Grab your easels, chisels and paints! Two Point Museum: Arty-Facts is here, and with it comes a new museum, map, over 25 exhibits and more items than you could shake a paintbrush at. But how does it stack up against Two Point Museum’s previous DLCs, and is it a worthy addition?
Paint the County Red
As the punny name suggests, in Two Point Museum: Arty-Facts, you’ll be the director of your very own art gallery.
Two Point County’s newest museum, Undee Docks, is a down-town industrial lot with plenty of room to expand. Beyond that, the museum is very plain, with no gimmicks to differentiate it from the starter levels. No matter, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and Arty-Facts equips players with a range of artsy items to decorate their gallery, along with girders and bars to keep with the industrial theme.
Zara’s Sketchbook is the new expedition map, where you will accrue your collection of famous art and performances. With Two Point’s signature humour, your museum will be filled with spoofs of real-life masterpieces, like a mini Mona Lisa, a Warhol Warthog, and a Cheeto-dust-covered American Gothic, among others.
All the Rage
There are several new mechanics introduced in Arty-Facts to help a would-be director create the art gallery of their dreams. Most notably, players will be able to create their own exhibits to display.
Unfortunately, this is not as hands-on as it sounds. Similar to the expedition mechanic, you’ll assign Art Experts to create statues, portraits and paintings in the new Art Studio, where they may face creative dilemmas and setbacks based on their traits and skill level. Aside from quality, the art produced from these mini expeditions is mostly random, which feels like a missed opportunity for customisation.
I say mostly random because the other big addition to Arty-Facts is Emotions. When you create exhibits, you’ll be prompted to pick an Emotion for the piece to invoke. These alter guest attitudes, applying buffs or debuffs depending on the Emotion, such as buzz bonuses or increasing tolerance for high prices. These are slowly acquired by completing expeditions, with seven in total to collect.
Easel-y Done
With your revenue split between two types of expeditions and the small army of Art Experts needed for a well-rounded gallery, it’s understandable to assume managing your finances is where Arty-Facts gets difficult. Two Point has attempted to balance this by introducing an auctioneer. Exhibits you create can be sold for quite the markup at auction, so long as they fit the requirements.
For experienced players, however, Arty-Facts is laughably easy. The auctioneering mechanic feels like an overcorrection. Enlightenment has been scrapped entirely, so no Deconstructor is needed. Knowledge is now based on the quality of the work displayed, except you’ll be tripping over pristine artworks at every turn. This isn’t necessarily bad. It keeps Two Point Museum a relaxing alternative in the management-sim space, but any player looking for a late-game challenge will be sorely disappointed.
Verdict
An art museum was a strange omission from the base game, and while I’m glad we’ve got one now, this DLC felt like a lot of missed potential. Despite the abundance of new mechanics, the gameplay loop remains largely unchanged, and very few of them feel applicable to the rest of the campaign. That being said, if you’re a big fan of Two Point Museum and itching for more, this is a pleasant addition to the game and one you’ll no doubt sink many hours into.
Luckily, if you are unsure and would like a taste of Arty-Facts before buying, the first star of Undee Docks is available for all players for free.
Platforms: Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, macOS
Publishers: SEGA
Developers: Two Point Studios
Played On: PC and Mac, PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2
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