A closer look at that spiritual Theme Hospital sequel
Two Point Hospital out this year
The news that Bullfrog & Lionhead veterans Gary Carr and Mark Webley were leading the development of a spiritual sequel to beloved 90s manage'em-up Theme Hospital seemed to go down rather well last week. So much of PC gaming's past has been revisited in recent years, but the design'n'build'n'simulate'n'giggle formula used so successfully in Theme Park, Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper hasn't enjoyed anything like the degree of 21st century resurrection that, say, pre-2000 RPGs have. Two Point Hospital is planned to rekindle that flame whilst doing a few things of its own, as well as being the first part of a wider universe of Two Point sims.
But while I coaxed plenty of detail about the whys and wherefores out of Carr and Webley, we didn't get to see all that much of the game itself. This new video shows off a fair bit more, along with chatter from the devs about their plans for it.
Half the fun of these sorts of games is simply watching people beetle around, your construction growing busier and busier as you add more to it. The clips in the below give some sense of how the bustle will look in motion, and how an Aardman Animations-inspired aesthetic is going to translate to real-time characters.
Also: real humans superimposed onto hospital backgrounds. At least, I'm pretty sure they haven't decorated the studio with ward beds and IV drips, but I'd be impressed by their commitment if they had.
Still no word on a release date beyond '2018' yet, but, as the devs told me previously, this will be a straight-to-full release game - no early access or Kickstarter here.