Planet Zoo 2, from the makers of Jurassic World Evolution, is the most detailed zoo simulator yet, and it also lets you create your own nature reserve out in the wild. The game scores 8/10 and is available on PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC, priced at £39.99.
A balance of fun and authenticity
Video games’ first priority is fun, but in simulations, authenticity shares the driving seat. Frontier’s Planet Zoo sat in the middle between the hardcore realism of Train Sim World and the casual approach of Two Point. The sequel strikes a similar balance while going further in detail, letting you design, populate, and manage a global network of zoos, as well as work with nature reserves where you can observe, photograph, and release animals into the wild – in ecosystems you help shape.
The two elements work in partnership, letting you breed and repopulate animal species practically anywhere in the world. Like its predecessor, your primary focus is running zoos, building enclosures that keep animals healthy and help visitors see them. You’ll need the right height of barriers, a gate for staff, a feeding station, and somewhere inhabitants can drink – a water trough or a pond fed by a mechanical pump and connected to the zoo’s filtration system.
New features and management depth
Animals’ happiness depends on species-appropriate enrichment, both food-based and toys. New in Planet Zoo 2 are customisable aviaries with netting roofs to prevent residents from flying off, and aquariums that can be fresh or salt water, with viewing tunnels underneath, expanding the variety of animals and habitats. Keeping things running smoothly means hiring vets and building a surgery to treat sick animals, while caretakers clean up litter and transport animals around the zoo.
Supplying electricity comes with a choice: eco-friendly generators give free energy and boost your sustainability rating but cost more to buy and install than conventional counterparts. In Franchise mode, the business aspect is as important as looking after the fauna. Guests’ happiness, energy, hunger, thirst, and need for lavatories must all be taken care of, and the happier visitors are, the higher ticket price they’re willing to pay. Earning reputation comes from educating guests via information boards, screens, and speakers, to the biodiversity and monitoring capabilities in your wilderness reserves.
Accessibility and verdict
New biome brushes let you paint specific foliage and geological features without planting every rock, tree, and bush individually, and it’s easier to sculpt the landscape, digging lakes and adding hilly or mountainous areas. The menus are controller friendly, with menus accessed via the D-pad and analogue sticks for moving the camera. The training built into Career mode is welcoming, asking upfront if you’re an old hand at Planet Zoo and tailoring its approach accordingly.
If you can get over the initial hurdle of finding all the various facilities, hiring, landscaping, and mechanical options amongst the menus, there’s a vast, absorbing, and almost completely open-ended zoo and wildlife management simulator to explore. It may not have Two Point’s laidback ease of use, but given enough time and the right personality type, its detailed and flexible systems will provide many dozens of hours of happy tinkering.
