REVIEW: Welcome to the Jungle in the ‘Planet Zoo: South America Pack’ (PC)

Frontier Developments is heading down south by releasing its second PDLC, South America Pack, for their recent release Planet Zoo. This new PDLC adds five new South American animals to go with over 250 new scenery pieces in a new South American theme.

The five new animals in the Planet Zoo: South America PDLC are the Jaguar, Capuchin Monkey, Giant Anteater, Red-Eyed Tree Frog, and Llama. The Jaguar, Anteater, and Capuchin Monkey are tropical animals and fit right in with the jungle theme. At the same time, the Red-Eyed Tree Frog is an exhibit animal that adds to the list of other exhibit animals currently available in Planet Zoo. Llamas may not necessarily be found in the jungles like the other four animals, but they are indeed from South America – besides, who doesn’t want a herd of llamas?

I am a big fan of the interspecies enrichments that Planet Zoo has done with some of the other animals, as these allow for unique habitats featuring multiple animals and create a more diverse exhibit. With this PDLC, the  Capuchin Monkey and Giant Anteater have this feature, and it’s by far the best part of the new species. Additionally, both animals can have an open exhibit where guests can enter, which allows for more creativity in building and interaction for your guests. While there is a little bit of a sticker shock on the leaf prices of the new animals initially, there isn’t anything to be worried about in franchise mode. This is thanks to the fact that Frontier has done a great job of adding animals in for cash to help regulate the market, making it easy to collect them relatively quickly.

I am always excited when there are new animals introduced into Planet Zoo, but just like with the Arctic Pack my favorite thing is the additional scenery themes. The Planet Zoo: South America PDLC does a fantastic job of highlighting the diversity of South American environments. It allows players to recreate MesoAmerican civilizations and make their own lost temples. Along with the new lost civilization pieces, there are new foliage, rock, and bamboo pieces that fill out the robust theme. There are four different types of building materials in this pack: two different colors of bamboos and two different colors of temple brick. That said, it is disappointing that the roofing is the same as the African theme except for being a slightly different color. Luckily the different lighting pieces and awning are different enough from existing themes to make an area you decorate really stand out.

Overall, the Planet Zoo: South America Pack allows players to bring the jungle to life, whether by making the next lost civilization exhibit or just hanging out with a herd of llamas. The content is a little light since it’s just four habitat animals and one exhibit animal. I am a big builder and jungle lover, so the 250 plus scenery items add a whole new Planet Zoo experience. The Planet Zoo: South America Pack was also released with a free content update (Update 1.2) that is available to all players. This brought some new features and additional content along with some improvements.

Planet Zoo South America Pack can be found on PC, Steam for $9.99.