Planet Zoo 2 Review – Play This Later, Alligator

Frontier Development has established itself as an industry leader for the management and construction sim genre over recent years. Whether it’s with the majestic dinosaurs of Jurassic World Evolution or the elaborate theme parks of Planet Coaster, the developer has displayed a consistent knack for engaging and addictive customization and management systems. It’s no shock, then, that expectations have been high from the studio’s latest outing, Planet Zoo 2, which promises to build on its fan favourite 2019 predecessor- though I’m afraid to say that this is probably the most I personally have been frustrated with a Frontier game in years. Though Planet Zoo 2 still touts plenty of the strengths that you’d expect from one of the studio’s titles, it also stumbles in some significant ways that frequently get in the way of the experience.

Planet Zoo 2 makes all the incremental upgrades that you would expect from a sequel of its kind, from an expanded roster of animals and an even greater focus on realism and authenticity to more granular management mechanics and improved visuals, among other things. At the same time, of course, there are also a handful of headlining changes and improvements that the overall experience builds itself on.

"It’s no shock, then, that expectations have been high from the studio’s latest outing"

For instance, in addition to constructing, expanding, and managing zoos, you will now also be overseeing nature reserves. Planet Zoo 2 admirably shines a spotlight on wildlife and nature conservation as one of its main pillars, and nature reserves lead the charge on that front. Reserves task you with overseeing large, natural parcels of land where animals can exist in their natural habitats without any human intervention whatsoever. You can release animals of your choosing from your global network of zoos into reserves, which you can then freely explore on foot or in research buggies.

Creating and managing different ecosystems to suit the different needs of all of your animals is a fun part of nature reserves, while it is, of course, also always enjoyable to drive your buggy around reserves and simply observing (and taking pictures of) animals out in the wild. That said, I do think this aspect of the experience feels a little underbaked. Other than editing the terrain to create new ecosystems and leisurely driving around to look at and photograph animals, there’s not much to do. There aren’t many management mechanics to speak of here, which means there’s little depth in gameplay, too.

When it comes to the zoos themselves, the management mechanics are much more what you would expect from a game of this kind. You’ll be hiring and managing your zoo’s staff, ranging from keepers and vets to mechanics and more; you’ll be worrying over guest satisfaction, and ensuring that your zoos provide the kind of entertainment, comfort, and educational satisfaction that paying guests are looking for; you’ll be prioritizing the health and happiness of your animals, and ensuring that all of their needs are being met. Planet Zoo 2 builds on all of the foundations of its predecessor to allow players an even greater degree of control over all aspects imaginable of their zoos- from the animals to the entry prices, from the amenities to the staff, from the prices at the hot dog stands and gift shops to so, so much more. To the age-old Zoo Tycoon fan in me, there’s definitely a lot to love here.

Given Frontier Developments’ pedigree and legacy, it’s not exactly a surprise that Planet Zoo 2 boasts the sort of systemic and mechanical depth that it does. It is disappointing, however, that where its controls and user interface are concerned, it can often be a bit of a mess. The UI is often difficult to read, the screen is frequently cluttered by an excess of icons and options, and navigating all of those options is frequently far from intuitive.

"To the age-old Zoo Tycoon fan in me, there’s definitely a lot to love here."

I’ve been playing Planet Zoo 2 on the PS5, and I obviously understand that consoles aren’t the best place to play this genre- but Planet Zoo 2 feels like a game that has entirely ignored all of the steps forward that the genre has made with console controls and interfaces over the years. Frontier Developments’ own Jurassic World Evolution games are wonderfully readable and surprisingly accessible experiences even when played with controllers, so it’s baffling to see Planet Zoo 2 making the sort of mistakes that it does. This is a game that keeps getting in its own way- more than a few times, thanks to the finnicky controls and poorly designed UI, I found myself struggling to get through even the most basic of tasks.

A major step that Planet Zoo 2 does successfully take forward is with the addition of fully aquatic or flying breeds of animals. You’re now allowed to build aviaries with dedicated roofs to keep the birds in their exhibits, as well as aquatic exhibits (or, for the smaller species of animals, smaller exhibits in the forms of aquariums and terrariums), while additional customization options are also available, including nests, perches, underwater options, and more. Between the healthy variety on display with the roster of available animals and the level of customization, these new options feel like a valuable addition, allowing players yet more freedom in expression in how they customize their zoos.

All of that is, as you would expect, best enjoyed in the sandbox mode. Planet Zoo 2’s sandbox mode is where the game is at its best, with players being allowed to mess around with its full suite of creation and customization tools with as little (or as many) restrictions as they want. The career mode, however, is a different story. In essence, the mode functions as little more than a set of tutorials to get players used to the game’s core systems and mechanics, as well as some of its biggest changes from the first game. Unfortunately, however, there’s little to be impressed by here. Objectives are usually rote and uninteresting, and can often feel like busywork. Especially when compared to the campaigns in the Jurassic World Evolution and Planet Coaster games, what’s on offer here feels disappointingly simplistic and straightforward.

"Planet Zoo 2’s sandbox mode is where the game is at its best"

Planet Zoo 2 is also an inconsistent experience from a technical perspective. There’s absolutely no doubting that this is an impressive and immediately noticeable step up over the first game. The seven year gap between the two instalments is clear to see on-screen, in everything from the more detailed environments and gorgeous animal models to the mesmerizing and highly authentic animations that virtually every single species in the game boasts.

At the same time, however, the game also suffers from some significant technical deficiencies. For starters, load times are quite long when hopping from location to location, especially in career mode- which isn’t something that I have been used to criticizing games for in the PS5 era. I have also encountered a few frame rate drops here and there, though most egregiously, there have been a handful of bugs that have either soft-locked progression, or outright blocked progress and forced me to restart the career mode from the very beginning- the latter, in fact, has happened to me multiple times in the time that I have spent with the game so far. Frontier Developments does admittedly have a history of putting out games that are a little rough around the edges at launch, though Planet Zoo 2 feels like one of their rougher releases in a while. Hopefully, fixes are coming soon, and many of them, because several of these issues can actively get in the way of your enjoyment as things stand right now.

Overall, Planet Zoo 2 is an uneven experience. It boasts engaging management mechanics, and the animals – who are, of course, the stars of the show – look better than ever. But though there’s plenty to like here, especially in terms of the layered systems and mechanics, some glaring issues also stand out- like the half baked execution of nature reserves, or the cluttered and unintuitive UI, or the many glitches and bugs that hamper the experience. Planet Zoo 2 has most of the pieces in place to be a worthy follow up to its beloved predecessor, but for now, there’s a lot here that players might find difficult to overlook.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.