Jurassic World Evolution review - manage a dinosaur theme park and make a killing

This strategic simulation game is an interesting take on the classic dinosaur franchise. Coinciding with the latest big screen release, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the title puts you behind the virtual desk of theme park manager in a clever management sim that combines playing god with dinosaurs and playing host to the demands of an army of theme park visitors. Occasionally the two meet – and it never ends well. 

You’re responsible for everything. From fossil excavation through to hatching new breeds and making sure there’s enough entertainment for your guests; via managing park rangers and ensuring there are enough power generators to run the dino show. You need to keep an eye on your expenditure, maintain safety and build a reputation by completing side objectives.

It may sound more like a career than a game, but the beauty of this type of management simulator lies in the controls and gameplay pacing. It’s easy to build a new gift shop or construct a new enclosure for your showstopping carnivore that cost $500,000 to hatch and puts you perilously close to a zero cash balance. And as you get better at running your own Jurassic park you’ll unlock different islands with their own unique challenges, whether it’s climactic conditions (storms are a real hazard) or tighter budgets – where you notice how money really affects the gameplay through not having enough cash to hatch new dinosaurs to keep the punters flooding in.

The fun is when things go wrong. What if the meat eater breaks through a fence and makes a beeline for the fast food outlet? Will your rangers make it in time? Well in this instance you can switch to direct control and manually drive a jeep and shoot a rifle, adding an arcade element to the action.

Strange incidents can occur such as having a loose dinosaur roaming the park but rangers who can only medicate not tranquilise, thus meaning you have to find the money to build a heli pad unit who can send the big lizards to sleep. Or you could be faced with a poisoning outbreak but not have enough funds to build the research facility required to develop the serum. Cash is still very much king so keeping an eye on your bottom line is paramount.

Oddities aside though, this is a fun and diverse strategic resource management game. The dinosaurs add an unpredictable wild card to the gameplay and for fans of games like Theme Park and Zoo Tycoon this is an entertaining and at times challenging game to while away the long summer evenings.

• Jurassic World Evolution is available on PS4, Xbox and PC
• Read more gaming reviews on theartsdesk

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