House Flipper 2 review – moreish and meditative fixer-upper fantasy

PC; Frozen District, PlayWay
Turn yourself into a property tycoon one scrubbed floor at a time in this low-stress game that finds the fun in fastidiousness.

As we are frequently reminded at this time of year by game-of-the-year lists and annual awards shows, interactive entertainment can alter our perspective on the world, maybe even change us. House Flipper 2 has zero interest in any of that. It is, much like the equally great PowerWash Simulator, the digital equivalent of popping bubble wrap, with the added treat of numbers that go up for especially good popping. With its Sims-like home design creative palette, this isn't the sort of gripping, emotive adventure that'll be the highlight of anyone's festive season - but it does provide some magical half-hour chunks of relaxing busywork.

You start the game as a relatively broke professional fixer-upper residing in a run-down house gifted to you by your parents. In other words, even the starting point is millennial wish fulfillment. Via email, you'll take various jobs in the town of Pinnacove; in an early assignment you might clear trash and scrub pawprints after a nightmarish raccoon incident. As you progress, you'll graduate from cleaning to painting, tiling, furnishing or demolishing walls to alter floorplans, and more. Once you've learned the ropes, you can use the money you earn to buy dilapidated buildings and turn them into dream homes one lick of paint and a live, laugh, love" sign at a time, then flip them for profit.