Prehistoric Kingdom: The Evolution of Park Sims

The Park Simulation, or park sim, subgenre is an interesting one, if underrated. Giving players the possibility to create and manage their own theme-park or zoo. And for most of their history, Park-Sim games have almost always been centered around either amusement parks or zoos, such as the much beloved Roller Coaster Tycoon (Atari, 1999) and Zoo Tycoon (Blue Fang Games, 2001), their sequels and follow ups. However 2022’s Prehistoric Kingdom (Blue Meridian) is bringing something new to the table: Dinosaurs!

In-game screenshot taken inside Prehistoric Kingdom’s photo-mode. (©Blue Meridian)

Obviously, Prehistoric Kingdom isn't the first park-sim game to feature dinosaurs. As far back as 1993 gamers had the opportunity to build their own prehistoric zoos thanks to MECC’s DinoPark Tycoon. As well as this the famous Zoo Tycoon 2 (Blue Fang Games, 2004), fondly remembered by fans of the genre, included two DLCs which featured prehistoric beasts: The Dino Danger pack (2006) and the Extinct Animals pack (2007). These expansions allowed players to bring prehistoric creatures to life alongside the menagerie of modern animals already offered in the base game and other expansions.

We’d be remiss not to mention the licensed Jurassic Park games which allowed players to make parks exclusively populated by dinosaurs such as 2003’s Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis (Blue Tongue Entertainment), referred to as JPOG. More recently was Jurassic World: Evolution (2018) from dedicated park sim devs Frontier Entertainment, who also developed the game’s 2021 sequel, Jurassic World Evolution 2. All these games gave gamers the opportunity to create their very own Jurassic Park complete with stores, entertainment, rides and the dinos of course.

However what makes Prehistoric Kingdom stand out from the pack is that it’s the first Park Sim to feature dinosaurs with a focus on scientific accuracy, and encouraging players to focus on the animals’ happiness rather than security, profits and guest satisfaction, as is the case with Jurassic World Evolution and its sequel. It’s also notable that Prehistoric Kingdom will be its own fully fledged game and not an expansion or mod of a pre-existing game. As of right now it is in early access with many updates still on the way, as of time of writing. Much is in the pipeline for Prehistoric Kingdom: New animals, Improved animal AI and even customizable skins. Perhaps the most hyped update is the addition of Ontogeny, which will allow players to populate their parks with adorable baby dinosaurs!

Soon you can populate your park with adorable baby dinos! From Prehistoric Kingdom’s Dev Diary. (©Blue Meridian)

As it stands right now, there is a lot of good stuff to talk about in Prehistoric Kingdom’s current state. As mentioned earlier the game focuses on creating realistic and accurate animals, each one looks, sounds and moves like a real creature with beautiful patterns for fur, skin and feathers. This sets it apart from its contemporary, and main subject for comparison, Jurassic World Evolution 2 which, for the most part, isn’t all too concerned with accuracy as with keeping in line with each dinosaurs’ film appearances, but that’s for another day.

The creature variety is great too, allowing gamers to populate their parks with a diverse array of species. More species are planned but the current roster is delightful. From some real “Palaeo-Celebrities” such as Tyrannosaurus, Apatosaurus and the Wooly Mammoth; to some more obscure picks like Ouranosaurus, Sinotherium and Plateosaurus. Each species is given its own unique design, and some of the species already have multiple default skins allowing players to pick which pattern they most want to see in their park. As mentioned, accuracy is on the forefront, so the skins in game are somewhat plausible based on what is understood about each animal and its ecosystem.

The gameplay is pretty much what you’d expect from a Park Sim. Players have to build their own dinosaur zoo using the dinosaurs, modular parts and terraforming tools at your disposal. The building system is most comparable to that of Planet Zoo (Frontier Developments, 2019) where players build their own modular buildings from a vast library of parts which includes your standard building materials (walls, ceilings, etc), decor & natural features, park utilities (Hatcheries, Staff buildings, etc), Guest Facilities (Shops, Toilets, benches, etc) and animal enrichments. However there are two features that set Prehistoric Kingdom’s building system apart.

First and foremost is its customizability, Each module can be customized with its own texture which will change the look of virtually any item depending on the aesthetic the player wants to go for. The size and dimensions are also customizable. Such options can make any build in the game look totally unique, providing near infinite possibilities. Such a system is a great development for Park-Sim games and really benefits both practically and creatively. Granted, the Prehistoric Kingdom’s building system does take some getting used to, at least for me.

Screenshot taken In-game of Prehistoric Kingdom’s modular building system. (©Blue Meridian)

Another great feature of Prehistoric Kingdom’s build mode is the plant-brush. This allows players to select multiple plant types from the in-game terraforming menu, as well as set the brush size and density, which players can use to place plants en masse. As dense or sparse as they want, on any surface seamlessly creating a natural looking landscape to populate with their own bygone creatures.

Of course, the game isn’t without some issues but as an Early Access release this is to be expected. So far the animal AI is a bit bare boned with animals unable to interact with one another or able to attempt escape from their enclosures, providing players with a challenge. The animal enrichment options are also rather sparse as of writing and there are some graphical and UI issues. However as said this is still an Early Access game, and what the devs have made thus far is beyond impressive. Work continues on the game and it is one I would highly recommend checking out if you’re into prehistory or Park-Sims, or even if you have a dream dino-zoo you’ve been wanting to build since you were a kid, like yours truly!

Prehistoric Kingdom is available to purchase for PC on both Steam and Epic Store. The Devs also have a Discord Server and a Patreon where you can support the game and stay up to date with exclusive updates and teases.