Zoo Tycoon Reviews

Zoo Tycoon is ranked in the 37th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
IGN
Top Critic
5.5 / 10.0
Nov 21, 2013

Building exhibits and interacting with animals in Zoo Tycoon isn't much fun when you're fighting with this menu system.

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7 / 10
Nov 26, 2013

There's huge satisfaction to be had from building your zoo, observing the animals and watching all the graphs go up. It's just a shame that over time, as the novelties wear off, the lack of depth makes it hard to keep coming back. But who knows? Perhaps a future update will introduce monkey butlers.

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Nov 25, 2013

Zoo Tycoon is a great casual game with plenty of enjoyable animal moments, but the experience is marred by an over-emphasis on simplicity and a terrible menu interface.

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Dec 9, 2013

Zoos are special and Zoo Tycoon captures that nicely. The sometimes disappointing limitations and even the dreadful menus don't take away enough from the overall package to prevent it from earning a recommendation, particularly for animal lovers and families.

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7 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2013

Building your zoo offers fun moments, but doesn't have any depth or reasons to try different approaches

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Polygon
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2013

Zoo Tycoon overcomes some small issues with charm and a good heart

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6 / 10
Nov 24, 2013

Zoo Tycoon's animals are adorable, but a clunky interface prevents this management sim from reaching its potential.

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3.5 / 5.0
Dec 1, 2013

Zoo Tycoon may be one of the lesser known Xbox One titles, but it's not one of the lesser quality ones. With four modes, a deep interface and multiple activities, it's clear that a lot of effort went into its development.

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8 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2013

You can take a certain hypnotic bliss from simply working along calmly and peacefully, making sure that your park is running as smoothly as it can and improving the conditions for your ever-growing menagerie of creatures. This game was never going to be he bombastic launch title that blows the minds of gamers. Zoo Tycoon is a different pace of game for a different type of player. With the Xbox One Microsoft are looking to create a device that provides all forms of entertainment, for everyone, and a game like Zoo Tycoon certainly shows their commitment to creating a broad base. It may ultimately be a little shallow, but it has bags of charm and there is more than enough on offer here to provide hours of animal magic.

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5 / 10
Nov 17, 2013

There's definitely a zoo, but where's the tycoon?

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Dec 3, 2013

Though creating a zoo is pleasant and breezy, after building several zoos with all of the animals, you've pretty much experienced the lion's share of what Zoo Tycoon has to offer.

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6 / 10
Nov 17, 2013

A fun demonstration of the Xbox One's capabilities but unfortunately much more a stealth sequel to Kinectimals than it is a proper Tycoon game.

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7 / 10
Nov 17, 2013

Frontier Developments caught my attention with a game that promised "Tycoon" style sim management and, yes, the ability to play with adorable animals. What I didn't expect was how deep and satisfying the sim would be.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 21, 2013

Zoo Tycoon has a distinct lack of depth, but if you're capable of sitting down with this simplistic simulator, you'll smile more times than you can count. The simulator fan in me was a bit disappointed by the ease of it all, but the child in me couldn't help but enjoy myself.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2013

Frontier Developments' park sim is gorgeous, does a fine job exploiting Kinect, and is surprisingly fun regardless of age.

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Nov 21, 2013

The game struggles a little over the mid-to-long term: the difficulty doesn't fluctuate much and, soon enough, you're merely turning the cogs rather than responding to thrilling challenges, but Zoo Tycoon is pleasant and engaging, even in its absence of spectacle.

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70 / 100
Dec 10, 2013

After playing Zoo Tycoon I have to admit that it is quite time consuming, has a long learning curve and is more ideal on a PC platform compared to a console experience. That being said, it is a game that provides a robust zoo experience perfect for any zoo enthusiast, a veteran "sim" player, or perhaps even for a parent looking for a game without any violence whatsoever.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 26, 2013

... Zoo Tycoon is an addictive effort that rides in with just enough content for a good play.

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Nov 24, 2013

Zoo Tycoon is a game that knows its target market and embraces it wholeheartedly. It may not be the deepest or most challenging simulator out there, but it's a great option for those with young children and its charm is simply undeniable.

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7 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2013

The good ideas in Zoo Tycoon aren't developed far enough to warrant top marks, but Frontier Developments have delivered a capable game that will delight gamers of all ages.

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