Planet Coaster 2 review: Coasting on good vibes

While I was playing Planet Coaster 2 for this review, I kept thinking about RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. Frontier Developments' initial crack at theme park building and management simulation shares many ideas with their latest attempt. Tinkering with rollercoasters and waterparks in 2024 conjured a sort of nostalgia for this kind of game I didn’t think I’d have. And so, with a heavy heart, I tell you that they got me again.

Coast to Coast

When Planet Coaster came out in 2016 it established itself as a worthy spiritual successor to Chris Sawyer's RollerCoaster Tycoon. It was simple, yet elegant and allowed players first and foremost to realize their creative visions, without many of the constraints these management sims tend to be packaged with. Planet Coaster 2 feels like a natural evolution of the first game. Everything looks more gorgeous in motion, menus are more intuitive, and the addition of water-themed attractions allows for a fresh take on parks. There are also a bunch of quality-of-life changes, my favorite being the ability to just draw new paths, and getting to customize rides down to every single detail.

Management Woes

One of the most common complaints about the first game was the very surface-level take on the simulation and management aspect of the game. This is remedied somewhat, as you now have to deal with electricity and water supply to your various attractions as well as the dietary needs of your guests. Managing all of these still feels more like a tagged-on afterthought, rather than a fleshed-out mechanic of the simulation. Planet Coaster 2 doesn’t want to get in your way of the lower-difficulty options and it is mostly there for the folks who love to fine-tune the numbers. Managing your staff, however, has become a little more interesting though. Setting schedules, assigning mechanics to certain rides, and making sure all the shops are always open makes for a fun, if a little tedious way to keep things going. I’m reminded of Factorio here, where there is not a wrong way to play, but rather a slow, unoptimized one.

Another point of contention for me is the way the game handles progression within the campaign or sandbox mode. Research is a resource you accumulate by just plopping down a building, keeping it staffed, and waiting for the points to roll in. Then you just keep checking off a rather uninspired research tree that unlocks more options for you to toy around with. On paper, it might be a fun idea, but in practice, it has you just waiting for things to be available rather than completing challenges or little side ventures.

Restriction breeds creativity

The campaign mode however is excellent. Not only is its presentation delightfully goofy with a colorful cast of characters, but it also presents interesting scenarios and challenges that ask you to hone your park-building skills. Be it fixing up rollercoasters, which often turns into a sort of puzzle, or working under various restrictions, it makes for fun challenges for anyone who needs limitations to get their creative juices flowing. During my time with the game, I played through a third of the ones available at launch and I found them all as good as RollerCoaster Tycoon 2’s finest. There is also the new franchise mode, here you have to build a theme park empire with friends and or strangers to compete on a global leaderboard, in case you want to put your park-building expertise to the test. Another new feature is the built-in share option that allows you to download and share creations in-game across all platforms.

Planet Coaster 2 is a fantastic second entry to Frontier Developments’ spiritual successor to one of gaming's greatest titles. I might be a little disappointed that the core behind these games' formula hasn’t changed in 25 years, but if it ain’t broken why fix it? Aside from little issues like guests' pathfinding being borked on occasion and my spiteful relationship with the way paths snap to each other, I’m overjoyed to share that this game will continue to consume my life in the near future. While the simulation sicko in the back of my mind wishes there was a little more depth to managing my parks, all the other voices fight over what to build next, and there are certainly worse problems to have.

A review code for the PC version of Planet Coaster 2 was provided ahead of time by the publisher. Planet Coaster 2 will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on November 6, 2024.

Timo Reinecke

Contributing Editor

Timo is an avid enjoyer of all things video games hailing from Germany. After being abandoned as a child on the Rolanberry Fields of Final Fantasy XI, he has since developed an undying love for the digital worlds of MMOs. But if you can't find him crafting up a storm in Final Fantasy XIV, you'll probably find him workshopping combos in action/fighting games or being extremely passionate about the latest mobile title.

Outside of gaming, Timo is usually skimming through the Criterion Collection or praying to whatever Eldritch horror that his latest favorite manga doesn't get damaged in shipping. You can find live reactions to all of that on X @ALahftel.