Planet Zoo

Planet Zoo is a construction and management simulation video game developed and published by Frontier Developments for Microsoft Windows. The game is a spiritual successor to Zoo Tycoon, with gameplay similar to the studio's theme park variant, Planet Coaster. It was released on 5 November 2019.

Planet Zoo
Developer(s)Frontier Developments
Publisher(s)Frontier Developments
Director(s)Piers Jackson
Producer(s)Steve Wilkins
Designer(s)James Taylor
Artist(s)Marc Cox
Composer(s)Jim Guthrie
J. J. Ipsen
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release5 November 2019
Genre(s)Construction and management simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Planet Zoo is a spiritual successor to Zoo Tycoon, with gameplay similar to the studio's theme park variant, Planet Coaster.[1] Players are able to build a zoo, with 68 species in the base game, and 12 new species becoming available through three separate DLC packs. Animals, controlled by artificial intelligence, behave similarly to their real-life counterparts. For instance, wolves adopt a pack mentality. Each species has its own requirements and needs that players must satisfy. Each animal has their own genome, which can be modified to change its life expectancy, size, health and fertility. The animal exhibits can be modified and created by the player to make the environment and climate of the exhibit more to the animals liking, increasing their happiness and satisfying their needs. The game also features a breeding system, and with elements such as inbreeding having negative consequences on the animals.[2] The game also features a campaign mode, similar to Planet Coaster.[3]

Development and release

Early rumours circulated after Frontier Developments registered a trademark in April 2017 for a new video game called Planet Safari.[4] The game was officially announced on 24 April 2019, and was released on 5 November 2019.[5][6] Besides pre-ordering the game, players had the opportunity to pre-order the deluxe edition, which includes bonus content and provided beta access a few weeks before release.[7]

Two more additional downloadable content packs have been released since the game's first launch. These are the Arctic Pack and the South America Pack, each adding new animals to take care of as well as new scenery pieces, terrain, foliage, and building designs based on the desired region.

Name Release date Description
Arctic Pack 17 December 2019 The Arctic Pack added new animals native to the Arctic (polar bear, arctic wolf, Dall's sheep, and reindeer), as well as winter themed blueprints, stores, and decor.[8]
South American Pack 7 April 2020 The South American Pack added new animals (jaguar, giant anteater, llama, capuchin monkey, and an exhibit animal, the red-eyed tree frog), scenery, and blueprints.[9]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic81/100[10]

The game received generally positive reviews from critics.

Awards

The game won the award for "Best Simulation Game" at the Gamescom Awards,[11] and for "Game, Simulation" at the NAVGTR Awards.[12] It was also nominated for British Game at the 16th British Academy Games Awards,[13] and won the award for "Strategy/Simulation" at the 2020 Webby Awards.[14]

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References
  1. Gwaltney, Javy (24 April 2019). "Planet Coaster Creators Reveal Spiritual Successor To Zoo Tycoon". Game Informer.
  2. Kent, Emma (24 April 2019). "Planet Zoo will feature "the most realistic animals in any game"". Eurogamer. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. Gwaltney, Javy (24 April 2019). "Five Reasons Planet Zoo Is Promising". Game Informer. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  4. "PLANET SAFARI Trademark of Frontier Developments Plc - Registration Number 5174092 - Serial Number 86741992". Justia Trademarks.
  5. Kelly, Andy (24 April 2019). "Design and manage a zoo in Frontier's next game, Planet Zoo". PC Gamer.
  6. Watts, Rachel (10 June 2019). "The Planet Zoo release date has been revealed". PCGamesN. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  7. Boudreau, Ian (21 August 2019). "Planet Zoo reveals pre-order beta dates". PC Gamer. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  8. "Planet Zoo's Arctic DLC adds polar bears and three other animals". Destructoid.
  9. https://www.planetzoogame.com/news/planet-zoo-south-america-pack-available-now
  10. "Planet Zoo for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  11. Mamiit, Aaron (25 August 2019). "PlayStation 4 exclusive Dreams takes home Best of Gamescom 2019 award". Digital Trends. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  12. "2019 Winners". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  13. Stuart, Keith (3 March 2020). "Death Stranding and Control dominate Bafta games awards nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  14. "Webby Awards: Games". The Webby Awards. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
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