Dentist Simulator 2 Review (PC VR)

It took me somewhere between four and six minutes to come to the realization that dentistry was not my forte. In that short amount of time, I didn’t just fail to administer a general anesthetic; I extracted a tooth with my bare hands and wound up giving a young girl nightmares for the rest of her seemingly miserable life. It’s a shame, too, because prior to all of this happening, I had it in my mind that I’d be the perfect doctor—a model dentist with a steady hand and a comforting smile. But, sadly, it didn’t go according to plan. The patient screamed, and then bolted out of the door. And I, covered in blood and orthopedic rubber bands, sat in silence, contemplating just about every thing I could before clocking out to collect a paycheck that I probably didn’t deserve. Thanks, Dentist Simulator 2 — those scars will remain forever.

In ways, Dentist Simulator 2 was a bit like playing a round of Operation. Like the schoolyard game, it had me carefully pulling teeth and ensuring that I didn’t glaze the fleshy spots. But in Dentist Simulator, a small mistake wouldn’t culminate with a buzzer; it would end with a screaming citizen, a hollow room in turmoil, and eventually, a lawsuit. With that, I soon came to the conclusion that it wasn’t quite as touch-and-go as Operation, and that it fostered much, much heavier consequences. That never stopped me from wanting to be the perfect dentist, mind you.

With hindsight, I probably should’ve given up long before setting the clinic ablaze. At the time, however, it all felt rather natural and professional. But, behind that optimistic smile, it was like pulling teeth — literally.

Open Wide!

Dentist Simulator 2 is exactly what it describes itself as on its tin: a VR dentistry simulator in which you, the overly optimistic doctor, operate and manage your own medical practice. Think Operation, but with fewer internal organs and more lateral incisors, and you ought to have a rough idea of what we’re getting at. It is, once you remove the veil between its toothy operating system and mortified patients, a business simulation game with a whole bunch of tropes and other, well, fillings.

To state the obvious, if you’re hell-belt on sinking your teeth into an authentic dentistry experience, then you might as well turn back now and find another medical practice to take a big ol’ bite out of. But if you’re happy to throw caution to the wind and yank a few teeth out along the way, then congratulations — you’ve just stumbled across the best possible outlet to satisfy your barbaric curiosity.

On the bright side of things, Dentist Simulator 2 does feature some authentic practices for you to follow—a track that rolls out to jobs like applying anesthesia, correcting teeth, and even installing braces and other orthopedic contraptions. And while all of this sounds great on paper, the bitter truth is that, when it comes to doing any of these tasks, things aren’t nearly as simple. Go figure.

With all of the above said, Dentist Simulator 2 does find comfort in its barbarically comical design and VR-based shenanigans. I guess it’s a lot like Surgeon Simulator, in that it showcases the extent of medical care, but then makes it borderline impossible for you to enact any kind of treatment without encountering certain complications. The tools are there, as are the textbook practices, but that’s about as far as it goes in terms of authenticity.

A Toothy Grin Goes a Long Way

The gameplay itself mostly revolves around extracting teeth, administering anesthetic, and controlling blood loss—three incredibly important tasks that require an iron hand, a stern eye for misaligned dentures, and a great deal of patience. As a VR game at heart, Dentist Simulator doesn’t make a habit of holding your hand and carefully coursing you through the motions. Here, one small slip can make drastic changes to your score. For example, if you fail to extract the correct tooth, or simply apply too much pressure to the root, then your patient may end up leaving due to an “unrelated” panic attack. And that, in short, is where Dentist Simulator finds its stick to prod you with — in the act of forcing you to be a competent doctor, knowing all too well that you aren’t.

On the plus side of all this, the campaign and its vast challenges do offer plenty of bang for your buck. In addition to the rather in-depth repository of tools and orthopedic techniques, the game also features a good selection of patients, requests, and opportunities to flex your wisdom teeth. Granted, it doesn’t boast much more than your typical chore core simulation game, though it does offer a lot of unique jobs and skill-based activities for those with a keen eye for toothy theatrics.

Let it be said that, while the gameplay is engaging and oh-so-more-ish, Dentist Simulator 2 definitely isn’t the cleanest game on the market. Graphically, it doesn’t bring a great deal to the table, nor does it make an effort to reinvent the wheel with anything particularly exciting. With that, to say that the general composition as a whole would benefit from a little extra flossing would be an understatement, truly. But hey — at least it plays well. Or at least, it doesn’t bring anything particularly game-breaking to the operating table. Perhaps I was just lucky, though. Or maybe I was far too focused on tarnishing another person’s image to notice the world collapsing around me.

Verdict

Slugging through Dentist Simulator 2 is a bit like pulling teeth. At first, it feels oddly therapeutic, but then, after a bit of tugging and grappling, it dawns on you that the climax is likely to be a lot more painful and unforgivingly cruel. In your mind, you know all too well that it will look great, but that the process of finding that perfect smile will be a horrific experience. That isn’t to say that Dentist Simulator 2 is a bad game; it’s just that it often makes the act of yanking teeth out surprisingly tedious. Yet, it does cough up comical value as a way to supplement such pain, which is, in all fairness, a welcome relief on all fronts.

To cut a long story short, if you do happen to enjoy ridiculous games like Surgeon Simulator and other nonsensical VR games that favor rag doll physics and operating room antics over authentic medical procedures, then the chances are you’ll get a kick out of plying the teeth out of this gum-less world and all its toothy shenanigans. If, for whatever reason, you’re studying to become a dentist out in the real world, however, then you might be better off diverting your attention to another tutorial to help establish your craft.