Do you remember what made museums amazing? Walking in and seeing the amazing exhibitions is definitely one memorable aspect. Wondering what you find when you walk around the corner is exciting, especially when exhibitions are varied. Two Point Museum capitalises on this feeling, letting you build the museum of your dreams. Bring together your expedition findings that make your museum stand out from the crowd. While we got a taste of Two Point Museum at PAX Aus 2024, we’ve now had the opportunity to spend a large chunk of time with our hands-on Two Point Museum ahead of its launch next year, and it looks to be another strong entry in the Two Point franchise.
Your first museum is the Prehistory Museum, letting you learn the ropes of museum management. There aren’t many exhibits at first but you learn about procuring more from expeditions. As you find more exhibits and complete museum objectives, you unlock new expedition locations. Eventually, you unlock more museum types that expand your range of exhibits. This lets you mix and match exhibits, combining the best of multiple museums.
Two Point Museum introduces a discovery mechanic after each expedition. You send some experts to a location that contains certain exhibits, and after the exhibit ends, your findings return in a crate. What is inside the crate is a mystery until you open it; it might be a standalone exhibit or part of a bigger piece like a dinosaur skeleton. As you send expeditions to the same location, you can complete exhibits or find those of better quality.
Opening an expedition crate is exciting, almost like opening a birthday present. It feels like you are bringing cultural relics to light and emphasising their importance. Museum visitors love to see new exhibits and learn more about the history behind each one. The feeling of anticipation at the new cultural wonder in the box feels like a gacha game, but more meaningful. You are more likely to get new exhibits than old ones, removing some chance from the equation.
There’s also value in getting multiple copies of the same exhibit. You can sell them but also look for high-quality exhibits. Those generate more buzz for your museum and provide better bonuses. This prevents you from feeling like getting repeat exhibits is a waste of effort. Even if you don’t get what you want, there’s something you can do with what you have. Eventually, you find what you are looking for and can move on to the next location.
Every museum is different and has you work with different variables. The Supernatural Museum has you take care of ghosts along with exhibits, making sure their needs are met. Fail to pay attention to the ghosts and they can do more than scare visitors away. The Marine Life Museum has you pay attention to the fish you keep; fish have different requirements and their bonuses shine if you meet them.
It takes some time to get used to these new requirements but they add new challenges. You must consider different factors rather than assuming every museum is the same. While this is similar to other Two Point games, you aren’t focusing on students or patients here; you are crafting the perfect visitor experience that is engaging and educational. That means mastering the requirements or understanding what your goals are.
Your museums run on a mix of admission fees, donations, and gift shop purchases. If people feel like your museum was worth visiting, they donate some money. Figuring out how to maximise revenue while keeping costs down is important because you need your staff. Unlike other Two Point games, your staff is vital for expeditions and losing veterans is a hard blow. It’s a nice challenge to care about your staff beyond what they do in the museum.
There’s a lot to enjoy when it comes to Two Point Museum and crafting a visitor experience is fun. You aren’t thinking about someone’s growth or health, but ensuring they learn and have fun. With more museums in store and possibilities for exhibits, it feels like the sky’s the limit on what you can do. What do you want the perfect museum experience to be? Thanks to the variety of options available now, it’s exciting to see how your answer evolves.
Two Point Museum is releasing for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on 4 March 2025.
About the Author
Victor Tan
He/Him
Victor spends his time trying to help players out of tricky situations and give them the guidance they need to succeed. Outside of the video game world, you can find him training at the gym or doing simple improv activities.
