Planet Zoo 2 preview – Going hands-on with the best zoo simulator to date

Frontier has been leading the way on deep yet accessible sim games for some time. From the first Planet Zoo to Planet Coaster, it’s pretty much cornered the market in the genre, creating something that’s as fun-loving as a Bullfrog game from the 90s but with the depth and realism of a much more serious sim. Of course, Planet Zoo 2, out on PC and consoles on 13th October, is much more of the same, only bigger and better – and if you’re a fan of what the company has made so far, you’re going to love it.

Planet Zoo 2 was never going to be a disappointment, of course. Frontier Developments’ track record in the simulation genre feels like a sure thing by this point, and so it’s hard to imagine that a sequel to the ever-popular Planet Zoo – a game that sits with nearly 43,000 “very positive” reviews on Steam – was ever going to miss the mark. It is more Planet Zoo. But like last year’s release of Planet Coaster 2, it’s simply refined, more in-depth than ever, and with a wealth of new features that make it very much worth the upgrade.

I’ve spent two hours playing Planet Zoo 2, with my time split across the game’s career and sandbox mode. The sandbox mode is fully customisable, allowing you to either stick within real-world constraints of money/resources, or letting you go wild (excuse the pun) without ever needing to worry about how much things cost. The latter is perfect for the type of person who simply wants to build the biggest and best zoo there is, focusing on aesthetics and visitor experience.

But sandbox can be tough, even when money isn’t an object. You’ve still got to consider the care of your animals, make sure you’ve got the right staff to deal with the right areas of your animals’ care, and do all you can to keep your guests happy. Food, drinks, places to sit, toilets, recycling bins, educational signage – the works. And if your animals aren’t well cared for, your guests will know about it and might stage a protest. They need the right amount of space, fresh food and water, adequate enrichment, the right number of companions, the correct amount of heat, and a whole lot more. Oh, they also need suitably high fences in their enclosure.

I raise this last point because, a few minutes after building my new leopard pen and feeling pretty proud of it, I heard uproar from my park guests and had a pop-up on my screen telling me of an escaped animal. I quickly panned around my park to see a leopard casually cleaning its paws in the open area behind its enclosure just as a second one was scaling the fence. Whoops.

Luckily nobody was eaten. I’m not sure if anyone can get eaten. Part of me wanted to find out, but a bigger part of me didn’t want to be that person during the preview period. And so, I quickly called a vet who safely tranquilised the escapees and put them back in their pen where they belonged. Maybe when I’m playing on my own computer and nobody else is watching me, we’ll find out for sure what happens when an escaped wildcat is left unchecked. It’s highly unlikely things are going to get too gory, given the game’s PEGI 7 rating. Still, it was quite the thrill, and it emphasised just how perfect everything needs to be in Planet Zoo 2 if you want to be successful.

That’s what the game’s career mode is for; a lengthy campaign that gradually introduces you to everything you need to know about Planet Zoo 2. You’ll learn about animal care, the basics of building, adopting animals, catering to your visitors’ needs and requirements, and a whole lot more. It’s also the best place to learn what’s new in this sequel, and so even if you’ve played the first Planet Zoo for hundreds of hours, I’d still recommend going through the campaign here. I was only able to complete the first two main missions, but I’m absolutely itching to do more.

The first thing you’re introduced to is one of the most impressive new additions to Planet Zoo 2: the nature reserve. A huge, natural habitat, it’s a space you can explore, learn more about animals, practice conservation efforts, and a whole lot more. Like your zoos, you’ll need to ensure the reserve meets your animals’ needs, and you can customise zones within it, ensuring they have the right amount of trees, shrubbery, rocks and water. But here, it’s all about the animals; you aren’t trying to please guests, only the resident wildlife.

What’s neat is that you can explore the nature reserve from the ground, either on foot or making use of a buggy to get around in. You can get up-close and personal to animals, taking photos of them or simply observing their behaviours in a natural environment. It feels rather special to be a part of, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the nature reserve plays a larger part in the whole game experience. You can rehome animals from your zoos here, allowing animals to thrive and re-adapt to life in the wild, and I can’t wait to see how that impacts my zookeeping experience.

But as cool as exploring the nature reserve is, I also had a blast working through the campaign’s zoo-based missions, too. Yes, a lot of the stuff here is going to be familiar if you’ve played a lot of the first Planet Zoo. But there’s also a lot of new stuff to look forward to. There are plenty of new animals along with returning favourites, but what’s most exciting is the addition of aquariums. Just as Planet Coaster 2 doubled down on waterparks, Planet Zoo 2 has followed rank with its aquatic species. You can build saltwater or freshwater tanks filled with an abundance of fish species, and just like any other area of your park, you can fully customise the design of them.

Are you a fan of the underwater tunnels you can walk through at Sea Life centres? You can have those. Large viewing windows that let your guests get eye-to-eye with your fish? Those too. It’s entirely your choice, and getting creative with fish tanks and aquariums is going to be a lot of fun. It feels like Frontier has thought of everything, and much of their design process has been laid out in a blog post earlier this summer. But it’s the little details I immediately appreciated; the way you can freely explore the water as a three-dimensional space, and the way the sound changes as you move from the surface to under the waterline, just as it would in real life. It’s this sort of thing that shows just how much attention to detail the development team have given to Planet Zoo 2.

Of course, it looks fantastic, too. Built in a whole new engine, animals look and behave more realistically than before. At a glimpse, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re viewing a livestream of real animals, particularly when you opt for a camera mode that lets you get up close and personal to them. Fur looks incredible, limbs move in a more lifelike manner than ever before, and everything from jumping to stretching animations feel more believable. Your entire zoo looks better than ever, too, with crisp textures, detailed foliage and much more.

It’s all quite exciting, then, especially if you’re a fan of simulation games. Ultimately, I finished up my two hours with Planet Zoo 2 fulfilled yet eager to play more, especially of the game’s campaign. This really is going to be a treat for animal lovers and those who love to dabble in creation and management, and so 13th October should be a date you fervently circle on your calendars.

Planet Zoo 2 is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Thank you to Frontier for providing me with hands-on time with a build of the game!