House Flipper 2 fulfills the timeless desire to turn a rundown house into a cozy home. Set in the fictional town of Pinnacove, you step into the shoes of a renovator running a business centered around reviving neglected properties. Pinnacove is a hub of dilapidated houses, providing a constant stream of structures in dire need of rescue. While the concept of renovating homes might not initially sound thrilling, House Flipper 2 cleverly transforms mundane tasks like cleaning, painting, trash removal, and construction into a gamified experience that’s both accessible and strangely addictive.
This sequel significantly improves upon its predecessor, introducing features like voiced dialogue and a basic narrative that immerse you deeper into its world, giving you a sense of piecing together a larger story as you tackle various tasks throughout the town. Despite occasional frustrations with somewhat lengthy load times, there’s very little to criticize in Frozen District’s latest renovation simulation.
The house that Jack built
House Flipper 2 offers two primary gameplay styles. In the beginning, at your home base, you’ll first encounter “Tasks” which can be accessed through your inbox. These tasks come with predefined objectives and will lead you to various houses that need your attention. For instance, one task might involve cleaning out a messy garage, while another could require renovating an attic by painting the walls and adding new furniture.
House Flipper 2’s tasks offer a wide range of activities, and although they become more complex as you progress, they serve as excellent tutorials initially. Completing these tasks allows you to gradually unlock new tools and enhancements through the game’s experience system. By accomplishing specific tasks like cleaning and decorating, you earn perk points that can make your work more efficient. Some examples include a larger paint roller and bigger garbage bags, which let you handle more trash before needing to dispose of it.
The most rewarding aspect of House Flipper 2 is buying a rundown property and transforming it into a luxurious dwelling. This process is both engaging and satisfying, particularly when you list your finished work on the auction house and reap a significant profit.
The tasks serve as crucial preparation for the second gameplay style, which involves house flipping itself. After accumulating enough funds through completing tasks, you can purchase dilapidated houses for renovation from your home base.
House flipping is a more intricate endeavor, as there are no predefined tasks or objectives to follow. Instead, you have complete freedom to make decisions about paint colors, furniture choices, and even floor plan alterations once you unlock the sledgehammer.
At first, the sheer freedom in the house flipping mode might feel overwhelming. However, once you formulate a solid plan, investing your time and money into crafting a unique living space becomes incredibly rewarding. You can then list your revamped property on the auction house to earn a substantial profit. If you wish to try a different approach, you can easily repurchase the house through your in-game workspace.
Flippin’ marvelous
House Flipper 2 stands out from the first game, especially in its overall look. The sequel is way more vibrant and colorful compared to the somewhat dull appearance of the original. This makes it much easier to see the difference between a neglected, rundown place and the final, beautifully fixed-up result. The better visuals make it more common to step back, look at your work, and feel proud, thinking, “Yes, I did that.”
The game’s busy tasks are made even better by House Flipper 2’s relaxing music and fantastic sound design. When you clean, you’ll hear wooden floors satisfyingly squeak, and fresh paint on walls makes a convincing sticky sound. These little details make you feel like you’re really there, doing the work.
House Flipper 2 also includes fully-voiced phone calls, with great voice acting in some missions. You can even choose how to respond during the calls with dialogue choices. However, these can be a bit annoying because they briefly take you away from renovating. If you want, you can skip the call to stay focused, but you’ll miss out on some of the game’s charm.
Lastly, loading times can be a bit long, especially when you’re entering a big house with lots of things inside. But once you’re in the game, there are no interruptions or extra waiting times. Just be prepared to wait for about half a minute when loading bigger maps, even if you have the game on a fast SSD drive.
Luckily, these small issues didn’t stop me from having a great time with House Flipper 2. The satisfying process of fixing up houses makes you want to do “just one more house,” and I often played for longer than I planned. If you liked the first House Flipper or other simulation games like Powerwash Simulator, then you must play this sequel.
Pros:
- Gamified tasks provide straightforward yet satisfying challenges.
- Abundant choices of decorations and furniture.
- Enjoyable soundtrack enhances the experience.
Cons:
- Loading times can be quite lengthy.
- Dialogue choices occasionally disrupt the gameplay flow.
Accessibility
When House Flipper 2 was released, it didn’t come with many features to make it more accessible for different players. For example, subtitles are already included in conversations with voices, but there aren’t any options for people who are colorblind. You can make some adjustments to the mouse sensitivity, like when cleaning windows, but overall, there aren’t many features to make the game more user-friendly for everyone.
Final Verdict
House Flipper 2 is incredibly addictive, making it hard to put down. The process of turning dilapidated houses into stunning, envy-inducing spaces through renovation, decoration, and furnishing remains consistently engaging.
