Available now on Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch
Version tested: Xbox One X
Two Point Hospital has been around a while now and won plenty of praise on PC but it’s finally made it’s way to the Xbox One, is it any good with a controller though and a decent port over?
Obviously the main advantage with playing on the PC with a game like this is the fact you can use a mouse and keyboard, I was worried how well the game would handle on the Xbox with a controller, happy to report that my fears have been alleviated, controls are smooth and accurate as well as very intuitive and easy to get the hang of. The game starts with an in depth tutorial that gives you all the basics in running your hospital so your not dumped in the deep end from the start.
As I mentioned the controls are pretty simple and take very little time to get used to, the camera is handled with the right and left analogue sticks to swing around and move where you want it and then use the triggers each side to zoom in and out. The X button will select the menu in the bottom left corner and from here you are able to select different options such as building room types or items as well as hiring staff for your hospital. The option to speed up time is also available by pushing in the right stick while pushing in the left one will stop time completely allowing you to build or change things without the game continuing.
In Two Point Hospital it’s all about expanding your hospital while making sure it stays up to date with all the latest viruses and illnesses. Patients are pretty fussy and will require select items to keep them happy, boredom will require you to build items to keep them entertained such as bookcases or magazine racks to kill time while they wait for their appointment. Keeping everything clean is another task and you will need toilets to stop patients relieving themselves wherever they feel like and bins to stop rubbish being left around all over the place.
The different illnesses in game are of good humour, things like lightheadedness will show the patient with a light-bulb for a head, after getting diagnosed they will receive treatment from the De-Lux O-Luxe where the lightbulb will be removed and replaced with their actual head. Each room will need certain staff such as nurses in the pharmacy and doctors in the GP office. I found myself constantly intrigued in what machine I would unlock next and then watched to see how the machine dealt with the latest illness, most of the time it was in a humorous way and well worth watching everytime!
Choosing the right staff is essential to making money in your hospital and all staff come with all different skills, higher skilled ones will cost more but do the job better and cure more patients in turn making more money whereas lower ones will slowly train up and get better over time in but maybe won’t be able to clear patients of their illness resulting in no money and sometimes for the poor patients death! Quick note on death, when a patient dies he or she will leave a ghost and you will need a janitor with a certain skill to get rid of the ghost in a very ghost buster/ luigi’s mansion way with a hoover! As you play the game your staff will progress and learn new abilities, as this happens you will need to look at keeping them happy with options to promote as well as give them a payrise.
While keeping patients happy the staff are also a major priority, you will constantly have to keep an eye on morale, things like being underpaid and overworked can cause issues so man management is key to keeping everything running smoothly!
On the subject of running smoothly the game does that really well! On the Xbox One X the game ran perfectly with no noticeable slowdown at all and this is even when there is loads going on onscreen at once when the hospital is really busy. Graphically everything is vibrant and colourful with plenty of detail for the games art style. The animations are also great and something definitely worth noting as you can clearly see the level of care and attention that has gone into the game.
Making money is the main aim of the game, you will constantly have to keep things balanced and well checked to make sure you are still making money and not actually losing it. Hiring the right staff is essential and making sure machinery is utilised properly with the right amount of staff is also very essential, having to many of the same thing is a waste and also letting things get overused without the correct maintenance can destroy any profit your hospital might be making. When you level up you will also notice another currency called Kudosh, thankfully this is in-game earned currency and it’s used to unlock some of the more interesting and premium options on offer in the game. As I said this can be earned as you level up but also can be earned by good staff doing certain objectives so again staff selection is key!
As you earn more money there is the option to progress and make the hospital even bigger which stops things from getting boring, there is always something going on and you never actually know what might happen next, natural disasters happen and there is the constant threat of a new illness you are unready for or even an epidemic!
Last thing I was to touch on before the verdict is the sound, like the game itself it’s really well done and constantly funny, there is a huge amount of work and love gone into the game and the sound certainly wasn’t neglected! Constant funny remarks from the tannoy system will keep you entertained and the background music fits perfectly to the gameplay itself.
Verdict:
Two Point Hospital is a very addictive game, brings back memories of playing the old Theme Hospital games all them years ago and is well worth playing! The game has been ported over to the Xbox perfectly with solid performance and great looking visuals for the type of game it is. The constant new illnesses to treat as well as always unlocking new things to use keeps the game feeling fresh and keeps you wanting to play to see the next type of illness or items. For the price it’s a solid game and I can highly recommend to anyone who loved Theme Hospital back in the day!
Score
8.5 / 10
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Two Point Hospital
Pros
- Solid performance and great port over to the Xbox One
- Funny gameplay and humorous tannoy throughout
- Lots to unlock, can be very challenging as you progress
- Addictive and will keep you playing for hours on end!
Cons
- While controls are solid sometimes can be a little fiddly placing or picking up certain items