Planet Zoo

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 146 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 112 out of 146
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 146
  3. Negative: 17 out of 146

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  1. aberro
    Mar 22, 2021
    5
    A game for one or two evenings, after that it's only like simplified wiki and tons of micromanagement. Despite being related to tycoon games, this is not a tycoon, because it lacks any challenge at all. You don't have enough money? Loan. You don't have enough visitors? Expand. Your visitors don't like facilities? Drop any random stuff around. Employees are almost always either happy, orA game for one or two evenings, after that it's only like simplified wiki and tons of micromanagement. Despite being related to tycoon games, this is not a tycoon, because it lacks any challenge at all. You don't have enough money? Loan. You don't have enough visitors? Expand. Your visitors don't like facilities? Drop any random stuff around. Employees are almost always either happy, or overloaded to the point of absurd when they don't have time for almost anything, guests say when tickets are over or underpriced, research and stuff levelling is just one click. There's a tons of features each and every one of which is shallow as splash. And all management here is worst kind: micromanagement. Unpause for a few seconds, pause, check all habitats, separate young adults (sell/release/move), rinse and repeat.
    This is not a tycoon, it's more like some kind of sandbox where you could set unlimited money and build zoo as you want it.
    And I've played it at max difficulty, but it's really boring, repetitive and not challenging at all.

    Though, it may be okayish for casual players, who get used to repetitive actions, kinda "cute" graphics, lack of challenge and complexity (but, yet again, this game has too much game mechanics quantitatively for casual gamers).
    But if you're old gamer who get used to play really hard tycoons and simulators like me, then this game is not for you.    … Expand
  2. Yuvalito
    Jul 27, 2020
    6
    As Zoo Tycoon 2 was my favorite game as a child, this was probably my most anticipated game of last year, and I pre-ordered the deluxe edition. unfortunately, the great graphics and adorable animals do not make up for the hellishly frustrating building system and the constant workflow interruptions by annoying chores.
    The game did become better with patches, but it still has a long way to    As Zoo Tycoon 2 was my favorite game as a child, this was probably my most anticipated game of last year, and I pre-ordered the deluxe edition. unfortunately, the great graphics and adorable animals do not make up for the hellishly frustrating building system and the constant workflow interruptions by annoying chores.
    The game did become better with patches, but it still has a long way to go to be the experience of my dreams, which is a shame considering it has many good things going for it.    … Expand
  3. AllNewSuperfake
    Sep 27, 2020
    5
    Updated review after patches:+4

    First off a warning: You should really switch off the character's voices, especially the constant laughter about their own jokes. I played two tutorial missions and was found naked and crying somewhere 120 miles away from home, that's how stupid they are. Compared with other zoo management games, especially from older generations, Planet Zoo completely    Updated review after patches:+4

    First off a warning: You should really switch off the character's voices, especially the constant laughter about their own jokes. I played two tutorial missions and was found naked and crying somewhere 120 miles away from home, that's how stupid they are.

    Compared with other zoo management games, especially from older generations, Planet Zoo completely fails to impress me. While it is very nice to look at when it comes to graphics and animations, in the end it was the lazyness of the whole thing that stood out to me.

    It reuses so many assets and mechanics - including the faulty ones - from Planet Coaster that it should have been a DLC for that game. Building pathways as well as buildings is as fiddly as ever, and half of the time you will fight the camera on top of that. The staff is barely functional by now, but you will still need six keepers per animal to not have dozens of warnings and alerts flashing on the side at all times.

    It's really keen on letting you know everything that goes wrong, important or not, including absurd alarms like "Low on cash". Not only is another distracting element in the already convoluted UI, since you can't really direct the priorities it makes the whole warning system useless. When clicking on one of those warnings it will change into one of it's several overview modes so that you can hardly make out details and have to switch back to building mode, having the screen go pitch black every single time.

    Overall it fails to make it's animals the stars. Watching them can be nice, but most of the time their pathfinding glitches out and let's them "swim" over the scenery. Except when they are swimming, then they are walking on the ground, even if it's way too deep. Birds don't lay eggs, pregnancies are not visible, and I really wonder why most of the work seems to have gone into the process of pooping. There are just too many weaknesses in the basic game design to make this more than a very average game.    … Expand
  4. Rnoviok
    Dec 4, 2021
    7
    In the game you can play the campaign, test yourself in timed challenges or build your dream zoo in Franchise or Sandbox mode
  5. InMassiveDebt
    Aug 11, 2023
    7
    Planet Zoo presents an enchanting opportunity to craft your very own zoo, designed entirely according to your creative preferences. The game boasts an impressive array of animals within its core package, accompanied by substantial hours of engaging content. The animations are executed with remarkable precision, adding to the overall appeal. However, a common pattern emerges, as seen withPlanet Zoo presents an enchanting opportunity to craft your very own zoo, designed entirely according to your creative preferences. The game boasts an impressive array of animals within its core package, accompanied by substantial hours of engaging content. The animations are executed with remarkable precision, adding to the overall appeal. However, a common pattern emerges, as seen with other titles from Frontier Developments. The game's experience is marred by a continuous influx of expensive and ultimately unsatisfying DLC content, impacting one's willingness to support a studio that follows such a model.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best PC Game of 2019
89
#89 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 55 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 55
  3. Negative: 0 out of 55
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 28, 2020
    80
    Planet Zoo is a great journey to the world of exotic animals, kept in captivity for the eyes of others. It is a complex, generous and beautiful game with lots of interesting ideas. The tax for its generosity is bad controls and higher hardware requirements. [Issue#300]
  2. Trusted Reviews
    Feb 11, 2020
    80
    Planet Zoo is a fantastic zoo management game that I wholeheartedly recommend, whether you’re looking for some Zoo Tycoon nostalgia kicks, or simply love animals. It’s admittedly not a massive leap forward from previous zoo games, but the conservation focus and gorgeous visual polish revitalises the genre for modern audiences.
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  3. CD-Action
    Jan 10, 2020
    85
    I played the game almost non-stop for several days and I feared that after this kind of marathon I will forever hate it but it didn’t happen. Planet Zoo educates and entertains – in marvellous scenery to boot. [01/2020, p.62]
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