Management sims are one of those genres that's really hard to innovate. People like their numbers and their spreadsheets, and that means there's a certain level of stability expected of that genre. And yet, with a lot of management-related innovations, Two Point finds a way.

I really like the Two Point series insistence that you can make tycoon game more than just about making money. With Two Point Museum, they've put away the graduation caps and instead focused on the wonderful world of curating educational exhibits.

Title: Two Point Museum

Developer: Two Point Studios

Publisher: SEGA

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5

Balancing Staff In The Name Of Getting Sick Dinosaurs In Two Point Museum

So how exactly do you go about making a museum? I mean, the real world process is problematic enough. How do you make a game about a traditionally subsidized business and make it a model of profit? Well, Two Point Museum answers this with having the game mainly be about managing staff responsibilities. You need experts to maintain exhibits, yes, but they also need to be sent out on expeditions to acquire more.

The result is that you're just constantly juggling staff to accomplish tasks- every job from janitors to assistants to experts has a dual-role, and if you want to keep your museum booming you'd be wise to double up early on lest their staff burn out and quit like your were some incompetent management.

The expeditions are such a core part of running your museum because for as much value as they bring, they can also be where it all goes wrong- injuring your experts means they'll be out of action for longer, while your janitors may constantly be occupied building cargo for the next outing.

On a mechanical level I really like this- I would have thought randomized exhibits would have gotten annoying but it's done in a really restrained way that makes it a lot more bearable. It helps that often times, you're putting together the ultimate exhibit- be it complete dinosaur skeletons or even your dream aquarium.

The Prehistoric Urge to Min-Max

Of Course, eventually you hit the point where the kiddie gloves come off. Your success is tied to guest happiness, after all, and that means optimally placing educational info boards, donation boxes and decorations. iPad babies too crude to read? Build entertaining gizmos, then plop them in the middle of the traditional exhibits and watch all the numbers go up.

While Two Point Museum might best be known for its goofy presentation it's satisfying to know that underneath this coat of paint lies a really satisfying management sim. Systems upon systems are hard at work, and then they're called funny things so you let your guard down.

Admittedly, it's not like there are no gripes- sometimes it feels like the understaffing warning is a little too strict. My gift shop assistant basically went to the bathroom and it sounded like the museum was about to go bankrupt.

Still, once the management machine gets going, Two Point Museum is a lot of the museum fantasy made manifest. I can't think of a single time playing this game where I wasn't subconciously trying to recreate my own favorite museums like the Natural History Museum in London. If you want to lose hours of your day, definitely pick this one up.

Final Score: 9/10

Game reviewed on PC. Review copy provided by SEGA