Planet Zoo Reviews

Planet Zoo is ranked in the 83rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10
Mar 27, 2024

Planet Zoo is, ironically, a relatively toothless park building game. It doesn't have the delicious chaos of the Jurassic World Evolution games or the thrills of building your own rollercoaster and then hoping it'll stay on the tracks in Planet Coaster. But it's a pleasant and charming game. There's an airy joy in creating a peaceful home for animals to live in, and the earnest conservationist slant of Planet Zoo is hard to fault.

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T.J. Hafer
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Nov 13, 2019

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

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75 / 100
Nov 5, 2019

Another strong (yet stressful) management sim from Frontier Developments.

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Nov 5, 2019

Planet Zoo is a complex, deep simulation game with too much to give, if you can get past the minimalist tutorials.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2019

Planet Zoo has a lot of ambition and depth, but it often comes at too high a cost

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7 / 10
Nov 21, 2019

Planet Zoo is a detailed management sim that's both rewarding and educational, and the cute animals certainly don't hurt.

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Unscored
Nov 8, 2019

Despite these issues, I couldn’t help but love Planet Zoo for what it is: a game about trying to make the world a little better, by making sure some animals are well looked after. From its story beats about protecting animal welfare in the case of evil capitalists trying to drive profits, to the first time I was able to release a set of endangered pygmy hippos back into the wild, I felt like all my stress was working toward something.

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Luke Plunkett
Top Critic
Unscored
Nov 5, 2019

This is one of gaming’s great sandboxes (provided you can tame its expanse), and if you thought it was satisfying linking some theme park rides together, wait until you do the same thing only for baby pandas.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 5, 2019

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. Some of us have been waiting decades for a game like Planet Zoo to come along and scratch our Zoo Tycoon itch. Now that it's here, I can't get enough.

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9 / 10
Nov 22, 2019

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.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 8, 2019

If your passion is building in videogames and you love animals, Planet Zoo is one of your best options if you have a PC.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2024

Planet Zoo: Console Edition offers so much to do, but a lot of work has been put into making it transition nicely to consoles. There's a hefty tutorial and constant help throughout, and with some gorgeous visuals it's well worth trying.

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6 / 10.0
Nov 27, 2019

Hardcore management sim fans may enjoy Planet Zoo, but others may find it overly complex and packed with an overwhelming amount of management options

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Unscored
Nov 5, 2019

Planet Zoo is a game where you can build your own zoo. It’s buggy, intermittently opaque, frequently saccharine, and – barring an eleventh hour miracle – it’s my undisputed game of the year. Because here’s the thing: it’s a game where you can build your own zoo. And by thunder, it delivers on that promise.

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90 / 100
Nov 5, 2019

Planet Zoo is the culmination of the best parts of Frontier's previous efforts, but is far more than the sum of its parts. Hundreds of creatures, both cute and deadly, need homes, and it's up to you to help them thrive and survive. While a few bugs hamper the overall experience, this is another simulation game that'll keep me building sprawling and ever evolving parks for hundreds of hours to come.

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GameMAG
Top Critic
7 / 10
Dec 16, 2021

Planet Zoo is a deep and well-rounded tycoon game that you can spend many hours with. But be prepared to get a little confused, especially if you don't know the genre too much.

Review in Russian | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Dec 19, 2019

The Dark Souls of zoo tycoon sims. Start slower than you'd like to, YouTube yet another tutorial, then watch Planet Zoo blossom before your eyes. This is a slow, mindful, niche of a sim that demands more patience and learning than you'd expect.

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JVL
French_Fantasy
Top Critic
17 / 20
Dec 3, 2019

Benevolent, educational and profound, Planet Zoo stands out as the best zoo management game ever.

Review in French | Read full review

75 / 100
Nov 20, 2019

Planet Zoo is perfectly suited for an animal lover, a talented builder and an endlessly patient player who enjoys taking their time and being meticulous. For pure simulation lovers, this is going to be stressful to wrap your head around.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2019

Planet Zoo has turned out to be a complete, satisfying product, capable of entertaining a various audience, thanks to its intuitive interface, accompanied by intriguing graphics and a complete localization in Italian.

Review in Italian | Read full review