I love the original Jurassic Park, and anything dinosaur-related in general, so I was excited to get my hands on Jurassic World Evolution 3, the latest entry in Frontier Development’s dino-themed park-building/management sim.
I was significantly less excited when I realized the game is set after the events of 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion. I’m not a huge fan of the recent films in the franchise, and was looking forward to building a doomed theme park, not a dinosaur conservation facility. Dominion ends with dinosaurs and humans learning to live in relative harmony, and in Jurassic World Evolution 3, it’s up to you to make that happen.
The game’s graphics are stunning. Naturally, most of the detail goes into the pre-rendered cutscenes, which are absolutely beautiful, but the game itself is an overall treat for the eyes. Lots of management sims seem to expect that players are never really going to zoom in enough to notice the detail (or lack thereof) when it comes to character models and environments. But Jurassic World Evolution 3 looks as beautiful from afar as it does up close. There are also a number of little nods to the original film franchise: the one and only Jeff Goldblum provides the voice for Dr. Ian Malcolm, who walks you through the game’s tutorial, and the loading screen features an amusing animation of a T-rex chasing an unfortunate goat — a clear reference to the original 1993 film’s iconic goat scene.
Each dinosaur has different likes and dislikes, which can affect its overall wellbeing and DA status.Image: Universal/Frontier Developments
When it comes to gameplay, players have a unique set of challenges. Jurassic World Evolution 3 puts you in the role of park supervisor, working for the Dinosaur Integration Network (DIN), you’re here to rehabilitate and care for dinosaurs. But anyone with a pet knows that animal care doesn’t come cheap, and when the animal in question is a giant, potentially deadly dinosaur, the cost of that care increases drastically. Thus, you still need your park to be financially successful. Each dinosaur in your park is given a Dinosaur Appeal (DA) score that will increase or decrease based on the quality of care it receives. If your Triceratops is sickly, laying on its side near a massive pile of dung, its DA score isn’t exactly going to earn you points with visitors or fellow conservationists. Bringing new animals in and making sure they receive proper care is the key to impressing both colleagues and visitors — and making sure you don’t run out of funds.
Of course, in the world of Jurassic Park, no matter how hard you try to ensure everything goes right, life finds a way to screw up your plans. Inclement weather, restless dinosaurs, and other unexpected surprises can easily throw a wrench in your plans, leading to broken fences, damaged facilities, and — if you don’t handle things quickly enough — dinos on the loose.
The good news is that unlike many games in the city-building/management genre, Jurassic World Evolution 3 isn’t afraid to let players take the wheel — literally. While you can (and should) set up maintenance and emergency response facilities throughout your park to ensure problems get handled quickly, you can also choose to handle things yourself. When a storm broke the fence surrounding my Diplodocus enclosure, I was given the option to board a helicopter, fly it over the enclosure, and shoot my Diplos with some sedatives to make sure they didn’t escape. After that, I climbed into a repair vehicle and drove around the perimeter, repairing the broken fence myself.
The fix-it-yourself feature comes in very handy, and also creates a better sense of connection between the player and their park.Image: Universal/Frontier Developments
This hands-on, fix-it-yourself feature comes in handy quite often. While Jurassic World Evolution 3‘s AI-controlled maintenance personnel can get the job done, sometimes it’s just easier to do it yourself. Plus, the ability to drive (or fly) around your park really creates the sense that this is your job. You’re not just some benevolent sky-dwelling dino-god, you’re a conservationist who isn’t afraid to get your hands dirty. I sometimes found myself taking maintenance vehicles out for a spin just for the fun of it. Getting to see my little zoo of dinosaurs up close was delightful.
Of course, not all dinosaurs are alike. Some are tranquil herbivores, others are vicious carnivores, and some lie in the middle. While some of them can safely share a habitat, others will start fighting, leading to a damaged Dinosaur Appeal score and (if you don’t act quickly enough), injuries or death.
Look, sometimes you have to just have to tranq a Diplodocus and have it carried back to its pen by a helicopter. Image: Universal/Frontier Developments
Jurassic World Evolution 3 features three modes. Campaign Mode is exactly what it sounds like: A campaign set after the events of Jurassic World Dominion in which players “help life find a way” by building dinosaur conservation facilities all over the world. Challenge Mode features specific challenges players must complete in exchange for rewards like rare, exotic dinosaur colors and patterns. By far, I had the most fun in Sandbox Mode. Similar to Subnautica‘s Creative Mode, this one lets you do whatever the hell you want. You can set your own budget, place any building you want, and even modify the way dinosaurs behave, making fence-breaks and dinosaur fights a thing of the past. You can even use the in-game Workshop to download other players’ builds and plop them down in your park.
All in all, Jurassic World Evolution 3 is an entertaining and often amusing entry in the park-management sim genre. It pays homage to both the original Jurassic Park and the recent Jurassic World films, but doesn’t try too hard to pull off a forced tie-in narrative, making it a pleasant experience for fans of both the movies and the genre in general. Best of all, it’s not boring. You can easily lose six hours of your life to this game without even noticing, and every time you think you’ve seen it all, you’ll stand corrected. Like life itself, Jurassic World Evolution 3 finds a way to keep you on your toes.
