is called “Food for thought” where you teach culinary students how to cook food and serve clients at a diner. The two courses you unlock are Funny Business and Gastronomy.
There are a total of 12 levels and 17 courses. Each one makes you more excited for the next, making you wonder what you’ll encounter next. At the end of the road is Two Point University, where you need to show what you’re made of with all your skills put together.
As a Harry Potter fan, I need to make a nod to the Spinninmoore campus, with its Dark Arts and Wizardry courses. It should be easy for any HP lover to see the correlation with Griffindor there, as well as one of the top classes at Hogwarts (Defence Against the Dark Arts). Another fun name for a campus is Pebberly Ruins, which takes a look at archeology.
How long to play Two Point Campus?
The length of time you’ll play Two Point Campus depends on how quickly you can pass the levels. It may take you only 30 mins to an hour for the first level, but the other levels may far extend past 2 hours. If we take an average of 1 and a half hours per level, that’s still over 18 hours of gameplay, if you’re lucky. We’re sure there are more than 25 hours in TPC if you want every achievement.
Strategic gameplay in Two Point Campus
Now that you have some idea of what Two Point Campus entails, let me share the gameplay details. I truly love playing strategy games like this that add some entertainment and laughs along the way. It takes away any frustration you may feel if the level isn’t going your way.
Learning how to play Two Point Campus
If you haven’t played Two Point Hospital or any game like Two Point Campus, you’re in luck. The first level shows you how to move your camera around, activate lessons, hire staff, and attract new students. The best part is that each level has some form of a tutorial when a new game mechanics appears, ensuring you aren’t left confused.
Building rooms
You can’t leave your students and staff walking around, wondering where the rooms are on the empty campus. One of your first assignments is to build rooms for them, such as lecture halls, experimental labs, and staff areas. The function is easy with a click-and-drag feature, after which you can place items.
Each room has a specific function, and you’ll need to look at the inventory at the top to see what they need. You can add more furniture and objects later, as long as you cover the basic requirements. Also, the rooms mustn’t clash with other items on the campus.
Buying new items in Two Point Campus
Not everything is available from the start of Two Point Campus. You’ll notice that there’s an in-game credit system called Kudosh. As you complete missions, you’ll earn these credits along with experience. This currency is essential if you want to spoil your staff with new outfits or unlock new decorations for your facility.
Completing assignments
You can’t progress in Two Point Campus without completing assignments. It’s the heart and core of the game, but they’re also fun to achieve. At the start of each level, these missions usually consist of getting things up and running. Towards the end of the stage, it’s about meeting the requirements before you can move to the next level, such as getting a specific number of students to pass.
Expanding your building
When you make enough money through your students and missions, you’ll be able to buy plots next to your land to expand your facilities. These become necessary when you unlock new courses and rooms and you don’t have sufficient space in your current building.
That brings me to another point. While you may want to give your students and staff massive rooms, you’ll reach times where you just can’t afford the space. You can expect to cut back on room sizes to make more space for other areas, especially when it affects the happiness of the occupants.
Managing expenses
While the missions will progress you further into Two Point Campus, it’s the money that keeps you alive. Every so often, you’ll receive a report on income and expenses, and you’ll want the overall balance to remain in the green. Keep a tight watch on where you can increase revenue and cut back on costs so you don’t end up with a loss.
All I can say is that it becomes really challenging towards the end, and you’ll be scratching your head working out where you went wrong.
Similar games to Two Point Campus
I love games like Two Point Campus with a passion. It all started with Theme Hospital on the PS1 in 1997, and then Two Point Hospital surprised us with the similarities that we loved so much. Another building management game to try is Megaqaurium, which I’m still hooked on after all this time. Roller Coaster Tycoon is also fun, but with more complicated elements.
What you’ll need on your PC for Two Point Campus
If we went back about a decade, 6 GB for a game may have seemed like a lot, or at least average. In today’s world, it’s small compared to some of the massive titles we’re seeing online such as Here’s looking at you, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Elder Scrolls Online.
In any event, here’s what you’ll need as minimum requirements to play Two Point Campus.
- OS: Windows 7 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i3 6100 / AMD FX-4350
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GT 1030, 2GB; AMD RX550, 2GB; Integrated: Intel HD Graphics 630
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 6 GB
Hilarious and pleasant visuals and sound
If a building management game doesn’t have pleasant graphics and some fun effects, then I don’t feel it’s worth playing, in my opinion. Here are some of the visual and audio elements you can expect from Two Point Campus.
Detailed scenes and rooms
You have the same cartoonish graphics and animated effects as we saw in Two Point Hospital. Having said that, many of the visual elements are easier to work with, showing how well Two Point Studios listened to complaints about the first game.
There are many moments where you simply want to watch the people walk around, waiting to see if any funny scenes appear. The students certainly have interesting designs, and some even make you wonder about their fashion choices. You’ll also see plenty of decorative items to make your campus look beautiful.
Compact menus and interfaces
You’ll find most of the menus and interfaces along the edges of your screen, mostly at the top and bottom. They’re neatly organized in a way that’s easy to spot what you’re looking for. For instance, the build and buy items are in the bottom left corner, while your inbox and assignments are on the right. That’s not just my visual memory kicking in, but just how easy it is to become used to the interface.
Music and sim sounds
Fortunately, Two Point Campus plays gentle, entertaining music in the background while you’re busy managing various elements. Staff and students will send out audio alerts when something is wrong, which sounds like something you might hear in The Sims 4. It provides a pleasant backdrop while also keeping you on your toes. Even the classroom machines have fun sound effects!
Final Verdict of Two Point Campus
We need more games from Two Point Studios. There’s so much the company can do with this series of games, and I’m looking forward to what they’ll do next. The potential is so huge, and my head is floating with all the possibilities.
As far as Two Point Campus is concerned, it exceeds expectations. It’s the perfect game to follow TPH, and it’s clear the developers kept the gamers in mind with feedback from its predecessor. The effects and courses are entertaining, and I love the rooms, furniture, and environments. I definitely want more!
If you like this review, please spare a moment to look at some other games I enjoyed. Head on over to some of my favorite reviews Mirror Forge preview, Dune: Spice Wars preview, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.
Pros
- Plenty of strategy elements
- Fun visuals and sounds
- Campus names that ring a bell
- Stunning environments
- Loads of levels and courses
- New courses give a hint of excitement
- Easy to learn and play
Cons
- Can become intensely challenging
Developer: Two Point Studios
Publisher: SEGA
Game Modes: Single-player
Platform reviewed: Windows 11 – Steam
