A review of Let's Build A Zoo Switch: the tycoon time machine

Our Verdict

Let’s Build a Zoo reminds us why tycoon games were once an industry monolith, but also why the genre couldn’t stay at the top forever. Morality mechanics, plenty of animals, and an appealing visual style all make this Zoo one you want to visit, but some tired systems and a slightly clunky Switch control scheme means you might not stick around for more than a few breeding seasons.

The tycoon genre is a little mysterious in 2022. Notable titles such as the Roller Coaster series have been remarkably simplified for mobile devices, while Mini Metro and Tracks have chosen to focus on zen-like puzzle gameplay instead of transit management, while the Two Point games remain deeply influenced by their origins. As of right now, no creator has successfully and uniquely rebuilt the pinnacle of early 2000s tycoon games, leaving the genre without a role model.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Let's Build a Zoo for Switch sticks to the model that the tycoon genre found success on back when the newest Nintendo portable was a color GBA and flatscreen TVs weren't yet common. The gameplay, graphics, and even the worldbuilding, which is infused with sardonic sarcasm, all harken back to the glory days of the zoo, park, and hospital tycoon. In many respects, it's a nostalgia simulator.

The idea behind the game is straightforward: you begin with a large sum of money, a vacant piece of land, and a few connections in the field of zoology. To raise the number of rare breeds in captivity, you next build buildings and animal enclosures, hire and educate people, and trade animals with a global network of zoos. All of this work is being done to create an amazing zoo, of course, but also to complete the assignments given to you by park staff, such as designing new bus routes and raising uncommon breeds of pigs.

One of the gimmicks, for want of a better term, in Let's Build a Zoo is that cross-breeding starts as soon as you have a few different types of animals in your park, and CRISPR technology plays a big role in your park's future whether you want it to or not. The concept of a pen housing a duck-pig and a horse-goose is entertaining, but it adds little to the gameplay beyond making this zoo game stand out from others. It also seems like there should be more crossover species, or if there is, it should appear sooner in the game.

There's also the issue of morality, which first seems like an odd way to include a Fallout 3 concept in a tycoon game, but gradually comes to be recognized as one of the key elements that makes Let's Build a Zoo unique. I would suggest Fallout 3, but the easiest way to think about the moral dichotomy in this game is to draw a parallel with Stardew Valley, where your choices in terms of morality either support social equality and clean living, or you sell meat and glue from the animals you slaughter and rear in the park. This is also quite black-and-white, with little place for middle ground—your zoo is either a beehive of evil or a force for good.

The morals aspect influences not just what visitors think of your zoo but also how you might grow it going forward. Being a total sweetie, I set out to turn my zoo into a clean energy center by trying to pave the way for recycling bins and wind turbines utilizing the research board, an in-game function that allows you to acquire additional amenities, features, and decorations for your zoo. I will give credit to the creators for their early introduction of the research idea, which is essential to making your zoo the place to be. If you want to grow and keep turning a profit, you must continually engage with research.

The animals and park administration systems in Let's Build a Zoo are essentially what you would expect them to be. It's a tycoon game, and if you're reading this, I'm sorry if it seems like a cop-out to people who are searching for a detailed, discursive explanation of how it works. All will be well if you remember to feed, drink, and interact with your animals in a kind manner. The little problem here is that certain species, like rabbits, reproduce like, well, rabbits, and because of their unceasing population growth, you will often get alerts about limited water, food, or physical enrichment. This is a problem before you can access contraception. Since demands for more playthings may be somewhat bothersome when it comes to enrichment, it's better to try to have as many toys in the pen as you can early on.

Let's Build a Zoo is content to follow Stardew Valley's lead and adhere to a 16-bit-inspired design that seems as if it might have been released at the height of the tycoon genre in the early 2000s, while games like Two Point Campus attempt to push the genre forward graphically. Even better, thanks to technical developments, the graphics still have that vintage vibe but are much cleaner, taking on the hybrid visual style that is almost a trademark of No More Robots' releases. The creatures are adorable, even at their little on-screen size, and that's about all we can ask for.

Aside from the graphics, the Let's Build a Zoo Switch adaptation regrettably falls victim to the long-standing problem of the tycoon/business simulation genre, which is the inability to figure out how to make the controls seem as natural as possible on a console. The cursor is quite inconsistent, sometimes moving slowly across the screen. This problem worsens as your zoo grows busier, and the little white box that indicates your current location is often hidden behind the surge of people walking around the horse enclosure. Not only that, but I was unable to figure out how to rotate the zoo itself. It seems weird not to be able to visually see whether my routes are leading to the places I want them to go, especially since the option to rotate facilities is evident and plain.

Additionally, there are menus—the never-ending menus typical of a tycoon game—which are as prevalent in this game as they are in any of the blockbuster titles you may remember from your youth. I was surprised by how many organizational elements in the game seemed quite identical to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, like recruiting staff and feeding animals. There was also no genuine creativity or effort to set the mechanics apart from how they had been done a million times before. As I said before, I would have preferred to have left the cumbersome, endless menus behind in 2004 but I'm more than willing to have rose-colored glasses placed on my head when it comes to the pixelated sights.

However, it's important to note that Let's Build a Zoo is undoubtedly playable and that these problems are often indicative of the tycoon genre. It's just not trying hard enough to look forward. There are a few non-exclusions. Your zoo progress saves at the end of each day, which may not seem like a big deal, but it creates a loop in the gameplay that almost guarantees you will play for two or three more days than you intended before putting your Switch in sleep mode in order to obtain that black snake and finish a task. This is just another cheeky nod to the Stardew Valley formula.

Ultimately, Let's Build a Zoo is an homage to the classic PC period tycoon games, as well as a Stardewification (yes, that's a term these days) of the tycoon genre, with cuddly game mechanics tucked in via the morality routes and cute animals. Let's Build a Zoo reminds me why I spent so much time in the world of tycoon games and why I still have hope for them in the future, even though it is a little disappointing not to see more effort at innovation and some of the mechanics feeling a little lost in time and the controls still needing some work for Switch in future updates.