House Flipper has been out for a couple of years on Steam and already made the jump to consoles too. Now, it’s time for a Nintendo Switch version. The original gather a lot of fans over the years and gamers really enjoy this realistic simulator. There’s simply something about flipping houses that creates an extremely relaxing experience while doing it digitally. Let’s see how well this Switch version holds up.
Simple premise
The premise of House Flipper is simple, you work your way to the top of the House Flipper market. You start at the bottom, just being hired to clean houses and replace damaged radiators, not really the job and life you want to have. The more of these tasks you complete and the more houses you clean, the bigger your budget gets, eventually leading up to the main portion of the game where you transform old houses to modern houses that everybody wants to buy. This results in more cash, more houses, better tools, and more options for you to advance on the social ladder. It’s a simple premise for sure but it actually works out pretty well. It’s extremely rewarding to receive a lot of money after your hard work and it’s even better to see your jobs evolving from rubbish to truly inspiring.
On paper, this really sounds like a rather boring game but in all honesty, it simply works. There’s something about renovating houses that’s extremely relaxing and rewarding at the same time. I truly understand the high ratings of this one as I can really see the fun of it, it’s a shame a lot of the potential got lost on this Switch port, which clearly isn’t the best way to enjoy this game.
The performance issue
The biggest issue I have with this Nintendo Switch version is its performance. For the sake of the review, I tested it in handheld mostly, which wasn’t always a beautiful experience. Graphics aren’t everything but in a game about renovation, I wish it was a bit better. Due to the lack of better graphics, it’s less rewarding to renovate a house and sell it for the full price. The impact of your hard work just isn’t the same as it is on the higher end PCs and consoles. I looked at some YouTube videos of those versions and they simply look a lot better, adding a lot more realism to the deal, and in the end, I guess, also a lot more fun.
Besides the graphics, the controls aren’t as smooth as they should be. It’s hard to select the right tools and drag the furniture to the right place. The combination of buttons and touch simply doesn’t work as well as it should and it causes a lot of frustration at the start of the game. There’s a lot to learn here and the text in handheld mode is a bit small to really be enjoyable. It’s a shame this Switch port suffers from these issues as I can clearly see why this game has gathered so many fans over the world. Of course, if you don’t compare it to the other version and if you can get over the graphics and master the controls, this game does offer fun for your money. You’ll just need to push forward in order to find it.
Conclusion:
It’s easy to see why a lot of gamers fell in love with House Flipper. Renovating these houses is both relaxing and rewarding, always pushing you to continue playing. Sadly, this Nintendo Switch version doesn’t shine as bright as it should. The graphics and controls stand in its way and as it is now, it’s enjoyable but just not as good as it should be. If this is the only version you can play, it’s worth giving a shot but if you have other options, you should definitely go for that version.
5/10
Tested on Nintendo Switch
