Well this made me chuckle. After starting out with Two Point Hospital – a spiritual successor to developer Bullfrog Productions’ classic sick-fixing sim Theme Hospital, Two Point Studios is now going even further into the past. Its newly announced Rides & Relics DLC for the excellent Two Point Museum is paying it back to Theme Hospital’s much-loved predecessor, Theme Park – and you can even build your own coasters!
Two Point Studios actually has a direct link to Bullfrog Productions if you weren’t aware: its founders, Mark Webley and Gary Carr, previously worked at the sadly long-defunct developer, and did, in fact, work on 1994’s Theme Park. So there’s a fun bit of symmetry going on here.
Anyway, Rides & Relics is the latest in Two Point Museum’s run of largely excellent DLC expansions; those previous releases offering some neat shake-ups to the museum-running formula by introducing the likes of zoo animals, art appreciation, and even a spin on D&D-style tabletop fantasy. And, this time, the twist is theme parks and funfairs.
By sending your new Funfair Experts out to explore the new Gearbox Fairground expedition map, you’ll uncover new blueprints and perks unlocking “17+” funfair-themed exhibits, including interactive displays and antique amusements (the trailer includes the likes of a pirate ship, haunted house, ferris wheel, popcorn stand, candyfloss stall, teacup ride and, um, cheese flume). It’s also possible to build your own mini-coasters – adjusting height, tilt and camber – with talk of five unique coaster themes.
Additionally, Rides & Relics brings a brand-new museum location – Riquetti Gardens – alongside a new five-star campaign, new gift shop merchandise, and new themed items and decorations, including presumably theme-park-inspired variants for the helipad, ticket desk, benches, bins and more. Oh, and in order to keep visitors even more entertained, there are ten unlockable mascot outfits you can shove some of your poor museum staff in.
Two Point Museum’s Rides & Relics DLC costs £9.99 and launches for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC (via Steam and Epic) on 8th October. A Switch 2 release is “coming soon”. Which just leaves one question: what are we doing next, Two Point Studios – cyberpunk or magic carpets?
