Two Point Hospital free trial available until next week

A Two Point Hospital free trial is live on the UK and ANZ Nintendo Switch eShop, giving you a few days to play the full game before it's snatched away and bumped up to its normal retail price.

Two Point Studios' comical hospital sim, a spiritual successor to the 1997 classic Theme Hospital, is the latest to be included in Nintendo of Europe's Game Trials series, which allows you to check out full games without spending a dime. In this case, if you do enjoy Two Point Hospital but aren't able to finish it before the trial ends, you have until August 8 to purchase the Jumbo Edition, which includes four meaty expansions and two DLC packs, for 30% off.

In case you just heard "free game" and went here without any knowledge of Two Point Hospital, here's a quick rundown. Essentially, it's an increasingly silly hospital management sim where you'll start by constructing and staffing a hospital and eventually be tasked with handling everything from celebrity visits to earthquakes. At some point, you'll need to deal with local pandemics (eek) by identifying infected patients and administering vaccines. I promise Two Point Hospital is a funny game.

All patients are suffering from fictional illnesses like Turtle Head, where a doctor needs the Turbo-Plunger to pull the patient's head out from a comically retracted position; Banging Headache, an extreme headache that turns the patient's head into a literal hammer; and Root Snoot, a disorder that turns the sufferer into "a big ol' turnip face." A bit on the nose, don't ya think?

In case you still aren't convinced, GamesRadar's glowing Two Point Hospital review called it "a cure" for boredom and sadness. "Between the humor and the visuals, there's no part of playing Two Point Hospital - other than the crippling, thundering stress at realizing that you've forgotten to build any toilets at all an hour into a level - that isn't a delight," Rachel writes. "Every tiny piece, from the people to the furnishings, has been lavished with attention and care, and it shows. It reminds me of an Aardman Animation, with so much detail and work behind the laughter and slapstick. It's a miniature masterpiece."

To confirm, I checked the US Switch eShop for the Two Point Hospital free trial, and sadly it is not there. The good news is that the 30% discount is available on the US eShop, so now's the time to check it out if you've been meaning to.

Otherwise, here are some of the best sim games you can play right now.