If you're looking for an honest and transparent Jurassic World Evolution 2 review, we've got you covered!
Finally, JWE2 is here and we are beyond excited to see what's to come for the title's future. It's never easy knowing whether to dish out the cash for a new game, especially one so recent and at its highest price point. Hopefully, our Jurassic World Evolution 2 review can help make your mind up on whether or not to make the purchase!
The first thing I noticed as I began to play through the campaign and chaos theory was the sheer number of dinosaurs in Jurassic World Evolution 2 compared to the prequel.
Another comparison I found between the original JWE and the latest release was the increase in overall graphics. Many likely wouldn't notice too big of a difference but to those like myself that spend too much time taking screenshots, it's like Christmas came early!
Aside from the actual improvement of textures, there are some really beautiful cutscenes for players to enjoy. I think this is one of the first games I haven't automatically skipped through the cinematics. This is not so much a negative comment per se but for many who are fans of Frontier, they may buy this title thinking it will have the same level of customisation that Planet Zoo or Coaster does but unfortunately, this is not the case.
JWE2 is heavily focused on gameplay and management rather than creativity and building. Players do still have the options to customise buildings colour schemes and styles but these are a series of presets rather than something you build yourself. I personally don't have much issue with this, despite my love for the Planet titles I regularly found myself bogged down in the details.
Sadly the campaign didn't really live up to expectations for me, it was a brilliant way to introduce players to the game and teach them but it literally felt like a tutorial.
The game lay in a grey area where it played like a mediocre campaign but also felt like a brilliant and in-depth tutorial and personally, I think it would've been better labelled as the latter. Despite the above comment, I was extremely grateful for the effort that went into the campaign. I had been worried that the sequel would follow in the same footsteps as its predecessor, leaving players completely in the dark as to how to actually play the game.
I quickly grasped the basics of Jurassic World Evolution 2 and as the above feelings crept in I felt it was time to push myself a little, this is exactly what I needed from challenges. One of the aspects I loved when diving into challenge mode was being able to alter the difficulty, which meant I could play on the easiest setting and take my time or I could give myself a 'challenge', pardon the pun.
Although this option was readily available to me, it didn't stop me from failing time and time again, slowly but surely making sure I know I'm not as good at games as I thought. Aside from the actual mechanics and gameplay of challenge mode, we finally get to experience something other than a tropical map like in the original JWE, players can now play in a range of biomes and continents.
I really hope that Frontier continue to develop this title in the way they have done with Planet Zoo/Coaster, it has a huge amount of potential.
Being a big fan of sandbox mode in park building sims I was looking forward to trying it out in Jurassic World Evolution 2. It was a little disappointing to see you had to unlock most things in challenges or chaos theory before being able to use them in the sandbox.
I understand the incentive to get players to play out other modes before being able to play sandbox mode but it's a shame that those who want to jump straight in won't have the ability to do so. No doubt someone will find a way to do it or create a mod in no time.
For perspective, I'm a huge dinosaur and Jurassic Park/World fan and have been for years but JWE1 felt like a missed opportunity. I bought it on release and probably didn't play more than 20 hours in total.
Since playing the sequel, I have already logged 20 hours and I'm constantly itching to get back in-game. I really hope that Frontier continue to develop this title in the way they have done with Planet Zoo/Coaster, it has a huge amount of potential.
If you're still on the fence about giving Jurassic World Evolution 2 a chance, I'd say go for it, especially if you have the time to put into the campaign and chaos theory. Once you've got those modes out of the way you can pour hours into the sandbox. Overall, I think Jurassic World Evolution 2 is an incredible game and it feels like many complaints fans had previously made about the prequel were taken into account.