Two Point Museum Review (PS5, PlayStation 5)
Summary: Overall I found Two Point Museum an absorbing delight, and it was only improved for the areas in which it differed from my halcyon days of school with Theme Hospital
5
Delightful!
Two Point Museum was delightful. The lazy mindfulness I achieved reminded me of ‘Unpacking’ (2021), minus the story and with the decorating and systems multiplied by infinity. I loved Theme Hospital and Theme Park, playing them surreptitiously during class at school years ago; and so I had high expectations when I noted the announcement for Two Point Museum given the studios link to Bullfrog Productions. They did not disappoint. I found the tutorial campaign a real marathon, sometimes bogged down by handholding – but once you make it through and understand the depth on offer, the sandbox mode is brilliant and wonderfully customisable. I reviewed Two Point Museum on PS5, and I had such a good time despite generally using a PC for these games – so I suspect anyone with even a hint of love for these tycoon sims will find themselves lost in it. Get used to setting an alarm on your phone to finally go to bed.
Personally I play these games for the world building and role play management, and pay little attention to the story. For Two Point Museum, the campaign (meaning tutorial) story is essentially you are replacing a previous curator who wasn’t up to scratch. I’m probably being ungenerous by being so brief about the story, particularly when the narrator genuinely made me laugh out loud sometimes – the writing is very balanced, neither too noticeable nor boring.
I won’t spoil anything by noting you have eventually have the chance to manage multiple museums. But I genuinely want to leave the discovery of these museums to you because the themes are delightfully distinct, and each have their own subsystems of management that provide them with unique identities and play styles. It is both required and worth switching between your ‘museums’ and adds incredible depth. It was far too easy to get lost in the broader worlds that Two Point have produced and forget I was supposed to be optimising my staff and guests’ experiences.
On the topic of challenge, I suspect most people will find the game easy enough to get lost in, yet difficult enough that they can’t get too distracted… at least until the latter third when security becomes a threat. I loved the options in the sandbox mode so that I choose if I wanted to engage in this difficulty multiplier or not. It’s slightly heart-breaking to watch an exhibit get stolen after far too many hours arranging your whole museum like a house of cards around it.
Aside from the usual management loops relating to optimising staff and guests’ experiences by having all the correct resources to meet their needs, there are more novel gameplay loops, for example the expeditions – gathering new exotic exhibits for your museum – with cascading needs for upkeep, analysis, maintaining ‘buzz’, etc. When combined with the usual Two Point art style of decoration and the capacity to incredibly individualise your ‘museum’, it is very easy to get lost in both the finely balanced challenge and free-play fun.
The only criticism I had from my time with the game was the length of the tutorial. I remember blearily blinking against the harsh light of my TV screen, wondering if I was going crazy or if the tutorial would never end… I was only 10 hours, and with hindsight many the tutorial’s significant lessons were still to come. I am aware of the irony that I will complain about the tutorial – only to praise the game for it’s overall length and replayability – at no point did I ever feel like I was running out of things to do or learn.
I experienced no significant bugs that impacted on my time with Two Point Museum – occasionally the delays when selecting options using in the menu – fixed by switching between the analog sticks or the D-pad – and a few graphical quirks. If I spent enough time at maximum zoom, sometimes I would notice a staff member with no feet.
Actually, on the topic of the controller – playing Two Point Museum on PS5 was probably the part of this I was least familiar with. I can’t recall ever having enjoyed a management / tycoon game like this on a console. I have a very strong preference for PC for these style of games, probably linked to my past experiences. There is a lack of finesse when using the controller compared to what I would imagine on PC, the fact that I loved this game so much speaks wonders for how well the team have built Two Point Museum to be accessible and fun on a console AND to the games own addictive loop.
Final Thoughts?
Overall I found Two Point Museum an absorbing delight, and it was only improved for the areas in which it differed from my halcyon days of school with Theme Hospital. My biggest concern is limiting how much time I spend playing this game – and how many ways can I really present the same exhibits… 5 / 5 stars.
Related Posts
It Takes Two PS5 Review →
It’s time to celebrate Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii with PIRATE RUM! →
Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Review →
