Judging by the volume of zoo-building management games out there, from Zoo Tycoon to Planet Zoo, creating a massive exhibit of animals is a pretty common dream among game enthusiasts. Let’s Build a Zoo aims to make zoo ownership even more ethically dubious with the addition of DNA-splicing and embezzlement.
Let’s Build a Zoo has some pretty obvious superficial similarities to Bullfrog classics like Theme Park or Theme Hospital, and it’s all about keeping both animals and visitors happy. You’ll build exhibits, price concessions, hire mascots, and, erm, have the option to buy and sell animals on the black market, or to pull funds from the zoo into your own pocket.
The big hook is the DNA splicing. There are 500 animals in the game, but you can mash them together into over 300,000 combinations, including such delightful abominations as the chickow, crocoduck, owlybara, chickaka, giraffephant, or pandowl. And those are just the names the devs have seen fit to put in official promotional materials.
Check out a trailer for Let’s Build a Zoo below, ahead of the games full launch this summer.
For more building games to scratch the creative itch, you can follow that link.