Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition review for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

As much as I enjoy playing management sims, I?ve noticed there?s a pretty common thread that runs through all of them: when you play them on consoles — be it PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch — they don?t seem to run or play quite as smoothly as I assume they do on PC. It doesn?t matter if we?re talking Tropico, or Civilization, or even Kerbal Space Program, you can always see the compromises that have been made to get text- and menu-heavy games to work with more traditional gaming controls.

Given that my previous attempts at playing a hospital sim on the Switch were disastruous, I went into Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition with somewhat low expectations. Sure it looked fun — and the base version that came out last year was well-received — but would it really be worthwhile?

Short answer: yes, absolutely.

Actually, that?s pretty much my longer answer, too. Two Point Hospital isn?t just charming and funny, it?s also highly addictive, largely because of how well its controls work on the Switch. Even though you?re charged with building and staffing an entire hospital, the game somehow never overwhelms you with hard-to-read menus, nor does it make it a massive chore to design things exactly as you want. It just works, easily and intuitively.

Which is a good thing, because the ?Jumbo” part of the title is well-earned. There are a lot of hospitals at your disposal in this game — on top of all the locations available in the regular Two Point Hospital, there are four expansions included here, which include about two dozen new hospitals and several new scenarios. If it were to feel like you were fighting with the controls the whole time, it would drain all the fun out of the game — but, again, because the game feels intuitive, it?s constantly fun.

Of course, Two Point Hospital is also constantly fun because it?s funny and cute. Whether it?s the staff (each of whom come with their own backstories and personality traits), or the illnesses (there?s Heart Throb, for example, which can be identified when a patient becomes incredibly sexy, or Lightheadedness, where their heads become lightbulbs, or Monobrow, where a unibrow basically becomes a sentient being), or even the treatments (Jest Infections, which can be spotted by clown-like tendencies, naturally require a trip to the Dehumorfier), this game is brimming with good humour. You don?t usually associate management sims with being consistently funny, but Two Point Hospital shows that it?s possible even within this genre.

Obviously, if you played Two Point Hospital last year, picking up the Jumbo Edition probably isn?t necessary (particularly since you could just get the DLC that?s included here). But if, like me, you somehow skipped out on it, now is the time to remedy that oversight, and get Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition stat.

Sega provided us with a Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition Switch code for review purposes.