Two Point Museum (PC) hands-on: Chaotic, charming, and full of potential

Note: This article was first published on 17th December 2024.

There’s something inherently charming about Sega’s Two Point series. Whether it’s diagnosing patients with laughably absurd illnesses in Two Point Hospital or crafting the ultimate quirky campus in Two Point Campus, these games have always struck a delightful balance between creative management and tongue-in-cheek humour. Now, the developers at Two Point Studios are back with Two Point Museum, a fresh take on the genre that lets players don the curator’s hat and build their dream museum from the ground up. After spending some time with a preview build, I can confidently say this latest entry has all the ingredients to keep fans of management sims thoroughly entertained.

Two Point Museum’s premise is simple yet endlessly engaging. As the name suggests, you’re tasked with running a museum, curating exhibits, and ensuring guests are entertained (and maybe just a little overwhelmed) as they shuffle through the halls. But this isn’t your standard art-and-history museum fare. Two Point Museum thrives on its silliness and sense of adventure, offering a mix of discovery, chaos, and charm that immediately draws you in. Whether you’re unearthing dinosaur fossils, securing ancient relics, or dealing with mischievous children trying to climb on displays, there’s rarely a dull moment.

From the get-go, the game felt reminiscent of classic simulation titles like RollerCoaster Tycoon and Theme Hospital. There’s an undeniable joy in juggling the logistics of a bustling attraction, from keeping exhibits tidy to placating hungry guests with strategically placed snack machines. It’s this blend of creativity and micromanagement that creates such a satisfying gameplay loop. During my preview, I had access to three distinct maps, each with its own challenges and theme.

There’s Memento Mile, which served as a gentle introduction to the mechanics and is themed around prehistoric discoveries. Building an exhibit filled with fossilised bones and elaborate dioramas was a great start, especially when paired with the game’s tongue-in-cheek humour. The second map, Passwater Cove, focuses on marine life and comes complete with giant aquariums and opportunities to create sprawling underwater-themed halls. Then came Wailon Lodge, which turned the formula on its head. Set in a haunted hotel-turned-museum, it tasked me with curating exhibits that felt spooky, strange, and quirky. The variety across these levels was a highlight, keeping me curious about what the full game has in store.

At the heart of Two Point Museum is the expedition system. As a curator, you’re not just waiting around for donations – you’re actively sending teams out to uncover rare artifacts and treasures to display. These missions don’t always go smoothly. One minute your team is triumphantly hauling back an ancient relic, and the next, they’re caught in a sandstorm or stranded somewhere with no fossil in sight. It’s a playful take on resource gathering, injecting an element of risk and reward into the game. Successfully bringing back an artifact felt genuinely satisfying, especially when I could incorporate it into a carefully designed exhibit that drew crowds.

The game’s buzz mechanic also deserves mention. Instead of simply plonking artifacts down and hoping for the best, you’re encouraged to build impressive, thoughtful displays that generate buzz among visitors. This system ties into the game’s strategic layer, rewarding players for creativity and attention to detail. It’s not enough to have a cool exhibit, as you’ll also need to enhance it with decorations, seating, and other perks to maximise its appeal.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Two Point game without some good-natured chaos. Managing staff, maintaining clean facilities, and keeping guests happy quickly becomes a juggling act. My first few hours were predictably messy: dinosaur bones ended up in strange places, snack machines ran empty, and more than a few visitors grumbled about a lack of toilets. But there’s something deeply satisfying about watching your museum evolve from chaotic clutter to a well-oiled machine, where each exhibit shines and guests leave with smiles (and souvenirs).

Humour remains one of the game’s strongest pillars. Whether it’s the absurd PA announcements echoing through the halls or the antics of guests causing minor disasters, Two Point Museum doesn’t take itself too seriously – and that’s part of its charm. Even in its current state, the game feels polished and full of personality, with moments that left me grinning at my screen.

That’s not to say everything was perfect. I ran into a few small frustrations, most notably with the interface. The inventory bar, where you select items to place, felt a little clunky, and I often found myself fumbling to locate the specific object I needed. Navigating the map with the camera controls was occasionally awkward, leading to moments where I deleted the wrong item or struggled to reposition the view. These issues were minor, though, and given that this is a preview build, they’re likely to be addressed before release.

What Two Point Museum does so well is offer a sandbox of possibilities wrapped in a bright, approachable package. It’s dangerously easy to lose hours fine-tuning your exhibits, optimising foot traffic, and tackling the game’s quirky challenges. Like its predecessors, it captures the magic of a great simulation game; that “just one more tweak” is as dangerous as the fabled “one more turn”.

If the preview is anything to go by, Two Point Museum looks set to deliver another addictive experience that fans of the series will adore. From fossil expeditions to haunted hotels, there’s already so much to do and discover, and I’m excited to see how the game expands upon these foundations in its full release.

Two Point Museum will be available starting from 4 March, 2025, for the PlayStation 5 physical edition. The digital editions for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC will be available on 5 March, 2025.

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