Video Game Roundup: Museum Management and More
Artribune's monthly video game column reviews five titles. Bundle of Joy (Essay Games) simulates new parenthood during COVID-19 lockdowns through microgames. Expelled! (inkle) follows a working-class girl framed for vandalism at a 1920s British boarding school, subverting the school story genre. Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts) critiques generative AI by trapping two writers in their own generic fantasy and sci-fi stories. Two Point Museum (Two Point Studios/Sega) offers museum management simulation across five museums and six collection categories, but ignores decolonization debates. Wanderstop (Ivy Road/Annapurna Interactive) addresses burnout through a tea shop setting, though it replicates the mechanics it critiques. All games are available on multiple platforms.
Key facts
- Bundle of Joy is set during the COVID-19 lockdowns in spring 2020.
- Expelled! is set in 1920s England and features a working-class protagonist on scholarship.
- Split Fiction references generative AI as a company that steals stories.
- Two Point Museum includes categories: prehistory, paranormal, botany, aquatic life, science, and space.
- Wanderstop is developed by Davey Wreden, Karla Zimonja, and Daniel Rosenfeld.
- Two Point Museum is available on PC, Mac, Linux, PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and later on Switch 2.
- Split Fiction will be released on Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5 and has a film adaptation announced.
- Wanderstop has some errors in its Italian translation.
Entities
Artists
- Nicholas O'Brien
- Josef Fares
- Davey Wreden
- Karla Zimonja
- Daniel 'C418' Rosenfeld
- Mark Webley
- Gary Carr
- Francesco D'Isa
- John Berger
Institutions
- Artribune
- Essay Games
- inkle
- Hazelight Studios
- Electronic Arts
- Two Point Studios
- Sega
- Bullfrog
- Starbreeze Studios
- 505 Games
- Ivy Road
- Annapurna Interactive
- Konami
- Nintendo
- FISAR
Locations
- England
- United Kingdom
- Italy