House Flipper 2 grants one of the greatest gifts of all: the satisfaction of a job well done with minimal actual work. Like a vacuum-wielding knight, the flipper wades into each trash den, slaying filth hither and yon. With grime and garbage lying low, some fresh paint and new tiles transform the space. Where once a seething mass dwells, a cozy respite now sits, permeated by an aura of serenity. The garbage monster is slain and peace is restored to the residential realm.
Players in House Flipper 2 can play out this fantasy across two modes of play: Story and Sandbox. Story mode in House Flipper 2 sees the flipper developing their career by first taking cleaning and renovation jobs with specific completion goals before the ability to buy, renovate, and auction houses open up. Sandbox mode is a free-for-all where players can build whatever their hearts desire and share it with other fans via mod.io.
In the story, the recently returned flipper is bequeathed his childhood home by his/her parents as they seek greener pastures in retirement. An old friend and colleague, Tom, takes the flipper under his wing and sets them up with some reno work. Players accept requests from clients and are quickly whisked away to the job site. Through these jobs, players will unlock the tools of House Flipper 2, which enable the completion of different objectives. Most of these tools have their own small series of perks, purchased with points gained by repeated use of said tool. For example, a perk point granted by painting can purchase a wider paint roller, or make painting more efficient, reducing the need to reapply paint to the roller. Noticeably absent from the perk system is the vacuum; it's the one tool that has no upgrades, but it could certainly use some. It's an odd exclusion and one that makes the tool stand out as slow and cumbersome.
While unlocking tools grants a sense of progression in an otherwise very straightforward story mode, many of the benefits feel as if they should be part of the kit from the get-go. Without them, the chores feel like just that. The opening hours can be tedious and slow as a result. The flip side of that coin, however, is if those perks were always unlocked and there wasn't anything to upgrade, the story mode would barely have any meat on its bones. There's little to differentiate each mission, as they all have players doing essentially the same tasks over and over, at least until House Flipper 2 allows players to fully renovate a home, at which point the reins are removed.
Luckily, it doesn't take too long before enough perks are unlocked, and the tasks become swift and satisfying. There's nothing quite like strolling into a total disaster of a space, only to watch it yield to some elbow grease. The charm of House Flipper 2 is in its simplicity. It invites players to take something broken and ugly and turn it beautiful. The process of cleaning becomes akin to meditation, and transforming homes never ceases to gratify.
There are a handful of differences between House Flipper 1 and House Flipper 2, but the most important is the sequel's inclusion of sandbox mode. With all the construction and furnishing options available, allowing players to build a house from scratch was the next logical step. In retrospect, it's a wonder that the original game didn't include something similar. In the sandbox, players are given all the same tools as the story and more. Each tool comes ready with its full capabilities - that is, they function as they do with all their perks unlocked. Some are significantly different and are far more efficient, like the build tool that can create walls almost instantly as opposed to placing them layer by layer. This is a blessing that makes the process much more manageable. Terraforming tools are also available, allowing players to really go wild with their design.
Along with the variety of creation tools, flippers can also create objectives similar to those found in the story. Players can throw in garbage to tidy, grime to scrub, and crumbs to vacuum. They can also attach a "sell" or "buy" objective to any piece of furniture or decoration. Unfortunately, much of this process, and the sandbox mode in general, is very poorly explained. In-game tutorials feel incomplete and unclear, and a link will take gamers to a how-to playlist provided by the developers, but at the time of this writing, it contains a paltry 4 videos that do little to clear the fog. Deciphering each mechanic in the sandbox comes down to trial and error. While it's not a huge obstacle, it needs improvement.
The linchpin of the sandbox mode, and all its possibilities, is the ability to share creations with fellow fans. Using mod.io, players can upload their architectural wonders and download those of others. Once a design is added to a player's collection, it can either be edited or played through as a flipper, in which case the player will be able to tackle the various objectives set up by the creator, or simply explore the space. There's already all sorts of interesting work available - everything from mansions to murder scenes to hobbit homes.
Tossing trash and cleaning stains in House Flipper 2 is delightful, and sandbox mode, with its community focus, is a wonderful addition and a huge improvement from the first House Flipper. But the game suffers from some clunky controls and limited content. Placing furniture can be finicky, with doors and windows being the most frustrating. When it feels like a door should fit into a specific location, it will instead zip elsewhere of its own free will. Item placement has a very small range, sometimes forcing players to navigate around or move other furniture before they can place the piece. Occasionally, this might even result in players getting stuck on furniture, with no way out aside from selling the offending piece.
The variety of furniture, surface finishing, and decoration is fairly limited, and players will see the same stuff over and over again. Different combinations can give new and refreshing looks, of course, but eventually, everything starts to feel fairly same-y anyway. The library of DLC for the original House Flipper was fairly extensive, with seven different entries, including Cyberpunk Flipper, Garden Flipper, and the intriguing Apocalypse Flipper. Hopefully, the developer has similar plans for the sequel, because there are just not enough toys in the toy box right now. An equivalent to Garden Flipper would be an especially welcome addition to House Flipper 2, as it always feels like the job is half done when a glorious new home occupies an overgrown or dull yard.
Despite the limited content and somewhat fiddly controls, the game feels great to play. It's endlessly satisfying to turn a neglected garbage heap back into a happy home. The sandbox mode in House Flipper 2 offers lots of creative opportunities and the ability to share with fellow flippers is a big bonus, and will hopefully help the game build an ongoing community. Fingers crossed that more content comes down the road to provide players with even more possibilities.
House Flipper 2 is available now on PC. Game ZXC was provided a PC code for this review.
House Flipper 2
It's time to dust off your hammer - House Flipper is back in a brand-new fashion! Buy and renovate run-down houses! Or maybe you want to build new ones? Now you can! Start as a rookie Flipper and make a fortune by helping out the community of the charming town of Pinnacove.
- Renovating houses is zenlike and satisfying
- Sandbox mode offers a lot of freedom
- Furnishing options are fairly limited right now
- Some odd bugs
