Planet Zoo 2 review: lovely animals, messy connections

Update — 17 October 2026: I’ve now played sixteen hours, including four since the October 16 update. I had no more disconnects, and both the servers and pathing worked. So far, the problems I ran into seem resolved. The issues described below are from my earlier sessions.

Planet Zoo 2 launched on October 13, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The sequel keeps the first game's combination of habitat building, animal care and running a zoo, then adds fully aquatic animals, flying birds and Wildlife Reserves. Those new features give you more ways to build and more to do with the animals you raise.

The animals make me stop building

The opening is lovely, and the tutorial does a good job of getting you started. There are plenty of tools and systems to learn, but it gives you a good start with them.

The animals are what really got me, though. Look closely at the lion. The texture detail is amazing. The improved animations and visual effects help, too. I stopped building just to watch them.

Reviews have been mixed to positive overall. IGN praises the visual upgrades and animal detail, while PC Gamer's more critical review still singles out the animals' art, animation and audio as strengths.

Building nice habitats feels easier

Making attractive habitats feels much easier here. The nature brushes help a lot, and there's already a good selection of lovely models to build with. The integrated Workshop lets you browse community builds directly in the game, too. I can spend more time putting a habitat together and less time struggling to make it look right.

Nearly all buildings have fully modelled interiors you can customise, including the souvenir shops. You can work on what guests use inside as well as how the building looks from the path.

The menus work well for a game this complex. I sometimes struggle to remember where a particular object was, but that feels like something I'll learn with time.

Aquariums and aviaries in Planet Zoo 2

The aquariums are another highlight, with vibrant colours that make them worth looking at up close. I particularly liked the path through the aquarium. Vets also dive into the tanks to care for the animals; the tutorial has one swim in to inspect a manatee.

Freshwater and saltwater aquariums let you build homes for fish, sharks and turtles. Aviaries use barriers, support poles and mesh covers to contain flying species. These additions expand the kinds of habitats you can design beyond the first game's land animals and smaller exhibits.

You can find the full roster in the Planet Zoo 2 animals guide.

Before the October 16 update, paths in Franchise mode could be annoying. I've had doors and buildings that looked connected to a path but wouldn't connect properly. It's frustrating when something looks finished and you still have to work out why the game won't accept it.

Zoo management: building within a budget

The management side needs to be taken seriously again, especially when you're starting a zoo. The starting budget is limited, and there's a lot you need to pay for. That becomes very obvious when you want the buildings to look good straight away. I have to balance what I want to build with what the zoo can afford. Just keep building without watching the finances and you'll go bankrupt.

There are six staff roles to manage: caretakers, keepers, mechanics, vendors, vets and educators. Their salaries sit alongside other running costs, including energy bills. Ticket prices, shops and guest donations bring money in. You can adjust admission prices, but guests react to whether they think the visit is worth the money, so those prices also affect guest satisfaction. A zoo has to support the buildings you put in it after the construction bill is paid.

Animal care adds another set of decisions. Food, water, space, terrain, plants and enrichment all affect welfare. Guests need facilities and a view of the animals, while the animals also need somewhere to retreat. Making a habitat look nice is only part of making it work.

Franchise mode is where the trouble starts

Moving from the tutorial and challenge zoos into Franchise mode made a real difference. That's where the server problems and bugs started getting in the way. The server trouble feels familiar from Planet Zoo 1 at release.

One of the more annoying bugs involved employees trying to take a break. They would head towards the staff room, reset back to the entrance, and never get any rest. There isn't much I can manage when they can't even get to the room.

After restarting because of that bug, I couldn't load back into Franchise mode. I've also had server connection problems, an early crash, and people glitching through a wall.

The connection problems bother me most. A person walking through a wall is distracting. Being unable to get back into the zoo I was playing is a much bigger interruption.

Frontier's October 14 update included Franchise stability work and crash fixes, with further server work also announced. That made things a little more stable, but I was still running into problems. The October 16 update now seems to have resolved all the issues I had.

Wildlife Reserves give breeding a purpose

Career mode gives you scenarios to work through, while sandbox mode lets you build your own zoo more freely. Franchise mode adds animal trading with other players. Wildlife Reserves take animal conservation outside the zoo and into large nature reserves.

Species research unlocks the option to release animals, and each release group has requirements to meet. You raise suitable animals, prepare an ecosystem for them and send them into the reserve.

I found the reserves very motivating. They give me something to work towards beyond the zoo itself, and a reason to keep breeding healthier animals. Releasing them gives that work a destination I can visit. It makes me care about what happens after an animal leaves the enclosure, too.

The opening has you drive out to photograph flamingos, elephants and zebras in the reserve. Research photos are scored for framing, distance and the variety of animal behaviour in the shot. It gives you something to do with all that time spent watching them.

Playing on Linux

I tried GE-Proton, Proton 11.0-2, Proton Hotfix, Proton Experimental and Proton 9.0-4. Proton Hotfix felt much more stable when I switched to it later on. I don't have the exact GE build to hand.

I'm not sure how many of the problems came from Linux or Proton. My husband was having plenty of trouble on Windows 11 as well, with the same PC setup apart from the operating system. I wouldn't put everything down to Linux, but I can't separate the causes cleanly either.

Verdict: 8.5/10

I love the animals, the aquariums, and how much easier it feels to make a nice habitat. The animal detail keeps pulling my attention away from the building tools. The reserves give me another reason to keep breeding healthier animals, while the limited starting budget keeps my building plans in check.

Franchise mode was the frustrating part of my initial sessions. Staff failing to rest, awkward path connections and server problems got in the way, reminding me of Planet Zoo 1 at launch. Since the October 16 update, those problems seem to be resolved for me.

For me, it's a vibrant and thriving sequel, and I'm still having a lot of fun. 8.5/10 reflects that, and my confidence that the bugs will be fixed. I want to keep playing.

Questions before you play

Sources

• Planet Zoo 2 on Steam: product features.
• Frontier's official Planet Zoo 2 announcements: Update 1.0.4 and Player Feedback and Planned Maintenance, October 14, 2026.
• Frontier's Creature Feature: Managing a Zoo: welfare, staff roles, running costs and income.
• IGN's Planet Zoo 2 review and PC Gamer's review: critical reception, visuals and animal presentation.
• ESRB's Planet Zoo 2 listing: platforms.
• Valve Proton releases and changelog: compatibility-tool naming.

Official update information checked on October 16, 2026.