I am, as I have spoken about numerous times previously, not good at strategy games with a competitive component. But I have always enjoyed a distinct offshoot of the strategic genre: the management sim, in which you tend to mostly be competing against “yourself”.

Ever since I first played SimCity on Super NES — a game that I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy when I first got it for Christmas as a kid, but which I ended up loving — I’ve found great value from games where you get to “play God” to varying degrees, having the opportunity to express your creativity within the constraints of a set of game mechanics.

And the latest of these I’ve found myself having fun with is Sega’s Two Point Campus, the follow-up to their successful riff on Bullfrog’s Theme Hospital, Two Point Hospital.

In Two Point Campus, you take on an administrative role as you’re brought in to renovate (and, well, build) several universities in the Two Point County area. Each of these universities has a distinct specialism, and as you play through these initial “mini-campaigns” you are gradually introduced to the game’s various mechanics and components that you might want to pay attention to when playing in a more “free-form” manner.

At the time of writing, I’ve “completed” two of the initial four scenarios, which involve completing three sets of objectives to attain three stars for the university in question. Each scenario has, so far, taken maybe three or four hours each, and after that you can move on to another or simply keep playing the one you’ve been working on in a more “sandbox” fashion. It’s probably in your interests to complete the four initial scenarios, however, as this is how you unlock various game features.

My most recent play session focused on the second scenario, which sees you running a culinary academy. After the first scenario introduced the basics of building rooms, outfitting them with items so that they are both functional and pleasing to your students’ virtual eyes, this second one added some additional layers to the mix with some extra rooms and the ability to schedule events throughout the school year. Some of the latter were for simply entertaining the students; others, like the gradually escalating Cook-Off competitions, were mandatory to progress.

The scenarios of Two Point Campus that I’ve played so far start you with a generous allowance of money, allowing you to set things up as you see fit. After the first scenario is complete, the game doesn’t hold your hand with the basics, leaving you free to build any additional facilities atop the campus’ basic requirements that you deem necessary (or desirable) while still having some funds left over. This is, for me, the thing I like most about this sort of game.

What I tend to find with any sort of game where I have the opportunity to creatively and relatively freely build something is that I start “seeing” things from the perspective of those who are down on the ground — even if the game doesn’t afford you the facility to do that.

I find myself arranging rooms and corridors in a way that I would find pleasing or practical to negotiate in reality — even where doing so doesn’t have any particular gameplay benefits. And I start imagining what it would be like to really be in that place.

In essence, I use these games in a similar fashion to how a child would indulge in imaginative, creative play with their toys. Indeed, as a child I was always fascinated by certain toys I had, and again found myself picturing what life would be like from the perspective of those toys. I vividly recall having a Fisher-Price garage, for example, that I wished I could really drive around in one of my toy cars; of course, had I been born 30 years later, I could have probably approximated the experience with a mobile phone or other form of small camera, but I suspect it wouldn’t have quite been the same.

For me, the imaginative side is important, and while I do always appreciate a game that provides a first-person mode in which you can actually get down on the ground and wander around your creation for yourself, in many respects I find it more satisfying to observe it from afar and let my brain do the wandering. That’s why I’m not too upset that Two Point Campus lacks such a facility; you can zoom the camera in pretty close, but it’s still very much a God’s-eye view.

Gameplay-wise, Two Point Campus is enjoyable and accessible. I’d perhaps argue it’s a little too easy if anything — despite overspending a tad at one point, I took out an in-game loan and easily made enough money to pay it back within a couple of virtual months — but that may just be down to the fact that by playing the initial scenarios, I’m effectively still on the “tutorial”. I still have two more of these to go, after all, and going by the pattern of the first two stages gradually introducing various game mechanics, I suspect things will start to amp up in complexity from here.

That said, I’m not sure I need it to be “difficult” as such, because as I’ve already noted, part of the appeal of what I’ve played so far is… well, play. If presented with less-than-desirable starting circumstances and the need to really claw back every last bit of cash available, I’m not sure the game would be as fun — or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it would be fun of a different mould. The “imaginative play” aspect would have to be downplayed a little in favour of more sensible business decisions, and I’m not as good at those!

At the present point in my playthrough, then, Two Point Campus is one of those simulations that it’s just pleasant and comfy to sit down and spend some time with — and the audio-visual presentation helps a lot with that. While the music tracks and in-game announcements repeat quite a lot, one thing I am particularly impressed with is the virtual radio stations’ hosts; not only does there appear to be unique recorded material for each scenario, but also in nearly four hours of play last night, the spoken material didn’t repeat itself once, even providing a feel of an unfolding “background narrative” of sorts while I was continuing to work on my university. That sort of thing is seriously impressive — particularly when you consider that some players might not even notice it at all!

It’s genuinely funny, too, and manages to do so without being overly ironic or snide about anything. The distinctly British sense of humour (carried across by the equally British voice acting) really helps things have an amusing but not overly “wacky” feel, and there are some absolutely wonderful quotes along the way. My favourites are “Everyone loves a milkshake! But drinking too much milk can and will make you feel uncontrollably ill. Be safe, and try to have very slightly less than that.” and “Your body is a temple. And you wouldn’t fill a temple with crisps.”

I suspect I still have a lot to learn about Two Point Campus, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played a great deal so far. It’s a nice reminder of ’90s PC gaming in particular — even though I’m playing on PS5 with a controller on the big TV — and a fun game to relax with when you’re not in the mood for blasting, jumping on or stabbing things. So I suspect it’ll be part of my rotation for a while yet!

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More about Two Point Campus

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