Frontier Developments has been the lead developer pushing the boundaries of cool “tycoon” or simulation games. Even the Jurassic World Evolution series provides a tantalising look into dino theme park management. Riffing on the old school Roller Coaster Tycoon franchise, Frontier has sought to reinvent the genre with Planet Coaster. It was a killer sim but it had some missing features compared with the older games. Planet Coaster 2, however, seeks to add more and expand on the management sim elements. Can it meaningfully do so with the original’s concept?
It is a weird experience loading up a sequel that at first glance appears very similar to the previous title. However, under the surface of Planet Coaster 2 there are sweeping changes that make it a worthy successor. Players will start with a familiar mode picker that has a choice of interesting options but most importantly the Sandbox mode. Picking Career is a good place to start, though. As with the previous game, as well as Planet Zoo, this offers a smooth introduction, where players can safely learn the ropes and enjoy an incremental difficulty slope.
Once one feels confident they can graduate to the two other main modes. Sandbox, as mentioned earlier, and Franchise, which is a new mode where, by utilising online accounts, you can take turns building parks with others as though running…well, a franchise! Due to a lack of online friends, Franchise mode has not been widely tested for this review, but as a concept it’s fantastic for longevity. Sandbox is where the main brunt is, though. Here, players can set up some parameters that determine how freely they can build and how difficult the management aspects will be. These options are surprisingly flexible and in depth, allowing for a staggering amount of gameplay tailoring.
Initially, those coming from the first title might be surprised to find it feeling so similar. Controls and menus are almost untouched. There are huge changes, however, in the way custom building and management systems work. The first big change worth highlighting, and a welcome one at that, is the new pathing system. In Planet Coaster, paths had a mind of their own, making it hard to really lay things in the way desired. This time, there are several drawing options, like automated decorations and a stamp mode for covering wider areas. It still has some limitations but ultimately the pathing is much improved and is far more flexible than it was before.
The case is the same for the customisation features, which, once turned on, allow for far greater building options than the original. Now, rides fully support decorations and can be saved with them, meaning players can make them look however they want! Park buildings are as flexibly designed as before, but editing pre-fabricated assets is also easier, with a focus on these elements upon first load. The menu takes a bit of getting used to but anyone who wants ultimate control should swap to the “custom” mode on the righthand side of the menu. This allows for the placing of single environmental items, the ability to create buildings, and more.
Managing staff is different to before, too. With detailed staff scheduling and some new zone mapping tools, staff can be placed to each themed area of a park. During the writing of this review, there were some buggy staff behaviours, though these may be patched. The bug itself just had janitors, regardless of scheduling and zoning, refusing to clean bathrooms – odd but ultimately the only issue in those regards. Along with staff, parks now require power management and water. These are easy to work with, but can get budget-heavy in big parks, so plan carefully!
The final new and rather big feature is the water park building options. The original was missing water and pools, which was a shame as it was a killer feature in the Splashed! expansion for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. Here, players can build massive and entertaining pools, control how clean and safe the water is for guests, and design elaborate flumes. These greatly enhance the building experience and offer a surprising amount of depth. The way the water looks is also delightful with higher graphical settings applied.
In terms of visuals, not too much has changed from before, other than Planet Coaster 2 supporting more modern display options like scaling. The graphical style is still very appealing, and a lot of the new themed objects look great. The park entrances still suffer from game-y-ness where they make no sense. It’s a shame things like roads and carparks to the entrances weren’t added to make them feel more physically viable. This might be a nightmare to program, but it’s unfortunate that the whole thing is not more believable. At least you can add more entrances and heavily decorate them as you please.
Having a fully decorated park and lording over it is quite something. Planet Coaster 2 really manages to sell the theme park look and feel, and as before, the sound is also excellent with a nice mix of effects driving each ride. It is very satisfying to listen to a roller coaster power off or how it ratchets up a steep hill – just like the real thing! There isn’t a huge amount of music here, but there are themed sounds and tunes, as well as the option to play custom tracks.
I’ll happy stay off the rollercoasters IRL and ride them behind a screen!