The Indie Informer

Just in time for the holidays, House Flipper 2 is out and I’m ready to invest some serious time into it. While time is in short supply this week after The Game Awards and Day of the Devs, I managed to spend a little under two hours working on becoming the ultimate interior decorator. I expect to be an unrivaled master by the end of 2023.

If you didn’t jump in to the original title in this series, have no fear. The game is great about onboarding new players, with early jobs focused on teaching separate skills step-by-step. And one quest is also great for underscoring how trash raccoons really are — an important life truth.

The single player story is also easy to pick up — though there is a sandbox mode for anyone that wants to skip right to the action. Several clues left around the house I start the game in, from sticky notes to emails, indicate I have purchased and moved back into my family home. My parents didn’t do me any favors when they moved out to enjoy retirement. The place is a wreck.

But there’s no time in the beginning to think about that. I’m focused on making a name for myself as my hometown’s hottest house flipper and earning money. Sadly, the only jobs I can get at first center on cleaning and unpacking, with the lightest touch of redecorating.

But with satisfying mechanics and clear goals, I have a great time with these smaller tasks. Fans of A Little to the Left will find the same kind of satisfaction in setting things back to order in the early jobs. My tool set — which consists in the beginning of a trash bag, cleaning brush, and price gun — is easy to understand and use. Part of this is a special vision I can trigger which allows me to see where I still need to use my currently equipped tool.

Everytime I use an item in my arsenal, I earn experience with it and eventually level up. My trash bag skills were the first to improve, leaving me the option of gaining bigger bags so I wouldn’t have to go out the throw out my rubbish as often on a job. I can also see in the perks screen a slot for painting and demolishing. I will undoubtedly unlock these abilities as the scope of my jobs grow. It’s not one hundred percent smooth sailing — there’s a slight disconnect when I try to place things precisely in drawers or on shelves — but overall the nearly limitless freedom to place objects or put up decor is well polished.

I can choose to finish a job after meeting the bare minimum requirements. If I’ve promise to unpack a house, I have to empty at least most of the boxes to call it quits. However, I can go above and beyond arranging and cleaning houses to earn a three-star rating — and more cash. So far, after every job, I’ve come back to my own house ready to apply my newly learned skills. I’ve probably spent an embarrassingly long time in my playthrough so far happily scrubbing surfaces and clearing clutter, enjoying the game’s animations as my walls shed their gunk and floors get uncovered.

House Flipper 2 so far scratches an itch deep in my soul. Putting things in place, picking the perfect decor, leaving a space spotless, it’s all irresistible for me. And the no pressure, accessible nature of the game only makes it easier for me to spend time growing my homely empire.