House Flipper 2 Review (bees)
Have over 100 hours in the first game, and nearly 10 in this one. Thoughts so far:
This game is much more user-friendly, getting rid of most of the annoying or tedious elements of its predecessor. For instance, you no longer have to screw any sinks together or wrestle with placing any mounts for utilities -- those elements are gone. If you want to move a toilet or w/e, you just grab it and move it where you want it to go, no extra steps. If you're missing the "put it together" part, no worries -- there is an assembly "minigame" that allows you to build stuff.
Everything feels pretty tightly designed and coded, making for a very smooth experience that doesn't feel bolted-on and janky like some aspects of the first game (think digging a hole for a plant, lol). Everything looks and feels like it fits together. There are a lot of small quality of life touches, like being able to control which light a switch activates, being able to build your own potted plant arrangements, or the WONDERFUL smart grid that pops up during item placement (so you don't have to adjust and readjust a ceiling light a hundred times to get it centered, which I'm sure all of you remember from the first game).
The item placement snapping system offers slightly less decorating freedom (even with the precision option selected), but only slightly. This can become a little problematic when placing items that the "hit boxes" are a little too big for (you'll notice when placing cylindrical objects like vases or jars together that you have to spin the little grid the item sits upon to angles that don't clip with the grids from other nearby items, for instance), but overall I far prefer this system to the one in the first game. A lot of tedium is removed.
Despite item placement being slightly neutered, there is actually a lot more freedom in decoration overall. In any given level, you can just move anything you see wherever you like, regardless of whether it is a mission objective. You can paint walls or lay tile if you like, even if the mission doesn't call for it -- tools aren't locked to specific levels, once they are acquired. If you think a potted plant looks better somewhere other than where it started, you can just grab it and yeet it on over there. These people hiring you might come back to a completely unrecognizable house, if you feel like getting wacky with it. Nothing is locked down. Everything can be adjusted to your preferences.
There are a LOT of customization options for most items (including paint!), and you're eventually able to change styles of things without having to go into the store UI, which makes the design process much quicker and easier. I think the store UI is a little less easy to navigate than the first game, but with all the options available for item customization it kind of has to be. You'll catch on quickly, though, no worries.
The art (and art style in general) is good. Love the extra touches, like the TV channels. The voice acting was a nice surprise, too. Gives the world a bit of personality.
Speaking of, all of the places I've been so far seem to have much more personality in general. It's like little stories are hidden in the way certain messes were made, or the placement of certain objects (like items intentionally placed out of their logical spots). I love how much attention was put into level design. I walked around the bookshop/cafe for a few minutes just thinking about how someone lovingly hand-placed all of those decor items.
You know the game Unpacking? Probably, because you're currently reading a review for a decoration/design game. Well, this game has a miniature version of that. Boxes are scattered in most levels, and you get to unpack them and place the treasures wherever you think they might go.
Really the only truly critical thing I have to say at this time is that I'm sorely missing the workshop. I had hundreds of mod-added decor items in the first game, and the selection in this game for some categories is SUPER thin by comparison. I've seen the same whale, fish, and deer sculptures WAY too many times now. And just look at the meager number of candles available. Yes, they can be customized, but meh. Hope some DLC fills the selection out, someday.
I'm finding that I kinda miss the before/after snapshots, too. I looked forward to seeing a side-by-side of my progress in the first game.
Also, why don't the candles and fireplaces light up? Am I just not seeing the option? What kind of romantic ambiance can I create without fire, y'all, come on. I'll bet it would look amazing with this great new lighting system, too. Alas.
Also also, why can only a handful of objects change horizontal/vertical orientation? Why can't I put pencils in the pencil cup? Toilet paper snaps to its holder, so why can't other items be moved to similarly logical places?
tl;dr - If you loved the first game, you're going to feel the same way about this one. It is much more attractive, cohesive, and smooth. If you modded the shit out of the first game, though, you're probably going to get bored with the decor options pretty quickly.
thank you for coming to my ted talk
edit: Continuing to update this as I progress through the story mode and encounter more stuff:
- Painting big areas is sluggish and not at all fun, and there doesn't seem to be a way to adjust it (like changing my mouse dpi). Having to repeatedly pick up and readjust my mouse is tedious, and very easily the worst aspect of the gameplay I have encountered so far.
- Building is FUN. Knocking down and building new walls is so much quicker and easier, and there is so much more design flexibility now. Not quite Sims level, but really good.