Ever wanted to run a university campus without any of the responsibility and risk (but also none of the pay)? Sam Brooks has just the game.

The lowdown

Remember Theme Park and Theme Hospital from the 90s? This is basically Theme Campus. 

If you don’t remember those games, we’re talking about a surprisingly in-depth simulation game where you build and manage university campuses, from the macro to the micro level. You pick where classrooms are placed, what teachers with which combination of strengths and flaws populate those classrooms, and exactly what bits of campus detritus you want around to spark joy in your students. Does it sound a lot like work? Yes. Is it fun? Weirdly also yes.

The good

There’s a reason why Theme Park and Theme Hospital worked so well – they let the players feel a little bit like god (albeit a god who works primarily in management), giving us control over institutions we would otherwise have no control over. If we wanted our rollercoaster to go so fast that it injured people, we could make it so. If we wanted our hospital run with an iron fist? Same deal.

Two Point Campus gives us another chance to play god, this time in the world of higher education. While it’s a spiritual sequel to the Theme games, it’s also a literal sequel to Two Point Hospital, with the rougher edges of that game sanded off. In Campus, nobody is at risk of dying and you’re not trying to locate the source of a pandemic at any point in time. You just have to get your students through the year. There’s even a summer so you can take a break to plan and readjust your campus to prepare for your new intake of students.

The most pleasing part about this is how seamless Two Point Studios have made the gameplay experience. Historically, these menu-heavy simulators have worked best on PC where the player has the freedom of a mouse, but Two Point Campus translates effortlessly to the console – even though you spend the vast majority of time navigating various menus and toggles, it feels like a breeze. Combine that with little achievements to keep you going – one more year managing this campus to perfect it just so, or just a few points higher on your students’ GPA – and it creates an experience that’s as pleasing as it is addictive.

The not-so-good

While this game looks cute, sounds great and the feedback loops are tremendously satisfying, at the end of the day it’s still admin. When things don’t go your way it’s stressful in a way that other games aren’t, and you can’t just restart a level and try again without losing a lot of progress. Also, if you aren’t fooled by the aesthetic differences between levels and the lack of meaningful difference between, say, the fancy prep school vibe of Mitton University and the jokey look of Noblestead, where your students can study to become a Medieval chance, there’s a chance that it could get repetitive.

The verdict

If you’re the kind of gamer who likes to zone out of real life admin with some fantasy admin, this will be right up your alley. Even if you’re just the kind of gamer who likes to be mildly challenged and moderately entertained with bright colours, fun noises, and enough mechanic shifts, this is probably still up your alley. Engage your inner control freak and go create some academic order. 

Two Point Campus is available on Linux, MacOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S now.