Let's Build a Zoo

An insane ADHD simulator that pretends to be a tycoon. The normal tycoon loop is there — you look for animals, breed them, design spaces for them and your visitors — but everything also JUMPS, BLINKS, and CHATTERS. The kind of person who would find it easy to follow everything happening in this type of zoo scares me. When I bought it, however, I was looking for an animal/creature game with fun genetics, and [i]Let's Build a Zoo![/i] is close. You unlock new species by completing mini-quests for other zoos, and you unlock subspecies/types by breeding your creatures, which is an involved process and overall fun. And, as befits a tycoon, you of course need to keep an eye on your employees, their needs, wages, as well as a number of systems in the zoo itself like lighting. The final result is completely overwhelming. Thankfully, it's loosely balanced, so staying afloat is not hard. I had fun with this game. Now I might need an ambulance.

Overall the pixel art style of the game is super cute, there's lots of funny choice pop-ups, and I really like the morality meter. I also really like collecting the different variants of the animals. HOWEVER: At the time of writing I'm currently 57 hours into the game, and I'm now starting to experience super severe lag. I'm unsure whether it's the volume of items I have in my zoo, my connection streaming via Steam Deck, or a combination of both. Regardless, it's enough to rustle my jimmies something chronic. YMMV. I would say that I'm starting to approach late-game, with only the two outer-most layers of land to buy. As you proceed through the game, you need to buy more land in order to get more enclosures. This means you have to shift all your decorations and the million trees you've slammed down (because customers keep moaning about the lack of foliage) in order to keep a good flow of your zoo. Which leads me to my biggest jimmy-rustle: There is no mass editing function. Y...

If you grew up LOVING the OG Zoo Tycoon, love cute pixel art, and also have good multitasking and resource-management skills, this game might be just perfect for you. Now, I know everyone mentions the cuteness of the art, the insane level of control you have over object placement, and the ridiculous amount of décor (seriously, SO much décor). And please believe them, all of that is absolutely true. But I also need to tell you about 5 things I adore about this game that, for me, make it the best of its genre: 1. The NPCs In most games like this, the visiting NPCs just kind of blurt out what they like or dislike about your zoo. That happens here too, but in a way that feels way more lively and human-like. Not only the customers, your workers talk too. Plus, you’ll get special visitors: influencers, criminals, people trying to pass off a golden retriever as a lion (!!). These trigger special events, and you also manually choose each one of your workers. It’s just so fun and full o...

Let's Build a Zoo is a charming yet surprisingly deep management simulator that combines the lighthearted aesthetics of pixel art with layered mechanics that encourage both creativity and strategic planning. Developed by Springloaded and published by No More Robots, the game puts you in charge of building and running your very own zoo—on the surface, a familiar premise. But where it sets itself apart is in how it blends traditional tycoon gameplay with moral choice systems, gene splicing, and an enormous range of customization options. It’s deceptively cute, and behind its pixelated animals and pastel color palette lies a management sim that’s bursting with personality and occasionally dark humor. From the very start, Let's Build a Zoo gives players immense control over how they want to run their zoo. The core gameplay loop involves building enclosures, acquiring animals, managing staff, and attending to visitor needs. But it quickly becomes clear that you’re not just followin...

games ok... building a zoo

Very very addicting. I wasn't too sure about it at first but now I cannot put it down. you get to manage every single detail from the animals habitats and what they need to eat for nutrients to how much you want each shop item to cost-could be more of a profit by lowering the quality orrr you could make it the best quality which will make it more popular and would most likely sell more often instead of a high priced item that isn't of quality. anyways that's my review and I hope I managed to shine a light on this game. Enjoy if you end up getting it!!

top tier zoo game.. perfect mix of decorating,managing, and cuteness

0

its sigma

it is okay animals die fast