Planet Zoo (PS5)

Nach wie vor begeistert mich Planet Zoo und fesselt mich vor den Computer. Besonders genieße ich die Zeit mit meiner Tochter, in der wir den Zebras einfach zusehen oder ich ihr etwas über ihre Lieblingstiere, die Wölfe, vorlese und wir recherchieren. Und wenn wir erstmal "im Flow" sind, so suchen wir uns Folgeinformationen im Internet, wenn die Zoopedia sie nicht hergibt. Es regt also an, sich bewusst mit den Tieren zu beschäftigen und ist irgendwie mehr als nur ein Spiel.

Deiner Kreativität sind keine Grenzen gesetzt.

Planet Zoo is simply wonderful; a bright and breezy park builder that gushes with enthusiasm for its charges. There’s depth to spare here, pushing further than either of Frontier’s most recent management games have, and it leans into its own identity, with a keen eye for the importance of education, animal welfare and preservation.

Despite a slow burn in online mode and a bloated user interface that gets in the way of fully enjoying the finer management aspects of Planet Zoo, there’s still more than enough here to get something out of your time with it.

Planet Zoo is a wildly satisfying park-builder with a menagerie of lovely looking animals.

Planet Zoo requires an unreasonable level of patience that creates a wall around its best qualities.

For all its problems—and there are many—Planet Zoo is one of the most satisfying builders I’ve ever played. Maybe not on the management side, which is still a thin and easily manipulated veneer. Guest opinions are weirdly arbitrary, as is cash flow. If you’re looking for a “difficult” builder, Planet Zoo ain’t it.

The level of detail that Planet Zoo offers is extremely impressive. The different gameplay modes allow players to experience the simulation in their own preferred way, whilst the research behind the animals and zoo life make this game pretty educational. The build mode proved a little bit annoying, but that doesn't spoil what is a solid simulation title for animal lovers all around.

Even with occasional design quirks and bugs holding it back, I adore this game as is. Similar to Planet Coaster, I think it'll get better over time, and Frontier will surely flesh out the species list with DLC packs. But even if that doesn't happen, I'll be satisfied.