Planet Coaster: Console Edition Reviews
I think Planet Coaster: Console Edition is absolutely a worthwhile port. It manages to take an immensely complicated game and package it into something it was never designed to fit into. Just come in with a healthy serving of patience and willingness to forgive some glitches and issues, some banal and some a bit rough, especially if you are free playing and not in pre-built scenario parks.
If you enjoy business management simulations, then we recommend purchasing a ticket for Planet Coaster: Console Edition. While the coaster creation controls can be unwieldy, Frontier's done a generally decent job of mapping a very complicated title to the DualSense controller. The title allows for a ton of creativity, but time-strapped entrepreneurs can also have fun with the many pre-made assets available. It's the kind of game where, once you begin building a park, you're basically pledging the next 30 hours of your life to doing it properly – but once you start seeing those profits rolling, you may find it difficult to quit.
Planet Coaster: Console Edition is a great example of optimization, of adapting from a device with its own mechanics like the PC to the next generation consoles. Despite the presence of small technical problems, the game manages to entertain, surprise and encourage players with themed challenges, creating the amusement park of their dreams.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The obvious recommendation is to enjoy Planet Coaster on a PC, the way the game was meant to be played. Mod support and the easier usage of mouse and keyboard on PC make that version way more enjoyable and user-friendly than this PS5 port. But that doesn’t mean Planet Coaster: Console Edition is bad. Far from it. I had a blast with this version.
Planet Coaster: Console Edition is the kind of game that's great fun at its core but being able to get the most out of it will require a lot of patience. So, it's worth playing if you enjoy fine-tuning every intricacy of a park and don't mind getting used to its controls.
Planet Coaster: Console Edition is certainly something. It may be the most complex simulation title we have ever seen on a console, and with updates and more fine-tuning, I could easily see it maintaining its value for this entire generation of consoles as it has enough here that one could easily sink hundreds of hours in.
It may have released on PC back in 2016 but Planet Coaster: Console Edition is quietly one of the best launch titles for the Xbox Series X|S, and made all the better by being available through Game Pass. For a park sim, it is incredibly easy to pick up and play as everything is explained and designed as this version was built up for consoles, as opposed to a simple port.
Planet Coaster: Console Edition is definitely the best theme park management game around, with a great porting from the PC version and a very solid gameplay. We would have liked a meatier Career mode, but its Sandbox mode can be very satisfying and it'll be able to entertain even newcomers to the genre
Review in Italian | Read full review
Planet Coaster was a pleasant surprise, making the transition from PC to PlayStation 5 seamlessly. The control scheme is, by far, the most efficient and easy to use experience I’ve ever had with a controller in a simulation game. Everything about the game looks sleek and shiny, making your parks pleasant to look at and fun to build. Along with that, the customization options, like build-your-own rollercoasters and scenery or pre-made models, allow players to essentially pick their difficulty level, offering complex and simple solutions depending on the player’s preference. Planet Coaster is my new addiction, joining RollerCoaster Tycoon as one of my favorite simulation games.
For those who have always wanted to build the theme park of their dreams and haven’t played this on PC, Planet Coaster is a no-brainer purchase. The different game modes offer a good amount of challenge and the creativity and customization are bursting at the seams. The management options are admittedly still lacklustre after all these years and those not interested in the creative aspects and wanting something a little more challenging should probably wait before picking this one up. For everyone else, Planet Coaster is a wonderfully creative and aesthetically pleasing theme park game that raises a very high bar in the sim genre.
The console edition of Planet Coaster is a great port from PC that works perfectly with console controllers, and if you are a fan of simulation games and patient enough to learn all the mechanisms of the game, you will definitely enjoy it.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Planet Coaster is a solid theme park sim, and one I can see myself spending an unhealthy amount of time playing. I just need to remember not to be too hasty in loading games the second I get to the PS5 dashboard. Twice now I've immediately tried to boot it up within a minute of the PlayStation 5 getting to the home screen and crashed it so hard the console databases need rebuilding. Goes to show just how much I like theme parks, right?
Planet Coaster on consoles is a game defined by its PC counterpart. It's slightly reduced in content but almost equal in complexity, for better or worse. We live in an age beyond console-specific PC ports like Civilization Revolution and Battlefield: Bad Company, but it still would have been great to see some console optimization for those looking for a plug-and-play experience in the living room. However, if players really want to dig into a huge sandbox of theme park creation, Planet Coaster is a deep and joyous rabbit hole that's worth an Annual Pass.
Planet Coaster rides the line between warm and friendly accessibility and in-depth theme park management surprisingly well, even if it does occasionally wobble nervously with the switch to console controls. It's a largely serene experience with an utterly engrossing roller coaster creation tool that just makes the overall package that much better.
Frontier Developments’ Planet Coaster: Console Edition brings a celebrated PC title to both modern and next-gen consoles. New content makes the game feel a refreshed experience, rather than just an old game ported to run on new hardware. I ran into some tech hiccups while playing on console, but it didn’t rain on my parade hard enough to make me wanna close down the park.
If you played RollerCoaster Tycoon back in the day, you’ll no doubt love Planet Coaster. It takes the same concept and brings it into the current generation. And despite some console limitations, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable package and an absolute steal as a PlayStaion Plus freebie.
Planet Coaster is the definitive theme park experience on console!
Yet the real beauty of Planet Coaster is that it has something for everyone. You may be inclined to a more task-oriented game, hoping to save the worst parks from the brink of bankruptcy, or you may rather splurge cash on everything and anything to make the wackiest park ever. Even if, like me, your creative design choices go as far as “make coaster go very fast and high,” you will still find yourself giggling away as you make ridiculous business decisions with little consequences like some crazed tycoon monster (charging $111 for a decaf coffee is just oh so funny). Despite a learning curve on the control scheme and the tragic fact that guests may not ride your coaster if it is absolutely insane to the point of traveling warp-speed, Planet Coaster: Console Edition is a blast and a worthy port of an already excellent title.
Planet Coaster is a well-acclaimed theme park management game from Frontier Developments. With 400 hours played on the PC version and a love for theme parks in general, did I think this console port was the ride of my life? Find out in this Rapid Review.