Reviewed On: PC
Review code provided by the publisher.
Frontier has become a frontrunner in my eyes for being the best at park builders. Planet Coaster, Jurassic World Evolution, and Planet Zoo all have their own space to fill, and each has a community of amazingly creative players. Some of the things people build in these games make me look at my own parks and wonder if we’re even playing the same game.
To me, the upgrade from Planet Coaster to Planet Coaster 2 was fairly large, so I’ve been waiting in anticipation for Planet Zoo 2. Frontier has continued refining its craft, and I wanted to see what that would mean for a game I already enjoyed. Now that I finally have my hands on it, I have some mixed feelings.
On one hand, I love the additions and improvements. There are features here that I’ve wanted for years, and having them finally available opens up so many possibilities for building a zoo. On the other hand, there’s something missing. As much as I enjoy what’s here, part of me keeps thinking about what we’ll probably have to wait for.
Let’s talk about the good first. Aviaries and aquariums are quite literally the perfect additions for the jump from Planet Zoo to Planet Zoo 2. These are entire sections of a zoo that I wanted to build in the original, but there was only so much you could do to recreate them. I remember using Workshop creations of fake birds to give an area the feeling of an aviary. You could make something that looked the part, but at the end of the day, those were decorations. Finally being able to build an actual habitat for birds makes a huge difference.
Thankfully, aviaries are handled extremely well. They’re no more difficult to put together than a normal habitat, and they’re fully customizable. Being able to place supports where I want them, rather than designing the entire habitat around where the game decides they should go, is exactly the kind of freedom I want from a builder like this. That flexibility also makes it easier to work an aviary into the rest of your zoo. It can be its own attraction, something tucked into a larger themed area, or the centerpiece you build everything else around. I definitely have a few zoos with a giant aviary as the centerpiece.
Building proper habitats for birds has been something people have wanted for a long time. I’m glad we finally have it, and even happier that it feels like a natural extension of the building tools.
But as much as I enjoy the aviaries, aquariums are probably my favorite addition. They’re a little more difficult to build, and I’m really glad there are blueprints available because these take some creativity to keep from feeling blank. Putting together the tank is one thing. Making it feel like an interesting part of your zoo, with something worth looking at throughout the space, is another.
For me, that extra work is worth it. Being able to build tunnels through the aquariums is exactly what this game needed. It changes how I think about designing these areas because now I’m thinking about what guests will see from inside the habitat too. A tank can become an entire experience instead of something you walk up to, look at, and move on from.
The fish and other animals living in these aquariums look incredible as well. There’s a lot of enjoyment in finishing an area and taking a moment to watch everything move around it. That’s always been part of the appeal of Planet Zoo for me, and aquariums give me another reason to stop building for a minute and appreciate what’s in front of me.
Between these and the aviaries, there’s a much wider range of possibilities for what your zoo can look like. Those additions alone have already given me plenty of ideas for future builds.
Another addition to Planet Zoo 2 is Wildlife Sanctuaries. These are where the animals you release go, giving that part of running a zoo a little more presence. I love this idea. Conservation has always been an important part of the zoo experience, and having somewhere connected to the animals you’ve cared for makes releasing them feel more meaningful. You’ve spent time looking after these animals, so being able to carry that idea beyond their zoo habitat is a welcome addition.
It also gives you a different kind of space to build. Instead of thinking entirely about guest views and how an area fits into the layout of your zoo, you’re trying to create something that feels natural. Admittedly, that’s where I had some creative struggles. Making an area look like it came together naturally is surprisingly difficult when you’re the one placing everything. I could tell what I wanted these spaces to look like, but getting there took some work. Still, I’m sure people are going to have a ball with this feature. Considering what the community could already accomplish in the original game, I’m excited to see what they do with sanctuaries.
The building experience itself is a great improvement. I think the first Planet games had some… less than preferable pathing tools, and that could make putting together your ideal park or zoo more difficult than it needed to be. There were times when I knew exactly what I wanted an area to look like, but getting the paths to cooperate became its own project. In a game that encourages this much creativity, those little frustrations can interrupt the fun pretty quickly.
As Frontier has made game after game, it has continued improving these tools, and this latest installment feels like its best work yet. Customizability feels at an all-time high, and I’m spending more time putting my ideas together. That matters even more with the new habitat types. Aviaries and aquariums give you more ambitious things to build, so the tools need to support that ambition. For the most part, they do. There’s still creativity and patience involved, especially if you want something elaborate, but I feel like I have more room to make the zoo I actually pictured.
Exhibits have also gotten some welcome improvements, and I’m really happy they’re more customizable now. Being able to put more of my own creativity into these smaller spaces helps them feel like they belong in the zoo I’m building. They deserve some attention too, even if the giant aquarium tunnel is probably going to steal the show.
That said, they still lack a tiny bit of soul. I like having more control over how they look, but I don’t get quite the same satisfaction from finishing an exhibit as I do a habitat. They’re moving in the right direction, and I’m glad Frontier gave them some love. I just wish they had a little more personality to make me want to stop and appreciate them.
Now, while all of that is sunshine and rainbows, there’s something important to talk about.
The base game includes 130 different species, or 136 if you purchase the Deluxe Edition. That’s a mix of Habitat, Avian, Aquarium, and Exhibit species. Most of these animals are beautiful, and they absolutely belong in this game, but there are also a few that I quite literally may never use. Of course, any lineup this large is going to include animals that appeal to some players more than others. My bigger concern is how that lineup is spread out.
Yes, 130 species is more than the original game had at launch, and I’m appreciative of that. But the original didn’t have aviaries or aquariums. Now that the game supports more kinds of habitats, that larger number has more ground to cover. I’m thinking about what’s available for each section of my zoo, and that’s where I start wanting more.
That brings me to my biggest concern: DLC.
I can’t say what Frontier has planned, but this feels like the starting point for a major wave of animal packs. My worry is that some of the most exciting species are being saved for those releases, while the base game gives us more of the traditional zoo lineup.
Sure, you’re “not required” to buy DLC. But when so much of the appeal is building the zoo you want and filling it with animals you love, the species included in those packs can make them feel pretty necessary. Having the tools to create an amazing aquarium or aviary is exciting. Feeling like I might need to keep buying packs to fill out those ideas is less exciting.
Another thing I’m curious about is how Frontier will handle DLC moving forward. Will packs include a mix of birds, fish, exhibit animals, and habitat animals? Will each category get its own dedicated packs? Or will certain types end up getting most of the attention while others fall behind?
That concern comes from my experience with Planet Coaster 2. A lot of its DLC feels focused on the traditional theme park side of the game, while the water park aspect seems to get drowned out. Pun intended. I’d hate to see something similar happen here, especially when aviaries and aquariums are such a big part of what makes this sequel exciting.
I want more habitat animals too, but I also want to see Frontier keep building on these new additions and give exhibits some attention along the way. If we’re going to have a long lineup of DLC, I hope it gives every part of the zoo room to grow. It would be disappointing to have all these new building possibilities and then watch the animal selection for some of them barely expand.
Verdict
Planet Zoo 2 improves so much of what I wanted improved. Aviaries are a fantastic addition, aquariums are my favorite part of the new experience, and the building tools give me more freedom to put everything together. Wildlife Sanctuaries also add a meaningful extension to caring for and releasing your animals, even if making mine look natural took a little more creativity than I had ready. There’s a lot here that I love, and I can already see myself spending plenty of time building new zoos. That’s what makes my concerns about the animal lineup frustrating. The foundation is so good that I want to explore everything it can do, but I’m already wondering how much of that experience will come through future DLC. For now, I’m enjoying what’s here. Frontier has given me more ways to build, more reasons to get creative, and actual birds to put in my aviaries this time. I just wish I finished looking through the animal lineup feeling as satisfied as I did looking through the building possibilities.
