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LET'S BUILD A ZOO (XSX)
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Publisher: No More Robots.
Developer: Springloaded. Released: 2021. Genre: Management. Other versions: XONE; PS5; PS4; SWI; PC. Posted 16th August 2024. By Shane Battams © 2024 |
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Amongst the litany of management sim types, zoo builders are usually the most charming and enjoyable due to the satisfaction of raising and breeding animals. While it can be relaxing to build a city in the mould of the likes of Constructor, watching a tiger cub grow into an adult is just more endearing. Let’s Build a Zoo, from Singapore-based indie developer Springloaded, looks to tap into that appeal while upping the ante in terms of the animal count and creative potential. With a charming pixel art presentation, gene splicing that allows for animal hybrids and a relaxing yet structured pace which keeps you engaged, it’s a solid experience let down by a few noticeable issues.
Let’s Build a Zoo, as the title suggests, puts you in the shoes of a new Zookeeper tasked with building a facility that both cares for animals and appeals to the public. While initially starting with a small block of land to work with, you can buy more space as you earn money. Though there isn’t much of a story, so to speak, key moments are documented using newspaper stories and several recurring characters reappear in these and serve as givers of tasks throughout your playtime. Of course, while these concern a multitude of aspects related to raising your zoo, they often focus on growing your animal repertoire.
Not only are there 630 animal species, there's plenty of amenities for the visitors to make use of
Caring for the animals revolves around multiple aspects, including building the correct climate enclosure, catering for their food and water, and making sure they are enriched with toys, and key metres highlight where you need to adjust. Of course, maintaining these requires staff such as animal keepers to distribute food and clean the pens, and you can zone your keepers which helps ensure efficiency. Animals are not the only aspect of a successful zoo, however, as you will also need to ensure the public enjoy your zoo. These require you to place shops for refreshment, facilities such as toilets and attractive décor to encourage visiting all the zoo. There’s also extensive research to be undertaken, allowing you to unlock more facilities, more climates for your animal pens and extra décor items. It’s a lot of elements for sure, and it can prove somewhat fiddly to navigate each menu and highlight the one aspect you need to find, though it does grow easier as you play.
Luckily, the relaxed pace of this sim somewhat negates these woes. You can pause and speed up time as you please, so the player can take stock in the busiest moments and avoid becoming overwhelmed. The game consistently throws tasks your way that often tutor you in each element of building a successful zoo. With no time pressure and clear objectives, it handily builds your experience and proves satisfying to check off. You can eventually unlock a sandbox mode which allows you to bypass researching and other grinds. Nevertheless, building your zoo is a satisfying endeavour, and witnessing the growth of visitors is quite the sight. The only real misstep, mechanically speaking, is the Morality system. There is something of a comedic side to this, as the polar opposites of eco-friendly spreader of kindness versus being a grubby capitalist who uses animal deaths to build factories is borderline hilarious. Unfortunately, the actual systems fail to shake up the general gameplay much, aside from changing which buildings you can use, you still often end up in a wealthy position either way.
Luckily, the relaxed pace of this sim somewhat negates these woes. You can pause and speed up time as you please, so the player can take stock in the busiest moments and avoid becoming overwhelmed. The game consistently throws tasks your way that often tutor you in each element of building a successful zoo. With no time pressure and clear objectives, it handily builds your experience and proves satisfying to check off. You can eventually unlock a sandbox mode which allows you to bypass researching and other grinds. Nevertheless, building your zoo is a satisfying endeavour, and witnessing the growth of visitors is quite the sight. The only real misstep, mechanically speaking, is the Morality system. There is something of a comedic side to this, as the polar opposites of eco-friendly spreader of kindness versus being a grubby capitalist who uses animal deaths to build factories is borderline hilarious. Unfortunately, the actual systems fail to shake up the general gameplay much, aside from changing which buildings you can use, you still often end up in a wealthy position either way.
FOCAL POINT: ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Easily the strongest part of Let’s Build a Zoo is its animal count. In total, there are 63 base animals to add to your zoo, of which each contains ten variants to breed. There’s a great range of creatures to add across multiple biomes, ranging from ducks and badgers to more exotic lions and tigers. The systems to find these work well, as you can trade your animals with zoo keepers across the world to fill out your blanks, and breeding centres let you map out the rest of the genome. Then there’s DNA splicing, which allows you to add to your roster of animals by mixing breeds to wacky results. Those who want to build a Hippoit, a rabbit and hippopotamus hybrid, will be pleased to know we now have the technology, while those of a more evil disposition can buy hybrids from suspect dealers. There are 630 different animals without splicing, and hundreds of thousands more with the CRISPR DNA mixing, and it’s an enjoyable task uncovering all of these.
Let’s Build a Zoo also boasts a colourful and charming pixel art presentation. The hundreds of animal sprites look and animate endearingly, buildings are attractively exaggerated and plentiful emoticons help you figure out where your zoo is succeeding and failing. The only unfortunate issue is as you grow your zoo and more people enter, performance can begin to struggle especially as you zoom out and get a full view of your zoo. The game’s sound is solid, with a handful of catchy music tracks which include relaxing acoustic, toe-tapping electronic and some more mysterious accompaniments. Some feel a touch too short for the gameplay sessions you’ll undertake, but it’s not too bad. The sound effects for the likes of animal noises and construction all feel on point.
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Let’s Build a Zoo is a solid and enjoyable management sim which, while suffering from a few noticeable woes, can easily keep you engaged for dozens of hours. Expansive management systems, thousands of animals to find and a pleasant presentation gel into a good time. It’s only a shame that control woes, a weak morality system and frame rate woes can drag the experience down, though genre aficionados should still find plenty to like here. If you have the time and patience, and crave building the best zoo out there, this should satisfy.
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VERDICT
"While control woes and performance issues are a shame, Let’s Build a Zoo still boasts expansive management systems, thousands of animals to find and a pleasant presentation."
OVERALL: 7/10 |
OTHER ANIMAL-ORIENTATED GAMES REVIEWED
Dog's Life (2003, PlayStation 2)
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Zoo Tycoon (2013, Xbox One)
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