Finally! Planet Zoo gets a feature I”ve been waiting for for three years

Comment: On 18 October, the new Twilight Pack for Planet Zoo will be released. But this pack offers much more than you would expect at first glance

Since 2019, two building games have dominated my life. One of them is, of course, Anno 1800. The best building game ever in my eyes, which gets even better every year – thanks to numerous really in-depth DLCs. I”ve been playing this building game basically continuously since its release.

The second building game flies a little lower under the radar. Or to use a more appropriate image: It”s a bit more difficult to spot in the undergrowth of the game world. The game in question is Planet Zoo. Another excellent title, but its expansions rarely generate as much attention as Anno.

In fact, the DLCs are almost always worth the money and many free updates have refined the Parksim even further over the years. You can read more about this in our review. But if there”s one DLC that really needs your attention, it”s the newly announced Twilight Pack:

This brand new DLC contains a beast that I”ve been waiting for since release. But it”s not the animal itself that excites me so much.

Finally we are flying

In total, the Twilight Pack delivers five new animal species, all of which are nocturnal and feel most comfortable in the dark. These include a thieving raccoon, a cute wombat, the classic red fox and a smelly skunk – which I”m already mentally classifying in my zoo section for strange animals.

But – the real star in the ranks of nocturnal animals is the Egyptian fruit bat! She is the night, she is justice. But above all, it is one thing: a flying beast. And that”s exactly why I was in a tizzy after the announcement and had to tell all my colleagues about it.

As cool as bats may be, this mammal is not responsible for my excitement. Planet Zoo did, after all, boast a motley assortment of animal species at release, only this selection never felt complete. In the beginning, even zoo classics like penguins or polar bears were absent, but thanks to the expansions they now slip on their ice floes.

What many fans had to do without were classic birdhouses. You know, the areas that no zoo visitor ever describes as their favourite experience on the way home. The ones you actually only pass through briefly because they”re on the way to the lion enclosure. But whether exciting or not: birds simply belong in a complete zoo! I would like to have an area where I can present exotic birds. Whether the visitors want them or not.

And now this wish is coming true. With the bats, the first flying animal is finally making its way into Planet Zoo and that not only makes me happy, but could be a very important sign for the future of the park simulation.

Planet Zoo is not finished yet

Planet Zoo will be three years old in November. That”s quite a bit, and even endless building games are in danger of collapsing under the weight of their own DLCs at some point. Even Anno 1800 can”t be expected to keep adding new expansions for much longer without the foundations slowly starting to creak. We talked about this in the podcast with strategy guru Writing Bull.

With Planet Zoo, I also began to doubt how long I could still expect DLCs here. After all, the developers are increasingly fishing for unusual theme packs for their animals. In the beginning there were packs on Australia or South America – now there are DLCs on endangered species and nocturnal animals. This raises the question: Are there still enough exotic species in such packs to justify a purchase? Do I really want a skunk in my zoo?

https://www.global-esports.news/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-Conservation-Pack.jpg

(The Conservation Pack brought the Przewalski”s horse. In general, it would be worth considering introducing a DLC with farm animals like cows or chickens.)

That”s something everyone has to decide for themselves. For my part, I think Planet Zoo still has a lot of room for furry, scaled or feathered friends. Once, because the animal world out there is enormous. But also because certain areas have not been explored at all. With the bats, the door has finally been pushed open to cages full of flight-capable birds – and I”m hoping for a lot of that. I want to see toucans, birds of paradise and parrots in my zoo. But also pelicans, owls or bald eagles.

Originally I thought Frontier was saving this for a sequel. But why wait for that? And if birds should soon be possible, aren”t aquariums also conceivable at some point?

That”s a whole new outlook! And reason enough for me to keep myself happy with Planet Zoo for the next three years. In the end, Planet Zoo could even survive Anno 1800.

Planet Zoo: List with all animals and which ones could still come

We have over 70 different animals to show off to our crowds of visitors at Planet Zoo. Here you can find the complete list with attractions from every continent

All the animals in Planet Zoo

In Planet Zoo there will be both free-ranging mammals, for which we will have to build open enclosures, and smaller animals such as insects and reptiles. Smaller animals do not have their own enclosures, but are exhibited in vivariums. Therefore, we have divided this list into vivariums and enclosures. You will find the DLC animals under a separate paragraph.

DLC animals

The following animals are not included in the basic game, but can only be bought as DLC for cash. All DLCs usually cost 10 Euros.

Twilight Pack

The Twilight Pack is planned for 18 October 2022. A DLC that focuses on nocturnal animals. In addition, this DLC is the very first to also deliver a new exhibit for flight-capable animals. In this case, these are the fruit bats also called Nile flying dog.

• The Raccoon
• The Red Fox
• The Naked-nosed Wombat
• The striped skunk
• The Nile flying dog (walk-in vivarium)

Conservation Pack

Since 21 June 2022, the Conservation Pack delivers five new species of endangered animals that are looking for a new home with you:

• The Przewalski”s Horse
• The Amur Leopard
• The Siamang Monkey
• The oryx antelope
• The Axolotl (Vivarium)

North America Pack

Like the Africa Pack, the North America Pack expands a region that existed previously in the game. It is the second DLC after the South East Asia Pack, in which a whole eight animals are included. Seven of them are even enclosed animals. The beavers are definitely a highlight here, as their behaviour is completely different from that of most animals. Just think of their dam-building skills. The DLC was released on 4 October 2021.

• Canadian Beavers
• Moose
• Californian sea lion
• Cougar
• Mississippi alligator
• Black-tailed prairie dog
• Polar fox
• Bullfrog (Vivarium)

Africa Pack

The Africa Pack is the first DLC that basically adds even more animals to an already quite well-stocked continent. After all, animals from Africa such as the giraffe, elephants or zebras were already available at release. But the exotic animal world of this continent offers so much more. The DLC was released on 22 June 2021.

• Earthman
• White Rhino
• Goggled Penguin
• Fennek (Desert Fox)
• Sacred Pill (Vivarium)

Southeast Asia Pack

The first new expansion in 2021 brought a lot of animals from Southeast Asia into the game. At the same time, this new DLC is the expansion with the most new species for your zoo so far. However, there are also fewer unique species. Bears and monkeys are already in the base game. The DLC was released on 30 March 2021.

• The Misty Leopard
• The Malayan Bear
• The proboscis monkey
• The Binturong
• The Saddleback Tapir
• The Ussuri Dhole
• The Sulawesi Stag Boar
• The Great Walking Leaf (Vivarium)

Aquatic Pack

The fourth DLC after release focuses on animals that live in the water. However, this does not mean fish or whales. Rather, it is about species that feel at home both on land and in the water. The DLC was released on 8 December 2020.

• The King Penguin
• The Giant Otter
• The grey seal
• The smooth-fronted caiman
• The Diamondback Turtle (Vivarium)

Australia Pack

The Australia Pack is another DLC for Planet Zoo. It contains a few of the most famous animals from Down Under. As usual, the DLC offers lots of building options in addition to the 5 new animal species, all of which were inspired by plants and culture on the Red Continent. The DLC was released on 25 August 2020.

• The Koala
• The Red Giant Kangaroo
• The Dingo
• The Helmeted Cassowary
• The Blue-Tongued Finch

South America Pack

With the release of the South America Pack on April 7, 2020 five more animals have made their way into Planet Zoo via paid expansion.

• The Jaguar
• The Capuchin Monkey
• The Great Anteater
• The Red-eyed Tree Frog
• The llama

Arctic Pack

Since 17 December 2019, you can get your hands on the new Arctic Pack which features the following animals.

• Bighorn Sheep
• Polar bear
• Polar wolf
• Rentenier

All enclosure animals sorted by continent

Africa

• African elephant
• African ostrich
• African wild dog
• Aldabra giant tortoise
• Bongo
• Bonobo
• Aardvark
• River horse
• Gepard
• Cape buffalo
• Katta
• Mandrill
• Mesh giraffe
• Nile monitor
• Nyala
• Okapi
• Sable antelope
• Red variegated
• Spikebuck
• Springbok
• Steppe zebra
• Thomson gazelle (Deluxe Edition only)
• Dotted Hyena
• Warthog
• White-tailed wildebeest
• West African lion
• Western lowland gorilla
• Western chimpanzee
• Dwarf Hippopotamus (Deluxe Edition only)

Asia

• Blue peacock
• Borneo orangutan
• Chinese pangolin
• Gangetic gavial
• Giant Panda
• Indian elephant
• Isabella bear
• Japanese macaw
• Little Panda
• Komodowaran (Deluxe Edition only)
• King Tiger
• Limbed Crocodile
• Tank rhinoceros
• Rosa flamingo (also found in Europe and Africa)
• Snow Leopard
• Siberian tiger
• Taiwanese black bear
• Trampled Bull (Camel)

North America

• American bison
• Forkbuck
• Grizzly bear
• Wolf (also found in Asia and Europe)

South America

• Galapagos giant tortoise
• Central American tapir

All vivarium animals

• Again Snake (South America)
• Australian Great Cormorant (Oceania)
• Brazilian giant bird spider (South America)
• Brazilian wandering spider (South America)
• Brazilian giant creeper (South America)
• Giant agate snail (Africa)
• Yellow anaconda (South America)
• Gila crustose lizard (North America)
• Goliath bird spider (South America)
• Goliath frog (Africa)
• Goliath beetle (Africa)
• Green Island Guan (South America)
• Green Iguana (South America)
• Hairy desert scorpion (North America)
• Indian giant scorpion (Asia)
• Lehmann”s poison dart frog (South America)
• Mexican red-kneed bird spider (North America)
• Puff adder (Africa)
• Giant longhorn beetle (South America)
• Dreadful poison dart frog (South America)
• Texas Rattlesnake (North America)
• Death adder (Oceania)
• Eastern Brown Snake (Oceania)

These animals might still be coming

That”s quite a few animal species already. But a few zoo classics are still missing. Many fans already expressed their wishes in advance about what they hoped for from possible DLC animals. Among them were animals from certain regions and from completely different species.
For example, Planet Zoo still lacks real aquariums Those who expect sea creatures such as dolphins, schools of fish or even whales will have to hope for an expansion. However, according to official information, such a DLC is not yet planned.

Finally, a few animal lovers are still annoyed about the small selection of birds We can only exhibit large, flightless birds at the moment. So clipped flamingos, ostriches and peacocks. Here, too, there is no DLC confirmation from the developers yet, for example to introduce cages for colourful birds of paradise. At least there is now a first flight vivarium thanks to the bats.