Jurassic World Evolution 3 Review
Summary: For those perhaps new to the genre, or if you aren’t interested in park management that gets too involved, then Jurassic World Evolution 3 is a fantastic starting point to test your dinosaur-handling skills.
4
The Next Evolution
It’s hard to believe we’re already three games in, but while the Evolution franchise once felt a little bare-bones, it finally seems like the park-building experts at Frontier are making full use of the Jurassic license. The leap to Evolution 3 might not feel as essential as the one between the original game and its 2018 sequel, but there’s still plenty here to justify a third outing. With a wealth of quality-of-life improvements, the series’s strongest campaign yet – and, yes, baby dinosaurs – Evolution 3 is every bit the park builder the franchise deserves, even if some of the series’ uglier fossils still need dusting off.
If this isn’t your first Evolution rodeo, the fundamentals remain the same – you’re once again tasked with transforming struggling parks and empty green spaces into dinosaur safehavens. Like before, balancing park safety, guest entertainment, and dinosaur welfare are the main orders of business, but this time, Evolution shakes up the formula by taking cues from Frontier’s other franchises. Perhaps most notable of these changes is the new, completely modular construction system, replacing the previously limited design options.
Is it overwhelming? Absolutely, but much like in Planet Zoo, if you can get the hang of it, it’s an incredibly powerful tool that allows for a level of customisation not previously seen in the franchise. Every corner, doorway, and rooftop can be tweaked, fine-tuned, and pieced together to create virtually anything you can think of. For example, not happy with the basic designs of the exploration centre? No problem, just make your own.
If that sounds like too much work, you’re in luck. Evolution 3 has you covered, as alongside modular building comes arguably the best addition to the franchise – community creations. There’s already an incredible array of fan-made projects littering the in-game catalogue, from experimental multi-building hubs to creative attractions to make your park feel extra special. In fact, I found myself practically ignoring Frontier’s official selections altogether, immediately in awe of the creativity of a fan base that has already made map-designing in Evolution even more special.
Speaking of map designing, the terraforming tool is now more powerful than ever. It’s far less restrictive than in previous Evolution games, with natural formations now able to act as organic fences. It generally feels nicer and less restrictive to use, and the ability to quickly mould waterfalls and incredible mountains in seconds allows for a much more fluid creation experience. If you want to take it a step further, you can also combine Evolution’s wealth of new scenario pieces with the terraforming brush, allowing for even deeper map customisation.
Of course, a beautiful environment is nothing without some dinosaurs to put in it, and Evolution 3 easily stands out as the best iteration of the series when it comes to prehistoric species. In fact, its leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessors, adding gender dimorphism, baby dinosaurs, and semi-aquatic species, all with perhaps the series’s best roster to date. I’m sure for many, baby dinos are the main attraction here, but personally, I love the dimorphism, especially being able to see clear distinctions between family units; it’s such a clever addition and one that goes hand-in-hand with the game’s clear new ethos of letting your creativity run wild.
Having clear dinosaur genders, of course, means that many of your dinosaur species can breed. Creating new nests and fostering the perfect environment for your dinosaurs means they mate, lay eggs, and give you dinosaur offspring. Of course, they’re adorable, but they add a new layer of complexity to the game, especially early on, as providing proper care is critical for them to become healthy adults. It’s also important to ensure you take note of how many dinosaurs you have breeding at one time, as more than once, I found myself overrun with babies, increasing the overall discomfort levels in my otherwise perfect dinosaur enclosure.
And keeping your dinosaurs happy is, of course, your main priority in Evolution 3 – especially as Frontier have been kind enough to gift players with the best base selection of dinosaurs yet. A mixture of species from the previous two games base creatures and DLC have made the cut, from obvious icons like the Tyrannosaurus to the clawed, bird-like Therizinosaurus. There’s not a tonne of new species though, and the new additions that have been included aren’t particularly exciting (the awesome Guanlong excluded) but it’s still a tight, well-rounded selection of beasts.
It’s also worth noting that many of the species have had excellent redesigns. While overall the upgrades feel almost entirely warranted, Deinonychus remains the clear standout, which is now much easier on the eye than its Evolution 2 counterpart. Of course, like previous Evolution entries, chances are more dinosaurs will be available in the future as DLC, but Frontier have already promised that some previous species will be added as freebies in the future, once they’ve been given their respective Evolution 3 touchups.
While in previous Evolution titles I almost exclusively spent time in sandbox mode, I found myself fully focused on first completing Evolution 3’s surprisingly exciting campaign. It feels bigger in scope than previous entries, with globetrotting objectives and a genuinely enjoyable narrative with plenty of returning series regulars. Each park I visited throughout the campaign had diverse mission objectives, too, and there’s a very natural flow that never feels like it treads too much familiar ground. For example, Japan’s park is a half-built tourist trap in need of desperate TLC, whereas other parks around the world face problems with airborne reptiles causing havoc or constant disease outbreaks.
Of course, sandbox mode does return, as does challenge mode. The former is perhaps the best way to experience Evolution 3’s very in-depth customisation tools fully, and the latter is still a fun way to put your dinosaur-keeping abilities to the test. It is worth noting that console players are restricted by a build limit, and while I personally felt it was generous, it may make things a little tight for players who really want to flex their creativity.
But for all the steps in the right direction, there are still areas where Evolution still doesn’t feel as tight as Frontier’s other sims. Guest management still feels like an afterthought, and again, outside of the ability to build amenities for their enjoyment, there’s no way of interacting or managing your patrons’ needs. I understand that the primary focus of Evolution is the dinosaurs, but I hate that I can’t click on my guests to see what they desire, and I was equally as disappointed to see that they still all share the same handful of character models. I was also disappointed with how dinosaurs interacted with guests, and on the occasions where my dinosaurs ended up running riot around the park, I was greeted with the same animations repeated each time when a guest met a grizzly end.
It’s a similar issue with vehicle interaction, especially regarding tours. While I do enjoy the new Cretaceous Cruise, for example, I was disappointed that if a boat was knocked over, the guests would simply sit in place like nothing had happened. It’s also worth noting that the game isn’t completely bug-free, and while I’m sure many of the issues will be ironed out, on several occasions I’ve had to restart due to frozen objectives, and there’s more than a little clipping of dino tails here and there.
For those perhaps new to the genre, or if you aren’t interested in park management that gets too involved, then Jurassic World Evolution 3 is a fantastic starting point to test your dinosaur-handling skills. It’s still not the best example of what Frontier can do, but it’s easily the best Evolution game – and probably the best Jurassic game to-date. And oh, did I mention baby dinosaurs?
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