Let’s Build a Zoo will let you DNA-splice your perfect park in November

Fields upon fields of owlybara and crocoducks

Management sim fans with a penchant for playing god will have a new venue for their favorite past-time soon. Let’s Build a Zoo is launching on Nov. 5, with both wholesome zoo planning and maniacal factory-building in store.

Let’s Build a Zoo is a zoo management game from Springloaded and No More Robots that is, at first, just your usual zoo management game. It’s got a charming art style and pretty easy-to-manage tools for building the perfect park. But hey, why only play a good zoo manager? What happens if you embrace the dark side?

Well, you can DNA-splice animals together into amusing, terrifying hybrids like a “crocoduck.” And you know,  a crocodile with the demeanor of a duck does sound dangerous.

Maybe then you can buy and sell some animals on the black market. Or maybe even forego the whole “amusement park” thing and transform the whole operation into a bleak factory. The choice is yours as to how you want to manage the property.

I took the demo build for Let’s Build a Zoo for a spin a few months ago, and instantly adored what it was doing. I’m already a child of the Zoo Tycoon era of PC gaming, and it does right by that genre. But it also has so many different little touches, from quality-of-life features that make planning a park easy to plenty of ways to diversify and expand your destination’s attractions.

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the full build. Let’s Build a Zoo hits Steam on Nov. 5, 2021.