Zoo management game
Screenshots
Frontier Development produced Planet Zoo, a follow up to their Planet Coaster success, with a similar but radically improved game style. As the manager, you need to take care of your animals properly, all while trying to make money. It follows the strain of previous business building Tycoon games with a twist.
Gameplay
The game focuses on building your zoo into the perfect natural environment for the incredible animals. It features two primary modes, career and sandbox. In the story, you will get a tutorial that will effectively introduce you to the simple play that bleeds into a complicated playstyle. The further you get with animals, the more you must search through the interface to find what you need.
The sandbox, on the other hand, allows you to turn off having to worry about money and customers, but it lacks variety. However, you can let your creativity run wild in this setting to build awesome creations. Online franchise mode is a poor addition to the other two main focuses.
You will spend a lot of time on the little details, as these things make the zoo continue to operate and keep your animals alive. Mistakes will be made, but that keeps the needed tension in Planet Zoo. Also, most of the animals feel lifelike, with excellent AI.
Limitations
Unfortunately, the game has suffered from glitches. It will randomly crash on the user even with a great PC. Also, it only can be played on a computer.
Alternatives
Zoo Tycoon is an older game that is like Planet Zoo but with less micromanaging and sandbox elements. However, it is a well fleshed out game with great modes. Also, it is stable when compared to Planet Zoo.
Planet Rollercoaster by Frontier Development is quite similar to a tycoon game. It excels in a fun sandbox mode while keeping all the basic elements of a business-focused program. It does not add much to the industry, but it does everything well.
Challenges
This application has an emphasis on the small things, which means you will have to exercise extreme attention to detail. While the sandbox isn’t incredible, the campaign will give you endless replayability. Overall, it is a solid game for those who love micromanaging.