House Flipper hit the market in 2018 and quickly went on to become one of the most popular sims of the year. Somehow it even managed to prove that cleaning, done right, can be unbelievably compelling.
Famed for its gentle pace, novel concept, and the sheer amount of stuff it gave you to do, House Flipper was the perfect example of a crossover indie hit.
We’ve had to wait six long years for a sequel, but it’s finally here, showcasing improved game mechanics, slicker graphics, a gripping new story campaign, and a whole new Sandbox mode.
This last addition addresses the only real criticism that the original House Flipper faced: lack of replayability.
There’s no danger of that now. Not only does Sandbox mode let you invent and build in an infinite variety of ways, but you can share your creations on the mod.io platform. Plus, mod.io contains an unlimited number of player-created quests and projects for you to download.
So what’s it all about? Set in the idyllic coastal community of Pinnacove, House Flipper 2 sees you building or buying houses, renovating them to increase their value, and flipping them for a massive profit.
But it’s not all about cold hard capitalism. You’ll also make friends and help the Pinnacove community by filling the town with stylish, practical, immaculately presented homes.
And you’ll do it all in your own sweet time, since none of the jobs in House Flipper 2 is time-limited. The only thing that matters is accuracy.
Along with the graphical refresh and the new story content, House Flipper 2 contains a massively increased number of tools and mechanics, alongside first-game stalwarts like the hammer, the paint-roller, and the sturdy mop.
From the outset you have an architect tool, a roller, a scraper, a mallet, a map, and your own trusty hands to work with, but it’s only when you visit the store that the sheer scale of House Flipper 2 becomes apparent.
Crammed into the Building section alone you’ll find Architectural elements such as staircases, roofs, breeze blocks in a number of designs, all sorts of fences, and more.
There’s a whole section just for Doors, and another one for Windows, each containing tens of options. The number of possibilities in the Surface finishes section, meanwhile, runs well into triple figures.
But your work goes far deeper than the surface, so there’s also an Installations section containing radiators, fireplaces, electrical fittings, plumbing parts, fuses, and so on.
The Building accessories section is where all the really fun/dangerous stuff is though. Here you’ll find axes, power drills, chisels, saws, knives, mallets, and also a whole bunch of stuff that definitely won’t cost you a finger.
And all that’s just in the Building section. Pay a visit to Accessories and you’ll have hundreds and hundreds of items to pick from, including groceries, electronics, storage, tables, home appliances, decorations, seats.
You can even buy a Rubik’s Cube, or a plushie frog wearing a jacket and waistcoat.
This dapper chap, like every single one of the objects you can buy in House Flipper 2, is beautifully modelled in 3D, and you can rotate them all in every direction with your mouse cursor or controller.
By the way, we’re not done listing sections. There’s also Plants, where you can buy every conceivable organic and inorganic component of a domestic garden, and Outside, where you can pick up a variety of garden furniture items, lights, gardening tools, and much, much, much more.
To buy these items you’ll need to spend the money you make with your renovations, giving House Flipper 2 its core gameplay loop. Do up houses, make money, use money to do up even nicer houses, make even more money, and so on until your life is complete.
House Flipper 2 is out right now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S – visit the game’s official site here.
