While reporting on Two Point Campus over the past month, I kind of noted how amusing it was that the game was being released when it was still summer vacation. After all, you would think that a proper release date for a new simulation game about crafting the university of your dreams would tie in more with the beginning of a new school year. But now after having spent some time with the game, I immediately get why it wasn't released during a school year: because if it was, it would immediately kill all productivity among students. Yes, Two Point Studios' follow-up to the wildly successful Two Point Hospital shows that the develops still have plenty of magic to apply to the genre (quite literally here, given some courses), creating an addictive time sink that's worth enrolling in.

There's not exactly much point in bringing up the premise again, since it got recapped in the previous paragraph and can easily be figured out via the game's name alone. But there's still a campaign mode of sorts to check out, one that sees you traveling to a dozen different campuses around Two Point County and bringing them up to shape as the new dean. Sure, it's tantalizing to jump right into the sandbox mode, but each new campus in the campaign essentially serves as orientation for different courses, buildings, mechanics and more, and Two Point Campus does a fantastic job in that area, allowing you to get used to the various aspects while still providing a nice challenge.

Things start out quite simple, of course. Just build a dormitory, a library, a classroom with a science course, student and staff lounges, bathrooms, etc, then hire all the staff needed. The bare essentials, basically. Then decorate the place up to make sure each student is happy and thus keeps their grades up and pays tuition, meet the goals given to you, and earn the star needed to unlock the next campus or campuses. Of course, you can also stick around or come back later to go for the goals needed for two or three stars (thus unlocking new decor, courses, entertainment and more in the process), which seems like another simple task at first. Then you move on to a culinary school, however, and suddenly the focus has shifted. Now you learn that you need to keep students entertained as well, which requires a student union with its own assistant, as well as the ability to schedule events in different rooms. They'd also like some clubs as well, which require kiosks with more assistants to be hired. Oh, and some students might be in danger of failing, so you might want a private tuition room or two, which require more teachers. And the next thing you know, your budget isn't doing well and it looks like you might be in the red, so if you want this university to succeed, it looks like it's time for a loan, at least until tuition fees increase the following years and more students come in...

It keeps going from there, as Two Point Campus consistently does a great job in introducing you to each new facet of its gameplay. One campus needs you to build research labs and training rooms in order to come up with updates to the robotics lab and staff members that can implement those upgrades so that the students can build better giant robots. The knight school needs a medical wing to deal with rust-related injuries caused by all the armor worn, and invading rival knights need to be dealt with by janitors trained in security. The athletic campus focusing on the cheeseball court needs a marketing office in order to attract more applicants despite a small building to work with, and needs air conditioners installed to deal with the massive heat. Every campus has a new twist, and they're all a treat to discover, giving you nice obstacles as well as you spend hours trying to figure out how to accomplish all of your tasks.

If words like "knights," "giant robots," and "cheeseball" stood out in that last bit, it's because like its predecessor, Two Point Campus embraces a light-hearted, exaggerated charm when it comes to its visuals. After all, why just rave a bunch of ovens in your cooking class when you can have one giant oven the students gather around in order to make massive burgers? Why not have students attending clowning classes dress as clown 24/7 (heck, giving each student a unique look is a gameplay benefit as well, with different student types affecting others)? How about actual bookworms that pop up on campus grounds like a game of whack-a-mole that you can click on for little rewards? The charming visuals even extend to each classroom having its own unique door, like the recording studio having a giant piano door. Combine that with classic Theme Hospital-style visuals yet again, and the game is a treat for the eyes.

Things are also a treat for the ears here as well, as the soundtrack and its peppy, upbeat tunes perfectly match the colorful style and the hustle and bustle of academic life. The songs are even credited to fictional bands that can be hired for campus events, which is a nice touch. The cherry on top are the hosts of the in-game radio station, which range from posh upper crust types to more rebellious DJs and student volunteers. Their attitudes and reactions to various campus quirks in these universe are a terrific source of humor (like hearing their reactions to gross cereal that students are into now), again adding to the comical vibes oh so perfectly.

You'll be listening to the campus radio for a while as you try and complete various personal goals and tasks given to you throughout each campus year, earning both money and Kudosh that unlocks new items to place on campus, including the beloved Crazy Taxi machine that would be perfect for the student union, or lounge or anywhere. And with improvements to the campus and the hiring of more staff, you increase the campus' level and earn more Course Points in order to upgrade courses and bring in more students. With new course upgrades come new requirements for each new year, however, like new buildings or more teachers, and you don't seem to be told what the new requirements are until you upgrade, which can be an annoyance when trying to manage money.

There are indeed a few other annoying wrinkles when it comes to Two Point Campus, such as some awkward pathfinding or AI issues on occasions. Some students in a crowded robotics lab suddenly had huge question marks overhead saying their path was blocked, only for them to disappear a second later and have them all resume moving normally. A private tuition room one one campus seemed to get zero visitors, despite being staffed and ready. And then there are the the student requests that arrive in your inbox which you have no way of meeting at the moment. You need princess dummies to complete a knight school assignment in less than fifty days? Too bad it requires at least triple that amount of time to research it. And while the actual controls for building are a breeze to use, sometimes the game can be finicky when it comes to getting furniture and utilities to line up perfectly, sometimes requiring a full perspective shift.

None of this hurts Two Point Campus' final grade much, though. Besides, all of those worries melt away once you take a dip into the extensive sandbox mode, which allows you to tackle certain challenges, start with an ungodly amount of money and Course Points, or set up a custom scenario to your liking. Regardless of whatever you pick, be prepared to suddenly lose hours of your life as you customize each detail of your dream university, spending more time on your fictional campus than you've spent cramming for real-life university assignments.

Closing Comments:

Thanks to a nice set of challenges, a charming style and sense of humor, and a ton of unlockable items to toy with combined with a hefty chunk of customization options, Two Point Campus easily graduates at the head of its class. The task of having to manage a successful university is tough but fair all around sucking you in as you try to figure out how to best increase your campus' attractiveness for that one goal without breaking the bank. Two Point Campus is another winner from Two Point Studios and we can't wait to see what profession they bring their unique simulator style to next...