Planet Coaster 2

After several underwhelming releases and a major shift in company strategy, Planet Coaster 2 is arguably one of the most important titles to come out of UK-based Frontier Developments. The studio is once again firmly focused on the management simulation genre.

When Planet Coaster was released on PC in November 2016, Frontier Developments was delighted to see a million-seller - and that theme park building games still sell well, much like the successful RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise, of which Frontier Developments had developed the third instalment, although Atari has since bought all rights to the franchise. Four years later, Frontier released Planet Coaster: Console Edition, and by the end of 2020 the base game had sold over three million copies across all platforms. However, Jurassic World Evolution and Elite Dangerous were more successful. Planet Zoo also proved to be a successful title which, like the other, relied more on a shallow economic system but embraced the creative construction and building possibilities in a sandbox style with vibrant parks/zoos.

Unfortunately, the company made several missteps after that. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey had a problematic launch, the console version was cancelled, and both the new F1 Manager series and the RTS Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin fell (far) short of expectations. In addition, indie publishing arm Frontier Foundry shut down in the summer of 2023, despite notable releases such as FAR: Changing Tides from Okomotive, Stranded: Alien Dawn from Haemimont Games and Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters from Complex Games, with the Canadian team now integrated into Frontier Developments. Things didn't look good, Frontier had to cut jobs and sold the publishing rights to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 to Atari for seven million dollars in order to have more cash. A strategic turnaround was decided. The British company switched from a strategy of diversification into different genres back to the management simulation genre - and unsurprisingly, the company is betting on a safe candidate with Planet Coaster 2 - similar to Jurassic World Evolution 3, which is scheduled for release between June 2025 and May 2026.

To begin with, Planet Coaster 2 builds on the concept of its predecessor. Once again, you can build a theme park with roller coasters that can be designed piece by piece, as well as other typical attractions, aka flat rides, shops and more. Up to this point, the second instalment can hardly stand out from its predecessor. The biggest addition, however, are water attractions/rides, centred around the shimmering sparkle of pools and water slides, which, like the rollercoasters, can be extensively customised, decorated and modified. Users can also share their designs for roller coasters, rides or even entire theme parks. All are accessible through the cross-platform Frontier Workshop, both in-game and online. For PC players, the first hotfix has already significantly increased the limit for Workshop content.

"Pushing the boundaries of players' creativity, sprawling parks can be made unique and built from scratch with piece-by-piece construction. Park Designers can create entire buildings and displays from the ground up or customise everything from the colours and patterns of ride sections, down to the detail of adding scenery to an individual coaster car or shop front. Also new is the event sequencer tool, providing players with complete control over eye-catching effects staged across their park, from animatronics to water jets, bringing the charm of a real-world park to their own creations." - Frontiers Developments

Like its predecessor, this game is all about being a creative builder and creating parks where virtual visitors can enjoy themselves - and, of course, spend money that players can put back into expanding their respective parks. After all, the cute animated guests come to the park with certain needs that you, as the manager, must try to meet in order to keep them happy, which in turn will make them spend more money. Light shows created with the Event Sequencer tool also help, but that's more for advanced park designers. Speaking of game modes: There is a career mode in which various attractions can be unlocked one by one. Then there is the heart of the game, the Sandbox mode, which offers plenty of presets, but also a number of challenge options. Finally, there is Franchise mode, where players can compete for the top of the leaderboards (even with other players).

Although the focus is on creative creation, there are management elements that play a secondary role. The power system is new, but not really game-changing. Apart from that players have to make sure lifeguards are on duty, pools (and the whole park) are clean, and attractions are working properly. To help keep track, handy heat maps are provided. And as the weather changes, so does the need for umbrellas or sunscreen. This brings the game concept in line with Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution.

However, the PC version clearly shows that the game was designed with consoles in mind. The UI is too convoluted, cumbersome and overly complicated. Mouse distances are often too long. An interface optimised for PC control with keyboard and mouse looks different, especially considering the origin of the franchise. And the artificial limit on visitors is unnecessary, but Frontier has already announced that this limit will be increased in the future. Hopefully the developers can and will do more here.

These days, however, Planet Coaster is no longer alone in the field. Among several other theme park building and management games, the RCT-inspired retro title Parkitect, the colourful and wacky Parkasaurus, and the indoor park management simulator Indoorlands from Pixelsplit Simulations in Eschborn have all left Early Access. Aquapark Tycoon, also from a German studio, Boxelware (Avorion), is planned for 2025. It's interesting to note that, like Planet Coaster 2, the game focuses on the theme of water parks, but aims to emphasise the economic and management elements, while Planet Coaster 2 celebrates the creative building process.

Planet Coaster 2 has been released digitally for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on 6 November 2024 for a suggested price of €49.99. The Deluxe Edition, available for €64.99, includes the Vintage Funfair Ride Pack, a collection of 10 classic attractions. The game can be expected to receive a large amount of downloadable content, in the same vein as its predecessor and Planet Zoo, which saw the release of over 20 DLCs featuring new animals, scenery and scenarios. Especially as the base game (Planet Coaster 2) is surprisingly lacking in thematic options.

Conclusion

A feast for creative park builders, but less so for economic managers - just like its predecessor. Planet Coaster 2 is an improvement on its predecessor in many ways, and the new water elements are particularly great. However, the game would have benefited from a little more development time for final tweaks, fewer bugs and the console-style interface is really inappropriate on PC. Hopefully Frontier Development will improve this. In any case, the previous Planet games received content and patches for a long time.

Features

• Wide range of theme park building options, including new water elements
• Enormous creative design possibilities (with sharing options)
• Bustling park activity, unique cartoon style