Hospitals - the place where life usually starts and ends in modern times. Not many know how these places were operated despite TV shows like "House," Grey's Anatomy," and "Chicago Med," but those that do can tell you it can be as hectic and stressful as any other office job.
As such, some video games try to give people an idea of how a hospital runs and how it keeps doing so. There are many such games present in the gaming industry, however, like all things, there is always a brave pioneer leading the charge.
In this case, that pioneer is Theme Hospital.
Theme Hospital Details
Theme Hospital is a business simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts (EA) for the PC in 1997, per Eurogamer. The game mixes management and business aspects of running a hospital with the need to cure patients of bizarre diseases and save them from the clutches of death if possible, according to NME.
As a follow a sequel to fellow business simulation game Theme Park, Theme Hospital asks players to create their very own hospital for them to run and manage while also curing patients. To have the best hospital, players will need the latest diagnostic tools like the X-Ray and Scanner, the most advanced treatment facilities like pharmacies, operating theaters, and patient rooms, and the latest specialized equipment, per Gamespot.
Players also need the best doctors, nurses, and staff to manage and run the hospital, along with treating patients infected with the most bizarre diseases. These people need to be kept happy to maintain their standard of quality through warmth and salary raises.
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Unfortunately, getting the best of the best, regardless of whether it's equipment or staff members, requires money, and patients give money as long as they're tended to and cured. As such, the game is a big balancing act to provide what patients and doctors need to keep the hospital running based on what money players have.
As if the balancing act wasn't enough of a handicap, the game will make itself difficult for players through its encouragement of many petty acts of financially-motivated evil. These acts include turning the hospital's heating down a few degrees to keep staff working harder or the installation of a vending machine instead of giving patients free water, giving you more cash at the expense of patients.
Sometimes, the game will give players all the reasons they need to do something unethically sound to remain at the top of the pyramid. Whether players give in to the temptation to do such actions or not is completely up to them.
Theme Hospital Critical Reception And Longevity
Critics received Theme Hospital with mixed feelings. Gamespot found that the game's demo is preferable to the game itself due to how aggravating the patients are in the game.
However, IGN gave the game an average score of 7/10 due to its skill-dependent outcome. Users on the online game distributor GOG gave the game four and a half stars due to how fun it is, contrary to Gamespot's review.
Yes, Theme Hospital, despite being more than 20 years old, is still well-beloved by gamers in the 2020s. The game is available on GOG and EA's online store as part of its On-the-House program, per PC World.
If you want to try running your own hospital and maybe break a few ethical codes while you're at it, you may want to give the game a go and see for yourself.
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