Jurassic World Evolution

Initially stunning but lacking the depth and variety to support mammoth playtimes.

Knocks your socks off at first, then settles down in a humdrum management game with added dinosaurs. [Aug 2018, p.66]

Beautiful, distinct while superficial with some serious shortcomings compared to Planet Coaster. It may glitter but it is not gold…

Your enjoyment of Jurassic World Evolution is going to depend on what you're looking for from a park management sim. If you want a full campaign without worrying about minutiae, then you'll find this to be a well-done take on the genre that looks stunning and sounds very nice. If you want freeform play from the beginning, you'll come away disappointed at what this package offers. Evolution is still a good use of the license, but you can't shake the feeling that it could have been better.

If there's one word that could easily describe Jurassic World Evolution, it's "faithful." Taking control of a ranger behind the wheel of a Jeep in the rain and sidling up to a pack of socializing Stegosaurus is as epic as it sounds and is a definite highlight, as is releasing a newly recovered species into your park. Despite the campaign stumbling over itself and losing focus towards the end, Evolution captures the essence of Jurassic Park while being a good park management sim in its own right.

Jurassic World Evolution is packed with qualities, especially for the fans of the Jurassic Park IP, but it lacks depth for now. As if the developers saved content to sell later as DLCs.

Jurassic World Evolution is a direct shot to nostalgia with the appearance of familiar faces, the magic BSO and a huge variety of dinosaurs. Even so, it’s global simplicity and the current lack of options in the management of the park makes the necessity of various updates in order to improve and become the perfect Jurassic Park simulator we all want.

If you’re a fan of the franchise it’s a fun dip into the prehistoric pool, but the water isn’t deep enough to satisfy a voracious carnivore.

Raising dinosaurs in a game is fun, but Jurassic World Evolution somehow makes the thrilling idea boring.

You’d think that in a zoo, there would be a team that handles healing of animals on its own (at worst – after getting chewed out via intercom). But in Jurassic World Evolution, director has to personally oversee that process, as well as numerous other tasks. [Issue#232, p.62]

Unfortunately, the tediousness of the game’s mechanics erases some of the magic of seeing your dinosaur park come to life.

This is a interesting management game particularly for Jurassic Park fans, but it’s very simple and limited.

Jurassic World Evolution is a huge tribute to the entirety of Jurassic Park's history, but from the gameplay side, it lacks of depth.

Jurassic World Evolution is a good game, but some of its elements are painfully unfinished. If you really want to build your dinosaur park, do not look any further, however, the game should definitely be a bit cheaper. [Issue#287]

Jurassic World Evolution is lavishly produced and sporadically engaging, but it fails to infuse the park simulation genre with much big-screen excitement. If cloning cool-looking dinosaurs and dealing with a few light management elements is enough for you, Jurassic World Evolution should satisfy, but if you’re looking for a deeper level of strategy or true dino chaos, you’ll likely be disappointed. I’d recommend most Jurassic Park fans wait until this one, uh, finds a way to the bargain bin.

Ultimately, Jurassic World Evolution could just be better overall. I've had and still have some fun with it, but there needs to be more room for some real creativity and variety in terms of park composition. Despite leaning into its license quite well, Evolution is a downgrade from what Planet Coaster was, and I feel there's a better game somewhat between both titles.

Jurassic World Evolution is a challenging park simulator that emphasizes micromanagement and requires players to carefully and strategically balance resources. For those who enjoy the genre, it’s worth considering.

In spite of a smattering of minor missteps, Evolution is engrossing and clearly created with a deep affection for the source material. Any fan of the films (or the books) who has ever imagined opening a disaster-prone theme park will have a good time with it, despite the repetition.

Evolution will amuse movie fans and infrequent sim hands, but linearity and lack of meaningful decision-making undermines its lavish production values.

Jurassic World Evolution lacks of depth in the management part, but has great dinosaurs to look at.

It has a whimsy to it all the same that makes it worth trying, at least for a while. You may get hooked, you may not. It’s no bigger a gamble than a park full of carnivores, and in the worst case scenario, far less messy.

Evolution's successes entertain your mind's-eye view of what running a dinosaur theme park might be like, but its failures encourage you to imagine the game that could be made with this premise. [Issue#322, p.110]

Jurassic World Evolution is a very pretty looking game, but one that doesn't have a lot going on under the hood. It can be infuriating, engaging and baffling in equal measure, but is only really made for the most diehard of Jurassic Park fans.

The dinosaurs truly do shine in Jurassic World Evolution, and the game is at its best when it just leaves me to grow and care for them on my own time. Beyond that, Jurassic World Evolution is a very shallow experience, it doesn’t dig deep enough to be a story driven game and it does not maintain enough of the aspects of park building tycoon games to really be considered in that genre either.