Fantasy Zoo, developed and published by Major Parus Games, is available now on Steam HERE.
Fantasy Zoo is a simulation management game similar to the classic Zoo Tycoon series, but there’s a twist. The twist is that all the animals are creatures from fantasy films, these include things such as Dungeons & Dragons, The Lord of the Rings, and many more favourites. The creatures will need to be taken care of, which means managing their needs, environment, food and water, sleeping places, and more. It is quite fun having enclosures with things like ghosts, zombies, and yetis. It adds a much more exciting twist to the genre, and it’s interesting to see how they all behave. Fantasy Zoo on the front seems like a small game, but as you delve into it, it becomes quite a big game with a lot of replayability. The game includes many creatures and environments, each one unique. If you want to run a graveyard zoo, you can, or do you fancy a Lord of the Rings Zoo? That’s also possible due to the volcanic environments. It’s exciting checking them all out and seeing what kind of zoo you can create.
When running a zoo, you’ll need money; the animals aren’t going to take care of themselves, are they? First off, you’ll need guests who will provide gold via food, drink and admission. Challenges also offer much-needed cash boosts. Challenges can range from keeping several animals happy in their environment, installing bins, having certain creatures in your zoo and more. It is important to take these challenges on to get more cash, as I found myself running out of money when I ignored them. Once the money comes rolling in, you can be a bit more creative and experimental with the new creatures you’ve researched and end up with quite a chaotic yet fantastic zoo. The gameplay is pretty simple, and a tutorial is offered to teach you the ins and outs. Think of the classic Zoo Tycoon series, and that’s what Fantasy Zoo compares very closely to, and I loved that bit of nostalgia. I didn’t run into any bugs or issues; I just feel perhaps things like a pause and fast forward could have been pretty useful.
Graphically, it is very close to the old tycoon games from the late 90s and early 2000s. This resemblance fits it nicely. All the creatures, close up, do look detailed, despite looking fairly simple; the design works very well for Fantasy Zoo and will run on a lot of low-spec PCs and Laptops, which is very useful. Fantasy Zoo’s medieval theme also fits well with the guests marching in with their fantasy-like garbs, and the themed buildings are all from that time zone; it feels like a DnD campaign has come to life visually, and I loved that. The animals all make sounds that you’d expect, and the music is fairly relaxing when building your zoo; nothing special, but it aids the experience well.
Verdict
Fantasy Zoo is a great time that offers a great look back at the tycoon games of old. For the low price of £7.49, there is a lot of content there to keep you happy and offers a lot of replayability. I do wish there were a few more features, and I think things such as fonts used could use a little redesign, but overall, Fantasy Zoo is a fantastic time, and for such a low price, you might as well give it a go.
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