About 60 hours, almost all of them in sandbox mode, one city zoo and a new favorite animal – time for my Planet Zoo 2 review. Short version: this is a huge step up from the first game. 🐾
The first weeks after launch
Planet Zoo 2 came out on October 13, and since then Frontier has shipped a few important updates and fixes that make the whole experience noticeably better. There are still spots that need work, of course. But the graphics, the tools and the new features are genuinely great – and a massive step forward from Planet Zoo.
Animals that feel alive
You see it right away: the animals look far more realistic, and I really like the new animations. A few of them still need some fine-tuning, but we are on the right track.
My favorite animal right now? The aardvark. If you have watched Grandview City Zoo, you know why.
Aquariums and aviaries
Both are great additions to the game.
Aquariums
Two things I would still change: fish can't share a habitat with land animals – something that does work for birds in aviaries. And the staff gate for aquariums, as the community has pointed out many times, isn't realistic. Practical, though.
Aviaries
Aviaries surprised me the most. My biggest worry was that they would end up too complex – or too simple, with fixed shapes like in Jurassic World Evolution. Instead you build them with the barrier tool, which is easy to get the hang of, and the roofs generate automatically. That's exactly how it should be.
Watch my aquarium & aviary tutorials
Wildlife Reserves
If you like first-person gameplay, the Wildlife Reserves are a nice feature. Personally, it's not where I have the most fun. What I do love: you can actually watch the animals you released in one place – instead of them leaving your zoo and vanishing somewhere into the Matrix.
Building: my biggest win
For me, the biggest win is the path tool together with the scenery and foliage brushes. You build so much faster and with far less hassle. Compared to the effort it took in Planet Zoo – and what you could actually do with it – there's simply no contest.
And the best new thing overall: the improved exhibits. My only wish here is more sizes in future updates.
Guests and management
Guest management looks a lot more realistic now – restaurants are a good example. Beyond that, it doesn't play very differently from the first game. That's okay with me, because it was already really good there.
The roster
The one thing I miss is variety in the animal roster. With 136 species – 130 in the base game plus six in the Deluxe Edition – nobody can complain about the numbers, and there is definitely enough to do until the first DLCs arrive. I know there is criticism about how the roster is spread across the continents, and the balance is the point where I would like to see Frontier add more.
Standard or Deluxe?
I always go for the Deluxe Edition – partly to support the studio, and because it adds six more animal species you won't want to miss. On Steam the Standard Edition costs 49.99 €, the Deluxe Edition 64.99 €.
The good
- + Aquariums and aviaries
- + The new exhibits
- + Great graphics and far more realistic animals
- + Path tool and scenery/foliage brushes make building much faster
The not so good
- – The roster isn't balanced across the continents
- – Some teething problems – though bugs get fixed very actively
- – Fish and land animals can't share a habitat
- – Guest management hasn't moved on much from the first game
8.5/10
Familiar enough to jump right in, with enough new features to feel like a real sequel – a must for every Planet Zoo fan.
Who is it for?
If you liked the first Planet Zoo, Planet Zoo 2 is worth it. It feels so familiar that getting started is easy – and still there are so many great new features to discover.
Get Planet Zoo 2 on Steam Standard 49.99 € · Deluxe 64.99 €
Have you started your first zoo yet – and which animal moved in first? Tell me on Discord! 👇