Game info

• Title Planet Zoo
• Developer [Frontier Developments]
• Publisher [Frontier Developments]
• Year 2024
• Platform Playstation 5
• Genre Simulation

Build a world for wildlife with Planet Zoo: Console Edition. From the developers of Planet Coaster and Zoo Tycoon, the ultimate zoo simulator has arrived on console. Planet Zoo features an incredible array of authentic animals who think, feel, and explore the world you design around them. Create unique habitats and vast landscapes, and make meaningful choices to nurture animals as you construct and manage the world’s wildest zoos using intuitive console controls. Pick up and play across four engaging game modes: embark on a globe-trotting campaign in career mode, build a network of connected zoos in Franchise mode, put your skills to the test in Challenge mode, or let your imagination run wild in the freedom of Sandbox mode.

Player Select

When I was preparing the review for Jurassic World Evolution 2, I read that it was made by the same people who make Planet Zoo and Planet Coaster, and that in other reviewer’s opinions, they were better. And then I read that Planet Zoo was the ‘spiritual successor’ to Zoo Tycoon, a game I used to be completely obsessed with. So it was only natural that I ended up trying Planet Zoo as soon as I possibly could.

It’s in the Game

The first and most important thing to say about this game is that it’s very addictive. You do just want to keep growing your zoo and adding animals, and even when I’m not playing I’m quite often thinking about what I could do next in that small spot of space next to the grizzly bears. The animals are absolutely adorable, it’s cute just to watch them pottering about their habitats. I keep finding new things as well, like recently discovering you can switch to a webcam that is in the underground sleeping areas of animals like the anteaters.

There’s a lot to learn, it’s a really deep game. Habitats and animals, exhibits and smaller animals, staff and their various duties, guest facilities, paths and signs, and educational areas to ensure your zoo is getting the best inspection scores possible. I do think, though, that the instructional scenarios really guide you through it well. They give you enough information to get you going but leave enough out that you can still be pleasantly surprised by something every time you pick up the controller.

I’m still exploring the different types of gameplay, having mostly stuck to the scenarios so far. I tried to do a challenge zoo but very quickly went bankrupt, which made me long for the days when you could get strategy guide books to help you know what to prioritise and what not to do. I loved the books tied to the Sims franchise, as they were so useful. Thankfully, there are quite a lot of hints and tips on sites around the web, so it’s not quite as concise but a good replacement.

I feel like there’s a lot of scope for playing this for hours and hours and hours, and that’s before you get to the many expansion packs that feature more scenarios and, more importantly, lots more animals. It’s not all perfect, I do find building the barriers quite fiddly, and the paths are my actual nemesis, but once you’ve got it right, it’s very satisfying.

Thoughts

This may be the last game review I ever write, as I’m going to be playing Planet Zoo a lot and for a long time. It really is a successor to Zoo Tycoon and I have very quickly become obsessed with it. The balance between time spent sighing over adorable animals and actually managing the park is really good and there’s so much still to learn. I do want to play Planet Coaster as well, but at the moment, the animals are winning.

Rating: 5 / 5