Planet Zoo: Console Edition Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Zoos have an important role to play in the modern world. While their roots might be in the collecting of exotic creatures to show off a ruler or nation’s power and influence, the modern zoo has turned toward education and science, to preservation and even trying to reverse the thoughtless and destructive repercussions of hundreds of years of human expansion. When it comes to Planet Zoo the foundations are still those serious ecological issues, but Frontier has crafted a fun and enjoyable park management experience within them. Following the game’s launch on PC in 2019, the animal parks are now finally opening to console owners as well.

Planet Zoo was already a wonderful park builder, and Frontier has ported across the exact same experience to PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The key thing we’re really looking at is just how well it’s translated to being played with a controller rather than a keyboard and mouse.

It’s fair to say that the controller makes everything feel a little bit unwieldy at first, particularly if you’re coming across from the PC version. The camera controls are relatively straightforward, moving with the right analogue stick and zooming with the left and right triggers, but if you find yourself stuck on the floor you have to hold the Square button in order to raise the camera back up again.

It works, but it doesn’t feel entirely natural, especially when the Square button is performing a multitude of other functions when combined with different buttons. That said, the camera swoops, pans and zooms with no hint of delay, and while there’s some minimal pop-in, you’ll appreciate just how slick the experience feels.

The central functions run across the bottom the screen and are accessed with the right and left shoulder buttons, and Frontier has done an excellent job of making a menu-heavy game as approachable as possible. Every element has a controller button prompt, and while some require button combinations to access particular menu items, they’re clear