Two Point Campus

A very strong follow-up to 2020's Two Point Hospital, this sim has everything management simulator geeks could want. Each mechanic of Two Point Campus builds on the last to make the challenge of budgeting and planning your campus incrementally more difficult. Instead of falling into the trap of introducing too much too quickly, as some management sims do, Two Point Campus uses each of the twelve campuses to make the campaign feel remarkably well-paced. Also notable is the creativity put into making each campus a different experience. New problems like already-existing buildings, smaller budgets, and temperature control add something fresh to every campus, keeping players engaged by making them unlock each of them one at a time. Everything from the silly names for courses (i.e. Scientography, Virtual Normality) to every student having their own personal goals and personalities show impressive attention to detail that makes the game feel unlike any other management simulator out there.

Though there isn't much of a traditional story in Two Point Campus, it does subtly ask players to think about their understanding of higher education as a business. Considering questions like "Which staff members get a raise this year?" and "When can we afford to renovate the library?" does force players to think about how these decisions may operate in the real higher education system. While the game's only goal seems to be having fun, it's likely that placing the player in a role they may never have imagined they would be in could help them understand the organized chaos that it takes to keep a large university running. There's no specific stance the game takes about what players should do aside from keeping students and staff happy, but there's educational value in placing the player in a position of power, no matter how cartoonish or wacky.