House Flipper 2 Review (Xbox)

It’s been a few years now since the first House Flipper hit consoles and it appeared to be a tremendous success with positive reviews across the board with several of the DLC packages coming to the store also. Fast forward to 2024 and we see the introduction of House Flipper 2 on Xbox and I can tell you that fans of the original will be in for a treat with this fresh title. I first got hands on with the game at the tail end of 2022 at EGX Eurogamer in London and whilst I patiently queued for 90 minutes to play it, I didn’t regret it. Not only was I treated to a generous half hour session ahead of release, I got to chat with the development team and also a unique goody bag at the end.

House Flipper 2 from the team at Frozen District launched on Windows PC in December 2023 and it has taken a little longer to come across to consoles. Naturally the game is best played with a keyboard and mouse but also works well with a controller. Whenever I play games in this genre, whether it something like House Flipper or Lawn Mowing Simulator, my partner seriously questions my life choices and asks why I can’t do these tasks more often in real life. Hard work, effort and money is the answer and why bother when you can get great satisfaction from doing it virtually.

What Is House Flipper 2?

If you aren’t familiar with the first title then allow me to elaborate. House Flipper 2 follows on from the success of the first and puts you at the helm of organising and partaking in house cleans, renovations and generally sprucing run down dwellings up. If I had unlimited money myself I’d love to do this for real, there is something intriguing about purchasing a run down place and turning it around to sell it and make profit.

Those who loved the first game will find much more of the same here but with some improvements across the board. There is the addition of a Sandbox mode though that will allow you to fully decorate, furnish and manipulate a property to your hearts content. This mode is handy for people who don’t want to follow the main linear quests or want the longevity of the gameplay loop beyond the core experience.

How Does It Play?

During the game you’ll be offered a series of jobs in exchange for money and how well you tackle that work depends on your pay-out. It could be as simple as going around to a house to clean and unpack after a house move or completely changing some of the interior and selling items on. Tasks are performed with radial menus and browsing catalogues. For instance, if you want to clear rubbish then you’ll be selecting a bin bag and scouring the property for rubbish. Cleaning is another option, scrubbing leftover dirt, graffiti and cleaning dusty windows and sometimes getting these bits done is wise before you tackle decorating and furnishing.

As you progress you’ll have access to perks to speed up and make the work easier. Perks such as having more capacity in your bin bag, cleaning quicker and having more paint on a roller. You start to appreciate these buffs and wonder how you lived without them before. After about 15-20 hours in the campaign mode I was pretty much clear of all the jobs and I enjoyed working on my own property between. Whilst I didn’t divulge much into the Sandbox mode, it gives you total free reign on designing your own homes and interior with a chance to share these with others online which will be a great feature for the hardcore flipping community.

Visuals & Audio

I had to boot up House Flipper and play it for a good half an hour before starting this review just so I could make some comparisons in with the visuals. Between the two the changes have drastically improved more than you’d think. The level of detail has excelled and whilst some assets are near identical, they have kicked on to make the second a smoother experience overall. For instance there is one level where you tidy a kids room and whilst it is trashed, seeing the presentation in the setting with the PC setup and bright colourful posters on the wall felt more realistic. Everything just looks and feels better with more fluidity in object placement.

Audio is fairly minimal as to be expected so I tend to pop a podcast or relaxing music on when playing. There are some voice acted lines between renovating houses and picking up work via the built in email system. In-game though expect chilled out vibes with the soundtrack.

Final Thoughts

House Flipper 2 certainly scratched the itch that I had left from the first game once I’d finished with it. Essentially with this experience it is much more of the same but vastly improved in visuals, fluidity and variety. There are some frustrating moments to be had with a controller in hand but thankfully most of those seemed to vanish once you get used to how the game functions. This is one of those games that will always be one I go back to when I want some downtime from high intensity multiplayer titles. Once you are consumed in a project, hours feels like minutes and it becomes incredibly moreish, addictive and almost therapeutic.

If you’re a fan of the original title then I highly recommend investing in this follow on and for newcomers there is a lot to be discovered here for you too. Some may want to try the first instalment with the DLC packs before diving into the second. One thing I can say for sure is that you’ll have a flipping great time with either!