Planet Zoo is a very comprehensive simulation with rigorous guidelines for every animal because of its painstaking degree of research and detail.
The game’s dedication to animal welfare and conservation is demonstr Looking like the ideal zookeeping simulator, Planet Zoo: Console Edition
ated by its enthusiastic development team and charitable activities.
With its sleek and creative user interface, precise controls, and simple navigation, the console version of Planet Zoo is a good port from the PC version.
Zoo simulation games bring back happy memories for me. I used to have an extremely ancient PC in my bedroom when I was younger. It had Microsoft Paint, Solitaire, Pinball and, for some reason, Zoo Tycoon, but no internet connection.
At the time, I had just entered high school and was roughly twelve years old. I named every animal after one of my newfound buddies, and I still clearly recall naming two penguins after my crush and me. I kept coming back to the appeal of zookeeping even though I owned and loved a Nintendo GameCube at the time. This gave me an early interest in simulation games when I was a little boy. I played this a lot, along with titles like Theme Park, Theme Hospital, and The Sims, including Urbz on console, until my GameCube eventually became king.
But as I got older, I played fewer and fewer games in that genre; the only two games I really enjoyed wasting time on since I was a kid were Frontier Developments’ Jurassic World Evolution and Cities Skylines, which I dabbled in. The timing couldn’t have been better for me to revisit the genre, since I’ve been itching to play Warhammer: 40,000 Chaos Gate — Daemonhunters on console and the recently released Planet Zoo: Console Edition. Frontier graciously invited me to their studio.
The first thing that struck me, not having played the PC version, was how much love had gone into making Planet Zoo. Each animal had been painstakingly and accurately replicated in terms of appearance, but they also each had unique characteristics, preferences, and dislikes based on their actual behaviours. It was evident that countless hours had been spent researching each of the numerous species seen in the game.
As an animal lover myself, I really liked that the developer team obviously felt the same way. There was a genuine enthusiasm for animals and conservation among the developers while they were sitting in the room and beginning to play the console version of the game. The studio’s administration of multiple charitable events serves as more proof of this.
Two zebras exploring a savannah-like setting in the console version of Planet Zoo
Planet Zoo is an incredibly deep sim because of this painstaking degree of information regarding the needs of the animals. I spent only a few hours playing, but even so, the game had a depth that I had not anticipated. I made an enclosure for a pair of red pandas, which are the best animal in the game. I had to build the right kind of shelter, put in the right feeder, give them the toys they liked, make a nice little climbing frame for them, add the right kind of fencing, and more in addition to making sure their environment was perfect.
The game’s conservation programme allowed me to then get engaged in raising endangered species for release into the wild or to send to other zoos to support their efforts. Even though this seemed like a lot, I had a sneaking suspicion that I had only begun to explore all that Planet Zoo has in store for me.
Not only was there a plethora of choice when it came to my animals and their habitats, but there was also an enormous variety of parks to construct as well as additional stores, décor, and amenities to make my guests feel comfortable. The choices felt endless, even though everything seems like rather normal fare for this kind of game.
In Planet Zoo Console Edition, a snow-covered, Chinese-inspired park with big buildings and a panda
When it comes to playing large-scale simulation games on consoles, such as Planet Zoo, there’s generally a sense of dread, and it usually boils down to how well the mouse and keyboard controls translate to a standard controller. When it comes to mundane activities like setting up fences, a mouse is an ideal instrument for making exact decisions. It’s not always as easy as just translating a mouse’s commands onto a device that uses a stick, which is frequently less precise. Simulator games often have a plethora of menus and settings, and navigating through them is made much easier by the PC controls.
Fortunately, this doesn’t seem to be a problem with Planet Zoo: Console Edition, at least not based on what I played. After a little getting used to, the menus and build options are simple to use, and positioning objects that call for meticulous placement is usually quite easy. The majority of the tools you need can be selected by toggling the bumpers on the elegant and inventive user interface. It went without a hitch, save from a few menu selections that were a little unclear.
A wheel in front of a park features a variety of movement possibilities for the Planet Zoo console version user interface.
Planet Zoo is now one of my most-anticipated H1 titles, even though it wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card. Since the game has been available on PC for four years, it has gotten a tonne of upgrades, new content, animals, and game modes. Depending on the backlog, I might just buy it on the first day.