Planet Zoo Reviews

Planet Zoo is ranked in the 83rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8.6 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2019

Planet Zoo is the ultimate video game for people you like to play animals but don't want to put them in cages in real life. This is also the best game ever for people who are looking to try their hands at managing a virtual zoo.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 11, 2019

In the end, I had a blast playing through Planet Zoo. Sure there were a few hiccups once a while with some minor glitches and some features that I feel need improving. But the amount of creativity you can achieve, the fun and varied game modes, stunning visuals and appeal, and more. It’s so hard to let these minor flaws affect my experience. If you’re looking to get into these types of simulation/management games, then Planet Zoo is the best way to start. And if someone who loves these types of games like Zoo Tycoon and Tropico like I do. Then I promise you will have a great time!

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9.5 / 10.0
Nov 15, 2019

Planet Zoo doesn’t shy away from being a deep theme-park sim as it manages so well to be friendly to newcomers in this kind of game. What I love the most about Planet Zoo is its in-depth gameplay mechanics. I immediately fell in love with the game after the first level of Career Mode. I’ve spent a lot of hours here than on Jurassic World: Evolution and I’m continuing to spend more time cranking up my zoo’s rating and trade animals with another player. Frontier Developments, you guys definitely need an award for this.

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Nov 13, 2019

Despite its unapproachable first few hours and some severely rough edges, Planet Zoo is one of the best tycoon games of the year. It offers near-limitless potential through its construction and exhibit tools, while Frontier’s visually stunning animals feel authentic and supremely detailed. With some patches, there’s no denying Planet Zoo could wind up being something extraordinarily special.

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Ben Dye
Top Critic
7 / 10
Nov 18, 2019

An amazing portrayal of real-life zookeepers at work, with all their dedication and accomplishments on full display for all to see.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 18, 2019

Despite the odd issue, Planet Zoo is easily the best modern zoo management title available today.

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Recommended
Nov 13, 2019

Let's talk about building! With the career mode, you'll have a pre-built zoo for the first couple of levels whilst you learn the ropes. Slowly, you'll be made to build habitats for your animals, how to fill said habitats with animals, and how to keep them happy behind the glass. There is also small exhibits--things such as spiders and snakes to take care of in the very same fashion. It's not straightforward and there's many factors to consider when bringing the animals in and getting them settled it, but to me that was the fun of it. I loved reading guest comments about how my hippos looked particularly content, or how my tigers appeared well fed as they sat belly up to the Sun.

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Rapid Reviews UK
Chloe Osborn
Nov 20, 2019

Frontier has also been great at communicating with their audience, letting us know when updates are available and what they’re for, as well as when franchise mode is down for maintenance. They’ve really created something special here, and I couldn’t be happier with how Planet Zoo has turned out!

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9 / 10.0
Nov 24, 2019

Enter and create the animal kingdom of your dreams in Planet Zoo, micromanaging never looked or felt so awesome.

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B
Nov 25, 2019

Your mileage will depend on your tolerance for digging through layers of text, but if you can stomach that you will find a wonderfully satisfying zoo experience. Come for the cute animals and stay for the satisfaction and pride found in creating a thriving animal sanctuary.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2019

I see and understand some of the frustrations from other players, but this game is just too good and has too much to offer to just be tossed aside this early in the game’s life. If you a fan of the simulation genre then I fully recommend Planet Zoo.

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Nov 15, 2019

Planet Zoo has some balancing issues and explains certain concepts poorly. Once the game is understood, however, it offers such loveable inhabitants and deep simulation that its shortcomings can be forgiven. The game shows how difficult running a zoo ethically can be, but also convinces the player how worthwhile that endeavour is by offering adorable animals at every turn. It is clever, complicated, and perfect for animal lovers.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 10, 2019

The simulation aspects are a big step-up from Planet Coaster and Frontier have been pretty quick to resolve some of the biggest problems with the game during its launch. While the online marketplace and steep learning curve may put some people off, Planet Zoo is a beautiful zoo tycoon game nonetheless, chock full of educational content mixed in with realistic animal behaviour. It’s not perfect but it’ll almost certainly serve as a worthy replacement for Zoo Tycoon for the time being.

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Nov 8, 2019

It’s clear that earlier Frontier games like Kinectimals, Zoo Tycoon and Planet Coaster have been stage-setters for this ultimate zoo sim. Whether you enjoy theme park builders, economic sims or most importantly, creating the zoo of your dreams, Planet Zoo will satisfy you, but be prepared for an order of complexity that the previous games managed to avoid, or at least hid a little better.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2019

Even with all of its faults, it really is hard not to love this game, Every time the UI bugs me, or a keeper gets stuck, I just head to a habitat, sit and watch the baby Panda’s walking around with their parents, or head to the chimpanzees to watch them play and socialize and all of sudden I’m reminded of why this game is so great. Planet Zoo is so close to getting a platinum thumb, If only the UI was a little easier on the eye and the path-building wasn’t so frustrating. Planet Zoo more than deserves the Gold Thumb!

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7 / 10
Dec 19, 2019

Planet Zoo is a highly ambitious venture. It is very fun but it has its downsides like any other simulation game. Some of the systems prohibit a simple, fun experience, others are minor issues that can be fixed easily. But the fact that they haven't been fixed yet is infuriating. It is gorgeous when it comes to looks but most of the part, it overcomplicates itself with pointless systems. The terrible optimization somewhat adds to the negative feeling and that is what ruins it for me.

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Dec 20, 2019

I will always enjoy these types of games, constantly trying to chase the high of me pouring hours into titles like ThemePark or Zoo Tycoon. Planet Zoo is another sim management game that I can wholeheartedly recommend. It may not be for the casual player with how much the game asks of you in regards to management, but to everyone else, it’s a heck of a good time. Maybe we’ll get lucky and see some Aquarium stuff out of Frontier Developments next, I’m crossing fingers here.

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9 / 10.0
Jan 27, 2020

In conclusion, the best zoo simulator that has come out to date. If you are passionate about the genre you can not miss it.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Nov 21, 2019

If you’re a simulation fan, Planet Zoo is definitely worth checking out, whether for its in-depth customisation or just to mess around with the animals and visitors as many of us love doing in these sim games – just make sure you’re prepared for it to crash.

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85 / 100
Dec 6, 2019

Planet Zoo has come on the market with some problems, but they are mostly solved. What we have right now is a huge management game, with a considerable amount of content and a very bright future. If you buy Planet Zoo you won't go wrong, and I'm sure the animals will thank you for it.

Review in Spanish | Read full review