House Flipper 2 is a DIY dream come true

Frozen District

I have a fractious relationship with DIY outside of video games. Hanging shelves, fixing whatnots, and building doodads – I can do it, even if I occasionally build something backward or get the idea completely wrong. The end result is always satisfying, too, once it finally manifests. I just don’t enjoy the actual process. Maybe it’s a hangup from earlier years and disastrous first attempts with less-than-patient family members, or maybe I just don’t like spending free time I barely have to begin with on something that takes so long and costs increasingly more.

Whatever the reason, House Flipper 2 surprised me and upended my expectations. It’s easily one of the most chilled-out games I’ve played in ages, and that’s even taking the big Stardew Valley 1.6 update into consideration. It’s all the best parts of DIY projects – the creative freedom, the enjoyment of experimenting with visions, and the satisfaction of getting it just right – without the drudgery and, even better, the cost. Yeah, of course, it’s not real and it’s not gonna redecorate your bedroom or raise the value of your actual house, but it’s a brilliant, low-key way to relax after a stressful day.

“You have time to play a DIY game but not to do DIY projects, what gives” you might be asking, but here’s the difference: I’m playing House Flipper 2 in bed, on an Asus Ally, at 1 am. Smacking things with a hammer at that time would not happy housemates make, and I rent my place anyway. There’s a limit on the amount of stuff I want to modify here, since it’s only going to benefit the landlord in the long run – not me.

Frozen District

As much as anything, House Flipper 2 is a pleasant way to live out the fantasy of actually owning a home of my own and making it whatever I want it to be, something that’s increasingly unlikely for people in my age range and younger. But we don’t want to make this too heavy, so enough of that.

Calling it just a DIY game is slightly misleading. House Flipper 2 is as much an interior design game as it is a house builder. Think the Switch's Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, but with a scope that’s massively upscaled.

House Flipper 2’s story mode, if you want to call it that, gives you a series of tasks for different clients. You’ll clean trash, restore busted-up houses, and get a place fit for habitation before turning your creative attention to other matters. Everything from the shape and style of your ceiling molding to what little storage baskets you want in your bathroom and even the angle you put your toothpaste tube. 

That level of detail is something I initially thought I’d loathe for its tedium, groaning at the thought of spending ten minutes or more placing a few little pieces of board and feeling overwhelmed having to make every little thing look and feel just right. It only took one project to show me how wrong I was. The smaller-scale projects and tinkering reminded me of Unpacking, and the process has a similar meditative quality to it. The freedom to experiment in ways big and small is what really sold me on it, though. 

Frozen District

Costs and time limits are non-existent, and the outlines you have to follow are very broad. There’s no one standing over you, shouting at you for making mistakes or complaining because you didn’t do it their way. As long as you create a habitable space, everyone’s happy. 

I’m the kind of person who prefers Dragon Quest Builders to Minecraft solely because I need a bit of structure to get me going. Throw me into a sandbox with no hint at what to do and I’ll probably just walk away. I expected the same for House Flipper 2 but ended up spending most of my time in sandbox mode. Dealing with fixer-uppers in story mode inspired me to start from scratch in sandbox mode just to see what I could come up with. 

Sure, it takes a long time, but with no stakes and plenty of resources at my disposal, I’m more than happy to pick away at my dream projects over the course of a week or more. That’s the beauty of House Flippers 2 – all the best parts of DIY without actually having to do it.