That exhaustive detail is present in gameplay too. The game’s Zoopedia is a treasure trove of exciting information about all your creatures you’ll spend hours simply reading the Zoopedia to see why your animals have the needs they have and to learn more about them in general. We’ve never seen such expertly-rendered creatures in a game, which is fitting since Planet Zoo is aiming to pick up where Frontier’s previous Zoo Tycoon left off. The animals themselves are absolutely beautiful. If you have similar misgivings, you’ll be glad to know that Planet Zoo doesn’t shirk from this question instead, it tackles animal welfare head-on, with animal conservation playing a crucial role in the running of your zoo. There is an ongoing debate regarding the ethics of zoos, so some people might wonder why Frontier wants to make a game about running a zoo in the first place. Naturally, this premise causes some issues right out of the gate. The core gameplay loop, therefore, becomes about learning all of your animals’ wants and needs while also making sure you’re giving your audience a good attraction. The basic idea is thus: you start a zoo and must balance keeping your animals happy with making sure your patrons are having a good time when they visit. We say “potentially troublesome” because the premise of Planet Zoo alone would put some people’s backs up, and possibly with good reason. Just as well, then, that a game as potentially troublesome as Planet Zoo has landed on the studio’s lap.

In the past, they’ve also been responsible for the RollerCoaster Tycoon and Thrillville franchises, so they know their onions when it comes to sims. Planet Coaster, Elite Dangerous, Jurassic World Evolution …these guys are cornering the demographic all right. Planet Zoo is the latest game in Frontier’s long-running quest to utterly dominate the slightly quirky simulation market. Perhaps this should be expected from the developers of stalwart simulation games like Planet Coaster and space trucker sim Elite Dangerous, but believe us when we say that Planet Zoo is not a game for the casual simulation fan or those who don’t like to pore too much over information. That might sound like an obvious observation but never has a game had a more thorough approach to its subject matter than Frontier Developments has applied here.

Planet zoo ps4 review