
Staff members all share the same sprites between their types (i.e. Hardly a looker in its day, Theme Hospital has managed to hold up over time thanks to its solid sprite-work and simple environmental design meaning it’s easy to look at today, if a little rough around the edges. It gives the game an identity and a larger than life feel that seems somewhat unmatched to this day – no other developer has quite managed to match the political incorrectness (a bank manager with dollar bills popping out of his suit), quick-fire jokes and social commentary like this since. Right from the opening cutscene of a super-doctor operating on a patient before dumping his body as the procedure goes wrong, you’ll know you’re in for a treat – this permeates through every other aspect of the game from the humorous receptionist announcements to the bonkers diseases you’ll treat such as Bloaty Head and Transparency (caused by licking foil yogurt lids). What makes Theme Hospital special to so many gamers is the world that’s constructed here – 90’s Bullfrog were absolute masters of biting satire and that’s fully present here. Aside from this, there’s really no actual story as you’re simply tasked with ensuring the profitability and reputation of each job you’re assigned. In Theme Hospital you play as a manager who oversees a stream of hospitals with the goal of working his or her way up the bureaucratic chain to earn the big money at the top.
