Sometimes you have to take a break from gunfights and defeating demons and lapse into a more relaxing game experience. Planet Zoo is here to help you relax with a comfortable, quaint zoo simulator, and it’s become remarkably popular during its launch week.
Brought to life by Frontier Developments, the same team that brought you Planet Coaster and Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, players build and run a zoo filled with animals from across the globe. The game features a campaign mode that sprawls the planet, or a sandbox mode to let your imagination decide on the size and content of your zoo.
Planet Zoo launched this week and we can't stop celebrating! If you'd like to win a Planet Zoo plushie, tell us how many hours you've already spent in-game! pic.twitter.com/QmFaMyiD3k
— Planet Zoo (@PlanetZooGame) November 9, 2019
Also available for purchase is the deluxe edition, which provides players with a few perks. Players get three exclusive animals (the Pygmy Hippopotamus, Thomson’s Gazelle, and Komodo Dragon) as well as a set of wallpapers and the original soundtrack by composer JJ Ipsen.
While the reviews certainly haven’t been unanimously soaring, the game currently sits with very positive reviews on Steam. Players praise the massive amounts of creativity that you’re allowed in deciding how to run and operate the zoo. Animals act realistically and are cared for in a believable way without being so realistic that the game becomes a 24/7 game of micromanaging. Even better, the game provides a reasonable challenge without being punishing.
In terms of the negative, many players feel that the game needs a few patches to fix the launch issues. Some players complained about a clunky and hard-to-use AI while others have been experiencing numerous bugs in the behavior of animals and zoo staff.
The game features a beautiful variety of environments and atmospheres for animals to live in so that they can be given the most true-to-reality enclosures possible. Diets for the animals are realistic as well, and some animals won’t be able to coexist with others without a few issues arising.
All in all, it serves as a fantastic way to teach the audience about animals they may not be familiar with. Because of this, kids can get a wonderfully educational experience out of the charming game as they learn about the environments and diets of animals they may not be familiar with. Everyone can benefit from learning just how complex and in-depth zoos are as well!
Regardless of whether you’re looking to learn about the animals or just wanting to take a break from the blood-and-gore of most modern games, Planet Zoo provides an excellently relaxing experience.
