House Flipper Review

Buying a house is an event I’ve yet to have the pleasure of experiencing first hand. Sure, I could make a number of millionaire comments and jokes but that would take away from my successful business of flipping houses. This is, for those who don’t know, the moment of purchasing a house, doing it up, and then selling it on with the aim of making a profit. It is an interesting concept that House Flipper has taken and, given its name, fully embraced. As for my successful business I’m referring to the title because sadly, I’m not that lucky of a millionaire.

House Flipper give players the chance to live this dream, along with the needed tools to ensure it can be done with as much ease as possible. Players will start their journey in the house flipping business by picking up odd jobs here and there to earn some much needed experience and cash. This includes clearing out people's garages for them, painting their front room, or even building a spare bedroom in a fallout shelter. No, seriously.

These ‘missions’ are the first foundation of the title and will be where you spend most of your first hour or so with House Flipper. Once you have earned enough cash you will then be able to purchase one of the many houses the title has to offer and start the process of bringing new life into its four walls.

Now experience is a valid resource in House Flipper, with each action earning you a point towards improving your skills. These including painting, building, cleaning, and even negotiating with buyers to earn more profit. If we take painting, you will be burning through a lot of paint early on which adds to your overhead costs. Once you level that skill up a few times though you’ll be a speed demon with a paint roller, having optimised your paint usage and now covering three separate parts of the wall at once. This passive progression is a fantastic part of House Flipper as it encourages you to just keep playing, earning new unlocks as you play.

As for the houses, you will find them in a range of states, including completely burnt out to some that are in a near-new condition. When flipping a house how you choose to decorate it is completely up to you. There are possible buyers who each have their own tastes that, as you make choices, will provide feedback on if your work fits there taste. This means you can plan a house out to match a buyer and improve your chances of them buying the finished result. It is a layer of strategy on a title that is otherwise a rather relaxing experience.

Jumping into House Flipper to clear a few ‘missions’ and earn some money towards your next house purchase offers a great sense of accomplishment. Every action carries weight and has an impact on the end result. It might be a digital house but it feels like it is yours and you start to build an attachment to these buildings and the jobs you are doing, taking ownership of them with pride. In no other title would you feel this level of commit to cleaning and decorating a house yet House Flipper make this both enjoyable and captaving.

Even with the title suffering from some frame rate issues here and there, along with the odd bug, it is otherwise a solid product. With a wide number of jobs to complete and plenty of houses to buy and flip, there is plenty to do in this title. With a single house taking upwards of an hour or two, you will find that days will pass quickly as you sink more time into this rather laid back experience. It is just a shame that DIY is not this engaging in real life.

So should you check out House Flipper? Yes. Should you play House Flipper? Double yes. Should you tell everyone about your four hours of playtime in which you built a secret room into the house where you left an unholy amount of toilet paper? Absolutely.