Random Video Game Review - Two Point Hospital

Yeah, I know. A hospital game is the last thing anyone needs during this pandemic. But on the other hand, perhaps a game like this could show us that as much as we often dread going, they do a lot of good work. Looking after us and making sure we get the right treatment (most of the time). Years ago, when Electronic Arts were a small-time publisher that published film tie in games like the Harry Potter ones, they took an interest in what British game developer Bullfrog were doing. They published a series of games the developers made that were all building simulation games with the word "theme" in the title. There was Theme Park World, Theme Park Inc., Theme Aquarium and one called Theme Hospital. Out of those four, I have played three of them, with the last one being the one I played the least. Not because I thought it was a bad game, but because I had very limited access to the game at the time. But here we are with a very similar game that seems to have all its characters look a bit like Wallace from Wallace & Gromit. So let's take a look:

You are the hospital manager, and your job is to construct and maintain a hospital (because why else would it be called Two Point Hospital). This requires building rooms, making sure patients and staff have enough amenities to keep them happy, expanding when the need arises, recruiting staff and dealing with various illnesses (some being more comical than others). You can manage several hospitals at once, with each one having their own unique objectives. To make things funny, some of the illnesses are comical and when a patient dies, you can call upon the "Not Ghostbusters" that are the janitors with the Ghost Capture skill. As it is with hospitals, the journey a patient takes begins in the GP office before going into various rooms for diagnosis and eventually treatment. Sometimes you may get a series of patients that all contain a disease like Covid that begins spreading inside the hospital, and you would then be tasked with making a vaccine. You can train your staff, upgrade equipment and earn in game achievements based on how you as a manager get on (sometimes this includes online leaderboards).

Many people have compared this favourably to Theme Hospital and I got to say, it holds up well and adds some nostalgia in that area. As a game, it brings what made that game great and adapts it to create a more up-to-date experience. Some of us may not want to play because of a bad experience in hospital or because of Covid. But for me personally, I think its a pretty good game with good intentions and just gives us something to laugh at (if that's even possible in a game like this) in the wake of this pandemic we are in. 9/10