It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since I reviewed the original Planet Zoo. Back then, I regarded it as the best zoo management game on the market, even with a few frustrations. Now Planet Zoo 2 is here, and while it’s a case of evolution rather than revolution, I’m happy to report that this sequel has surpassed the original in every way.
It’s apparent that Planet Zoo 2 is running on either a totally new engine or, as I’d imagine, a greatly improved one. Alongside numerous quality-of-life improvements, this makes the experience so much more satisfying. It still manages to capture the spirit of classic zoo management games, but also brings a stronger emphasis to something that I very much appreciate: conservation.
One of the best aspects of Planet Zoo 2 is the ability to venture outside the enclosures of your zoo and explore wildlife up close and personal. You can travel through the wilderness, observing and photographing the animals you encounter. It reminded me a lot of the fantastic PS2 title Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, or the likes of Pokémon Snap.
It makes a nice change of pace from the usual zoo management side of the game. There’s something satisfying about this mode, and there are options to explore on foot or in a jeep to cover larger distances. More importantly, it connects nicely to the wider conservation message that Planet Zoo 2 wants to convey, but more on that later.
Easily the biggest improvement over the original Planet Zoo is the building system. I’ve always struggled with freeform building tools in tycoon games and have a strong preference for the tried-and-tested grid. But I cannot deny that freeform design allows players more freedom, creating more natural environments and realistic structures.
I personally found building paths in the original Planet Zoo and even Planet Coaster to be particularly difficult. Trying to connect a path or a shop to a main path could sometimes result in strange shapes, unexpected slopes or bizarre winding paths. It turned what should’ve been a simple job into something of a headache.
Planet Zoo 2 does this a lot better and path building feels much more intuitive. You can still have paths snap to others, but the snapping feels more natural, and I never encountered an instance where a path wouldn’t snap to where I wanted it to, or would snap in strange places. There were no occasions where the game misinterpreted what I wanted.
Making wider plazas was easier, too. It was simple to build a square and have shops sitting around the outside. Sometimes, in the original game, this would result in lots of little queues leading to the shops, which looked unnatural.
These improvements extend to building enclosures and buildings alike. Enclosures allow you to build curved walls with total ease, and there’s still a grid mode if you want to build something more conventional, like a restaurant or shop.
It makes building the zoo itself feel less like a battle. Not that it was ever too much of an issue, though creating my zoos in the original Planet Zoo often ended up with me having to make compromises.
There is one limitation, however, which is certainly a me problem: my own imagination. Planet Zoo 2 has an amazing array of building tools that allow you to create almost anything you desire, in almost any way you desire. For me, that’s a little overwhelming. I often find sandbox mode, which offers total freedom, a little too intimidating when faced with a huge, open plot of land. But they’re great tools nonetheless.
One of the core concepts of zoo management games, even going back to 2001’s Zoo Tycoon, is creating suitable habitats for your animals. Placing an animal and clicking on it allows you to view what sort of habitat it likes. Sand, dirt, rocks, trees – a meter will display how much more of any particular terrain or vegetation the creature needs. Older games would have you jumping in and out of menus, adding habitat features and checking again, but Planet Zoo 2 changes how this is done.
Simply click on your animal, select the habitat requirement you want to address, and the appropriate tools open up, allowing you to paint the required terrain into your enclosure. No flicking through multiple menus to find what you need. It’s a simple change, but it works remarkably well and streamlines the game nicely.
Naturally, the meat and potatoes of a game called Planet Zoo 2 is running a zoo, keeping the animals happy while making a profit and creating a space for the public to have a good old time. Managing staff, keeping an eye on finances and ensuring your animals have everything they need – it’s the sort of thing that will feel familiar to fans of the original.
The downside is that, by the very nature of the genre, there are lots of menus. While they’re well implemented and designed to be as straightforward as possible, there’s still a fair amount of jumping between them, and they can occasionally be confusing.
Outside of the menus, Planet Zoo 2 is a very pretty-looking game. Environments are bright and colourful, while the animals are realistically represented in both appearance and behaviour. The human visitors retain their exaggerated, cartoon-like features, which suit the game world’s overall aesthetic.
The performance was also impressive. I admit I’m using a powerful PC, but with lots going on screen at any one time, I experienced very little slowdown. The engine seems well optimised, although actual performance will depend on your own hardware.
One thing I particularly liked was Planet Zoo 2’s message of conservation. It was present in the original, but the sequel takes it further. It’s no longer just about making a fancy zoo and keeping visitors happy. You can also establish ecosystems in the wild and work towards releasing animals back into their natural environments. It’s a welcome addition that gives the game more purpose beyond running a successful zoo. The wildlife sections tie into this message wonderfully, and it’s particularly refreshing to see Planet Zoo 2 really lean into the environmental and conservation work that goes on in the real world.
Ultimately, Planet Zoo 2 is more of the same, but better. Frontier hasn’t reinvented the formula, but then again, it didn’t need to. It’s more intuitive and less frustrating, making the game much more enjoyable as a result.
Aside from the occasional menu juggling, which is always a given for this sort of game, Planet Zoo 2 is the best zoo management game available today. It improves on the original in every way.
Sometimes, that’s all you need from a sequel.
A Steam key was provided by PR for this review
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