Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection
By Marc Saltzman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Revamped animal/business sim great for new audiences.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this game.
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection
Community Reviews
Based on 1 parent review
Great Intro to Gaming for younger kids
Report this review
What’s It About?
ZOO TYCOON: ULTIMATE ANIMAL COLLECTION lets you create and maintain the zoo of your dreams. Your goal is to design, build, and run a successful zoo while keeping the animals, employees, and patrons happy. You'll shelter nearly 200 animals, and do everything from road and enclosure construction to park decoration and setting prices to ensure everything is running smoothly. This game can be played solo on an Xbox One or Windows 10 device, or with up to three other people. In fact, this game is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, meaning you can pick up your saved game on another Xbox One device or Windows 10 PC, as your zoo's progress is saved in the cloud. It also supports 4K televisions for four times the resolution of HD and 1080p, and HDR (high dynamic range) for even better contrast, brightness, and color.
Is It Any Good?
Even though this is just an updated version of the 2013 title, it's just super fun for players of all ages. The graphics are really the standout, supporting 4K Ultra HD quality for more realistic-looking animals. There's also some new wildlife, from South America and Australia specifically, and you can create a much larger zoo than in previous games. Visually, the animals, such as lions and zebras, look fantastic -- not just in the increased detail, but they're animated smoothly, lit nicely, and made to sound like their real-life counterparts. The Zoopedia is back and improved, giving you information about each species you have.
Nice to see included is the Challenge mode, which throws a few scenarios your way, such as taking photos and dealing with escaped animals. There's also the main sandbox mode, optional multiplayer options, where you can trade and play with others, and some mini-games, too. There's not much to complain about this straightforward simulation that challenges you to keep everything humming along and everyone happy. Overall, you won't be disappointed with the remastered Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection -- especially with its sub-$30 price of admission.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about remade games. Is it fair to expose players to older games that may have missed them by adding updated graphics and more features? Should designers solely focus on creating new games and new properties?
Talk about simulations. Do simulations give you a full sense of how to handle circumstances in real life? Do you think that these sims could prepare you to interact with these scenarios in real life?
Game Details
- Platforms: Windows, Xbox One
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
- Release date: November 8, 2017
- Genre: Simulation
- Topics: Cats, Dogs, and Mice, Wild Animals
- ESRB rating: E for No Descriptions
- Last updated: January 20, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Play
Our Editors Recommend
Simulation Games and Apps
Great Games That Teach Strategy
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate