‘Two Point Campus’ Review: A Class Education And Management Sim

The newest addition to the Two Point series Two Point Campus is, as the name suggests, a title that puts you at the controls of a university in its infancy, ultimately giving you full creative control to manage and expand it how you want. 

Moving on from Two Point Hospital, developer Two Point Studios have hung up their scrubs and turned their attention to campus life. Despite the thematic move, though, players familiar with the studio’s previous sim game will instantly feel at home here, from the style of the menu screen to the familiar UI. Jumping into your first campus is simple too, with a brief introduction outlining your subjects and objectives. Within seconds of taking the reins, players get their first taste of the signature Two Point charm, as first year students begin to enter campus for the first time. 

Each campus introduces players to new subjects - and I don’t mean boring regular lessons like English and mathematics. Two Point Campus classes are a lot more fun: I’m talking about archaeology, virtual normality, knight school, wizardry and more. Each subject is introduced in a linear fashion as you unlock more campuses, and once you’ve become accustomed to a subject you can implement it in other campuses by building the required rooms to facilitate its education. This gives players freedom to build out campuses the way they want, rather than being restricted to specific subjects per site. Personally, when trying to hit certain objectives in-game, I found it a lot easier to add in one I was already familiar with to boost average grades up or earn extra money to expand further.

Check out the new Two Point Campus launch trailer here: 

Throughout your educational journey, Two Point Campus gives you plenty of flexibility to do what you want, rather than get bogged down in objectives. Throughout the game it feels like there’s no real pressure to move on to the next level, which instead focuses your attention on improving grades and building the best campus possible. Zooming out on the map reveals additional plots that you can purchase and build on, so be sure to not forget about them as they’re invaluable when expanding your educational empire. This feeling of freedom is crucial for simulation games like this one, as you can often find yourself lost in a single scenario for hours or days on end. For me, getting lost in a game is one of the best feelings, and Two Point Campus is no different - there’s so much room to breathe, to go at your own pace, that you can lose track of time completely. As with most management sims, there’s not a strong narrative running throughout, which helps getting lost in your creations even easier.

Each campus is graded on a three star system, but you can progress in the wider Two Point world with just one star on each campus. This gives you a good chance to explore different subjects and campuses without having to spend too much time perfecting one campus. That said, if you are a perfectionist, there are plenty of objectives to keep you occupied until you hit three stars on each. The objectives vary depending on the scenario: some require an average grade for students to be hit, others a specific campus level. Some objectives can be more specific depending on the campus - for example, some colder campuses require a lot of heating, so related objectives focus on reaching a certain temperature to achieve a star rating. 

Some objectives can feel a little tedious however, especially as Two Point Campus likes to throw in the occasional meteor shower or earthquake which - surprisingly enough - tends to work against you. I lost a handful of hours trying to make sure the campus temperature was warm enough and get my average grade up to B+ on a Hogwarts-inspired campus called Spiffinmore. The more drawn-out objectives can make you fall out of love with a campus, and completing them can almost feel like a stroke of luck at times rather than skill, which is a shame. And because they are so monotonous, it's a big relief to be able to progress to the next campus. Leveling up staff is something that happens naturally, but some objectives are tied to certain staff levels, and when staff members have classes scheduled this can be a long and largely quite boring process.  

Two Point Campus has 11 levels in total, with three stars to be awarded on each. Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are, you might find yourself progressing through them relatively quickly. Although the level count is slightly lower than that of Two Point Hospital, there’s still so much to keep you occupied in this game compared to its makers’ last release. 

SEGA

The variety of campuses in Two Point Campus gradually shifts the focus throughout, each campus introducing you to new items to unlock with the in-game currency Kudosh. One minute you are in a quaint college campus, and the next you are in more theme-specific locations, focused on sports, cooking or archeology. As your first-year students enroll and enter campus you can’t help but feel a connection forming, and over the three-year period you’ll be able to (hopefully) see them progress. As each campus starts small you’ll only have a handful of students to manage at first, which allows you to implement facilities to support their needs. The connection with the students feels a lot stronger than it was with patients in Two Point Hospital. It really feels like you are on a journey with them, nurturing their grades and supporting them throughout their journey with pastoral care. 

The freedom that Two Point Campus grants players unknowingly teaches you the knock-on effects of having certain room types on your campus. It’s easy to go in with the mindset to create the ultimate campus and forget about education, but you’ll soon pay the price if you take that route. Finding the balance between education and entertainment is incredibly important, otherwise your students will lose interest in subjects and risk dropping out entirely. It’s fun playing around with this, adding in extra-curricular activities whenever you want to spice up campus life. You can also schedule various events depending on the room - for example, Lecture Theaters can double up as cinema screens, showing romantic or funny films to boost students' entertainment level. Meddling with the balance can create some chaos, but it’s all in a day's work at Two Point Campus. 

Two Point Campus is a charming yet chaotic management sim with tons of creative freedom. If you loved Two Point Hospital’s humorous take on the health center environment you’ll feel right at home at the controls here, but the game is also incredibly welcoming for newcomers, too. Whilst some of the objectives can be tedious at times they are still very much achievable. If education and management simulation games are your thing you should definitely check out Two Point Campus, even if it is just to build the ultimate Student Union bar. 

Pros: Welcoming and familiar UI, signature Two Point charm, plenty of creative freedom

Cons: Objectives can sometimes work against you, small level selection

For fans of: Theme Hospital, Two Point Hospital, The Sims

8/10: Excellent

Two Point Campus will be released on August 9th 2022 for PC (Steam), PlayStation, Xbox Series X | S (Game Pass Day One), and Nintendo Switch. Review code provided by the publisher, SEGA. Find a guide to GAMINGbible’s review scores here. You can save 21% on the RRP of this game by clicking here.