Jurassic World Evolution 3 Review

Dinosaur games are seeing a resurgence in the indie market at the moment, but personally, I find that they often just don’t work. However, if there’s one property that knows how to get our prehistoric neighbours right, it’s the Jurassic Park films. Admittedly, the latest batch of movies have been middling at best and bogged down at worst, but they did give rise to the Jurassic World Evolution series of park management games from developer Frontier Developments. The latest title, Jurassic World Evolution 3, is here, and the question is whether this is a park you should really visit or if it's time to head to the gift shop.

Now, the actual plot of Jurassic World Evolution 3 takes place shortly after Jurassic World Evolution 2. Dinosaurs are now running around the Earth, and it’s up to you and your crew of advisors to help conservation efforts by, essentially, building a really big zoo. In truth, the campaign is more like a long tutorial that helps to teach you all the mechanics, while offering a wealth of different objectives across the globe. It’s fine for what it is, and it’s nice hearing some of the old voices like Ian Malcolm again. 

Here's the thing: park management games don’t change much on a very basic level, so you’ll be doing the same thing you did in the other Evolution titles. You need to build up attendance at your park by finding fossils, constructing attractions, and breeding dinosaurs. The base mechanics are still pretty much the same, but there are a few major differences in Jurassic World Evolution 3. 

The biggest addition is that you can now select the gender of your dinosaurs and can have breeding pairs in the park. Considering how this was such a major plot point of the originals (also a truly terrible idea), it’s good to see it finally being implemented. You don’t have a lot of choice in what two dinos create a breeding pair, but the result is a wee baby dino. This change does add a whole new element to the management of a park, as it is very easy to suddenly see a paddock get overpopulated if you haven’t been keeping an eye on it. 

On that note, your main focus with the dinosaurs is making sure they’re happy in their environment. You’ll want to see what the creatures prefer, and then shape the land to fit that need. You do have some more tools available in that regard, including being able to flatten the terrain now. However, once everything is set perfectly, then you can… well, you can look at the dinosaurs walking around. 

That’s one of the biggest issues with the entire series, really: it’s very hands-off when it comes to the dinosaurs. They tend to just walk around and roar occasionally, although you can still take a first-person view on any of the viewing platforms or the jeeps/helicopters if you want to. Jurassic World Evolution 3 does introduce a new maintenance system that has you work to keep all the facilities in working order. Admittedly, this is essentially just building a new maintenance complex and setting a point for the crews to focus on, but it’s another element to consider. 

The main activity that will take up the majority of your time will be developing the look of your park and finding new ways for the general public to experience these animals. Jurassic World Evolution 3 introduces a new modular design system that allows you to change parts of the building to better fit the look you want. For instance, you can alter the walls and outline of certain facilities to match your own aesthetic. It’s a detailed system that you’ll either love or never bother with, which is a nice touch for those who adore that sort of feature. 

There are also new tour options, including a zipline that goes over the paddocks, which… honestly sounds like a terrible idea. In the real world, it’s asking for someone to Glasgow Kiss a Brontosaurus, but the in-universe companies that build these parks are strangers to terrible choices. Other than that, you’ll be constructing hotels, drinking spots, restaurants, and more to keep your customers happy. You’ll never be left in the dark about what your park needs, as Jurassic World Evolution 3 has several ways to show you what needs to go where, including colour-coding the paths when you select a certain amenity.

Outside of the campaign, you also have the sandbox option that allows you to set a host of different parameters. This mode is likely where you’ll find the most enjoyment, as you can tailor the game how you please. Do you want a park that has everything unlocked so you can just focus on making everything look cool? Well, you can do that. Alternatively, you can make hell's own theme park filled with tornadoes alongside giant monsters that roam around outside of cages. It’s entirely up to you, and it can be fun to mess around to see what kind of park you can come up with. Still no option to pick up guests, though, which is a shame.

The new additions are certainly nice, but don’t expect anything completely revolutionary. The graphics are much the same, as is the sound design. It’s not a bad-looking title by any means, and zooming in on the dinosaurs is a thrill, but Jurassic World Evolution 3 isn’t really about the creatures as much as it is about the park. Although there are an awful lot of dinosaurs to choose from, you’ll likely focus on most of the more common ones from the films, including many of the hybrids that were certainly a good idea. 

On one hand, Jurassic World Evolution 3 is just that, an evolution of what had been done before. The game isn’t completely revitalising the formula from the other two titles in the series, but adding to it. It’s fun to build a park that has everything working to peak efficiency, or potentially do a worse job than Ingen did. 

However, as was noted in Jurassic World, at a certain point, people get bored, and I worry that Jurassic World Evolution 3 hasn’t added enough to keep people focused. See, once you construct the perfect park, that’s really it; there’s nowhere to go from there other than to start again. I would have liked to see more; for instance, having to maintain the trash levels in the park, as well as how the dinosaurs interact with seeing people over time. There’s a host of other ways Jurassic World Evolution 3 could have innovated on top of what was already done. 

If you want a game that lets you relive some of the animals you loved as a kid, while also not being hugely taxing, then Jurassic World Evolution 3 is perfect for that. It certainly offers the best experience if you have never played the other two games. However, if you have played the others, then you might find the additions a little lacking outside of the new building options and baby dinos.