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Planet Zoo

Enter and create the animal kingdom of your dreams in Planet Zoo, micromanaging never looked or felt so awesome.
86%Game Brain Score
graphics, gameplay
stability, optimization
91% User Score Based on 31,401 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 25 reviews

Platforms

PCXbox Game PassCloudXbox Cloud GamingXboxNVIDIA GeForce NOWWindows

About

Planet Zoo: Digital Deluxe Edition allows you to build and manage your own wildlife park, featuring authentic animals with unique needs and behaviors. This edition includes three exclusive animals, wallpapers, and the original soundtrack. Create habitats, manage resources, and make decisions to nurture and grow your animals in a world you design.

Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
Planet Zoo screenshot
+78
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91%
Audience ScoreBased on 31,401 reviews
graphics2k positive mentions
stability804 negative mentions

  • graphics
    2,870 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in "Planet Zoo" have received widespread acclaim for their stunning detail and realism, particularly in the depiction of animals and their behaviors. Players appreciate the vibrant environments and the meticulous attention to detail, which enhance the immersive experience of managing a zoo. However, some users have noted performance issues on lower-end systems, indicating that the game can be demanding on hardware, which may detract from the overall experience for those without powerful graphics cards.

    • “The game's visuals are stunning, with lush and vibrant environments that showcase the beauty of both the animals and the natural world.”
    • “Its meticulous attention to detail, stunning visuals, and educational focus make it a must-play for animal lovers, simulation enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the world of zoos and wildlife conservation.”
    • “The graphics are absolutely breathtaking as well as the animals and their interactions and behavior with their habitats.”
    • “The graphics aren't really an improvement and there don't seem to be aquarium options on this version, which sucks, but I could get over that.”
    • “I have a regular office-grade Dell laptop, so unfortunately the graphics are fuzzy and the game stutters a lot.”
    • “I spent over £40 on this game just for the graphics and the gameplay to be awful.”
  • gameplay
    1,995 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Planet Zoo" is characterized by its intricate mechanics and deep management systems, offering players a rich and engaging experience. While the game features stunning graphics and a wide variety of animals, many players find the building mechanics, particularly pathing and enclosure construction, to be frustrating and unintuitive. Despite a steep learning curve, those who invest time in mastering the controls and mechanics often find the gameplay rewarding and addictive, with a strong emphasis on animal welfare and conservation.

    • “Frontier Developments has consistently supported 'Planet Zoo' with updates and expansion packs, adding new animals, features, and gameplay mechanics.”
    • “Varied animal species and building types, combined with fairly realistic game mechanics, make this game very challenging and exciting to play.”
    • “With its stunning visuals, intricate gameplay mechanics, and deep appreciation for wildlife conservation, 'Planet Zoo' immerses players in a world where they can build and care for their dream zoo.”
    • “The building mechanics are so customizable but the interface is not user friendly.”
    • “The mechanics are so confusing I can't even finish the tutorial zoo without getting stuck.”
    • “The path and structure mechanics are a little wonky.”
  • stability
    831 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent glitches and bugs that significantly impact gameplay. Common issues include pathing problems, AI malfunctions, and crashes, particularly in larger zoos or during specific actions like animal transfers. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these issues, many recommend waiting for further updates and patches to improve stability before fully engaging with the game.

    • “The game looks beautiful, runs great, and the animals have pretty convincing behavior.”
    • “Beautiful animals, satisfying gameplay with lots of styles of play supported, and reasonably stable and bug free.”
    • “The game mostly runs great, looks great and feels great.”
    • “It's extremely buggy and unintuitive to the point that it honestly makes the rest of the game not worth playing.”
    • “The gameplay is so full of bugs and glitches and problems with no logical explanation, it's literally unplayable.”
    • “There are so many game-breaking glitches and technical errors, not to mention just straight up poor development choices that really made this depressing to play for me.”
  • story
    580 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of "Planet Zoo" is generally viewed as minimal and not the primary focus of the game. While the career mode includes a basic narrative with characters and missions that serve as tutorials, many players find the story unengaging or repetitive, often preferring the more open-ended sandbox and franchise modes. Despite this, some players appreciate the charm and humor in the story elements, suggesting that it adds a layer of context to the gameplay, even if it is not particularly deep or compelling.

    • “The career mode is challenging and follows a good storyline, and the game allows for a great deal of creativity.”
    • “The story mode is amazing to do and develop, very challenging on hard mode but very rewarding and satisfying.”
    • “The story in the campaign also makes little sense, but the missions had a lot of variety and were always challenging.”
    • “The characters and storylines they've created are annoying and unskippable, but also something I could get over.”
    • “The campaign is poorly designed; missions are boring and feel like starting off on higher difficulties is left entirely up to chance.”
    • “I actually got angry trying to play the 'story mode' because the requirements make little to no sense with really vague and confusing instructions.”
  • optimization
    365 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, particularly as zoo size and guest counts increase. While some users have noted that the game runs smoothly on high-end systems, others experience severe lag and frame drops even on decent hardware, especially when managing larger parks. Overall, there is a consensus that the game requires further optimization to enhance performance and stability, particularly for players with lower-spec PCs.

    • “The game is optimized pretty well but you will still experience slight performance issues when visiting/making huge or highly detailed zoos.”
    • “Well optimized given the enormous number of entities in the game.”
    • “The most I like is the optimization of this game compared to the previous one; one huge park with more than 2k guests, I can only get 20fps on Planet Coaster while this one I still able to get stable 60fps with my 3070ti, both games are maxed out settings.”
    • “You'll only actually be able to use a quarter of the map at most before you start seeing performance drops depending on your current setup.”
    • “I enjoyed the game last year but it seems with recent updates the performance has gone out the window.”
    • “A game with a lot of potential ruined by awful lag due to bottlenecking the CPU, so even on a decent PC you barely get 9 FPS. It's a real shame when you've got all those great DLCs and you can't even build a decent zoo with them because the stuttering is horrendous.”
  • music
    333 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Planet Zoo" is widely praised for its calming and uplifting qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing gameplay experience. Many players appreciate the diverse soundtrack, which includes elements reminiscent of African safari music, and find it enjoyable enough to listen to outside of the game. However, some users note that the music can become repetitive over time, and a few express a desire for more variety or the ability to customize the soundtrack. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's immersive atmosphere and is considered a standout feature.

    • “Planet Zoo feels like the spiritual successor to the beloved Zoo Tycoon series of the early 2000s, allowing players to build and manage a growing zoo with upbeat music in the backdrop.”
    • “The soundtrack is uplifting, inspiring, and moving.”
    • “The music is so good that I almost considered getting the soundtrack (I never do that).”
    • “The music loops and is monotonous, and I was finding myself just feeling really bored.”
    • “The soundtrack was okay-ish, but sounded like what you could hear in a vlog; can't say it was enjoyable.”
    • “It's very relaxing to put on some music and play, but the game lacks the ability to have custom signs and music, which I feel would increase the level of personalization of zoos.”
  • grinding
    291 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the micromanagement and building mechanics to be excessively tedious and time-consuming. While some appreciate the depth and customization options, others feel that the intricate details lead to a frustrating experience, often overshadowing the enjoyment of zoo management. Overall, players suggest that the game requires significant patience and dedication, likening it to a second job rather than a leisurely gaming experience.

    • “For years, sim games have just erased your progress and started you from square one, and I appreciate the carryover because it allows me to focus on things that are fun and not tedious, making me feel as though I am adding to the game.”
    • “Expansive building, cute animals, engaging but not tedious management system.”
    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The game is just so tedious, and too tedious for a gamer actually wanting to achieve anything.”
    • “The building mechanics can feel a bit clunky and tedious.”
  • humor
    120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is widely praised, with players enjoying the funny animal behaviors, quirky NPC interactions, and amusing glitches that add a light-hearted touch to the gameplay. Many reviews highlight the comedic potential of player creativity, such as trapping guests or witnessing unexpected animal antics, which contribute to a fun and engaging experience. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with its simulation elements, making it entertaining for both casual and dedicated players.

    • “It's funny, cute, accurate animal-wise, and stressful in a good way!”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous, it is super customizable, you can build skills over time, you can do so many funny things, there are tons of game modes, and an amazing community and developers!”
    • “This game makes it fun with enough personality and humor I actually find myself looking forward to it.”
    • “First, the tutorial is maddeningly slow, and you're forced to listen to the unfunny and emotionless banter of two characters I could care less about.”
    • “Too many things require your heavy attention, not funny to play.”
    • “At this game, all of that is complex, super frustrating and not funny at all.”
  • emotional
    80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    "Planet Zoo" is widely praised for its emotional depth, fostering strong connections between players and their animals through heartwarming moments like births and recoveries. Players often express joy and nostalgia, likening the experience to childhood memories of zoo management games, while also acknowledging the emotional pain of losing beloved animals. Overall, the game is celebrated for its wholesome, immersive gameplay that combines creativity with a heartfelt dedication to conservation.

    • “The game excels in creating an emotional connection between players and their animals.”
    • “Seeing a baby animal born in your zoo or nursing a sick animal back to health is a genuinely heartwarming experience.”
    • “This game has a small little story in the campaign that is charming alongside that the graphics and music is overall heartwarming.”
  • replayability
    77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely praised for its high replayability, offering multiple game modes, extensive customization options, and a wealth of content that keeps players engaged for hours. Many reviewers highlight the infinite replay value stemming from sandbox and franchise modes, as well as the variety of animals and scenarios available. Despite some technical issues, the overall consensus is that the game provides a rich and enjoyable experience that encourages repeated play.

    • “This is one of my all-time favorite games for the sheer amount of content and replayability that it holds inside of it, 100% worth the money!”
    • “The wealth and variety of animals, building tools, and customization options mean Planet Zoo really is infinitely replayable.”
    • “The different themes, biomes, etc. give this game so much replayability.”
    • “Sure you can waste five hours on this but then replay value is pretty low.”
    • “Planet Zoo has low replay value because it is too buggy.”
    • “Tl;dr - great concept but too buggy to recommend in its current state plus the economy for franchise mode needs a lot of tweaking to make it more playable.”
  • monetization
    37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization model of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many players labeling it as predatory and a cash grab, particularly regarding the frequent DLC releases that feel like essential content rather than optional extras. While some appreciate the base game's value and the absence of in-app purchases, concerns persist about the over-reliance on microtransactions and the aggressive promotion of additional content, leading to frustration among players who feel that the core experience is being compromised for profit. Overall, the sentiment reflects a mix of disappointment and cautious optimism, depending on future updates and the direction of monetization practices.

    • “☑ No in-app purchases.”
    • “The monetization is fair, no greed.”
    • “If you're at all interested in a zoo sim, I absolutely think it's worth it (perhaps on a sale if money is tight) and the semi-frequent DLC packages are both promising for the game's future and concerning for the monetization model.”
    • “They prefer to release animal DLCs as easy cash grabs.”
    • “But this game just is painfully mediocre and suffering from a case of moderate over-monetization.”
    • “Now you're going to ask why I don't recommend it simply because the game hasn't been out for more than 12 days and there are already unlockable animals with real money, three animals that you'll never get because buying the game wasn't enough.”
  • atmosphere
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning graphics, immersive sound design, and calming vibe, creating a relaxing experience for players. The combination of beautiful scenery, well-designed animal sounds, and a dynamic environment enhances the overall enjoyment, making it a delightful space to explore and build. While some players note limitations in creating diverse atmospheres, the game's focus on aesthetics and ambiance contributes significantly to its appeal.

    • “The atmosphere of the game in general is very nice, with the music and graphics you really get into a relaxing zoo vibe.”
    • “The sound design is also well done, adding to the overall atmosphere of the game.”
    • “The graphics and the atmosphere this game offers are just astonishing and amazing.”
    • “Unfortunately, it is very much a zoo and you cannot create another atmosphere.”
    • “The relaxing atmosphere (and the calming of sandbox modes no stress, but that's just me ^^) makes the game super simple to just space out to if you aren't careful lmao.”
    • “Nice game, awesome atmosphere, good mechanics, way building sucks hard.”
  • character development
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The character development in the game is praised for its charming and cute designs, particularly the appealing animal characters. However, some players noted that while the content is abundant and engaging, the controls can be challenging to grasp initially.

    • “Charming character designs for guests.”
    • “I love the character design and how the animals look.”
    • “Great game with lots of content and cute character design.”
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25h Median play time
105h Average play time
8-75h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 211 analyzed playthroughs
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