In Jurassic World Evolution 2, players can hatch dinosaurs, create stunning exhibits, and build their own dinosaur theme park and sanctuary based on the successful Jurassic World film franchise. Like other park management simulation games, Jurassic World Evolution 2 comes with multiple game modes, allowing players to design a variety of exhibits and parks to fulfill multiple goals. Unlike the original, players will travel all over the world to different environments with unique weather patterns to capture, synthesize, and care for dinosaurs.
In Jurassic World Evolution 2, like its predecessor, players experiment with genetics to customize and hatch dinosaurs, then build an experience around them for scientists and guests alike. New in this instalment to the series - in addition to hatching dinos - is the fact that players can fly in a helicopter and capture dinosaurs roaming freely to bring to their facility. Additionally, players can experience various "what-if" scenarios, playing out scenes from the Jurassic World films with alternate decisions and outcomes.
The most exciting feature to come to Jurassic World Evolution 2 are the expanded dinosaur options. While most of the creatures in Jurassic World Evolution were land animals, in Jurassic World Evolution 2, players can take to the skies with avian dinosaurs like the Pterosaur, or dive deep into the oceans with aquatic dinosaurs like the Mosasaur. With many more ways to create and play, Jurassic World Evolution 2 promises to expand on the best features of the original 2018 game and pick up where the film leaves off.
In a hands-on preview for Jurassic World Evolution 2, two of the game modes, Campaign and Challenge, were demonstrated. In Campaign mode, players follow the events of Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom. They will travel to a poaching facility where dinosaurs have broken free of their tiny enclosures. Players will be tasked with capturing the dinosaurs from their helicopter and rebuilding the facility to treat the dinosaurs for illness and injury and better care for their needs. Players will need to build and staff science facilities, make sure the dinosaurs are properly fed and watered, and ensure the environment in the exhibit mirrors what the dinosaurs would have experienced in the wild. In Challenge mode, players will fulfill a series of goals across various parks, often related to researching new technologies and synthesizing new dinosaurs.
There are other game modes to experience as well. The new Chaos Theory mode will allow players to experience key moments from their favorite Jurassic Park films where they can control the narrative. Players can also freely explore every new feature and management mechanic and build their dream dinosaur theme park in Sandbox mode, a staple of most park management sims.
In both of the main campaign-style game modes in Jurassic World Evolution 2, players are guided by familiar characters, each of whom has their own motive for wanting (or, in some cases, not wanting) the player to build their dinosaur parks. One of these NPCs is Dr. Ian Malcolm, voiced once more in-game by his onscreen actor Jeff Goldblum. In a roundtable interview about Jurassic World Evolution 2, Goldblum expressed passion for his voice work on the game and for revisiting a character who has become synonymous with the Jurassic Park series.
"Although it's just been, I think, a handful of days doing this, they were very creative experiences and further chances to investigate with smart people who this character is, and the whole world, which is an interesting world," he says. "And then, when I got a chance to do my part in those games, they came after I had an experience with those parts. Either I had just done a movie, or was going to do a movie, or had just been ruminating with a movie I had seen a couple of times and has been around my consciousness for a while. So, that part got a chance to kind of brew in me for a little bit. And then, touching it again was a special experience that allowed a deeper, or at least more pleasurable or fun, encounter with it."
Goldblum also expressed that his work on Jurassic World Evolution 2 helped him grow as an actor, particularly helping him learn to trust himself. He says, "Maybe it was [because] I already had experience with the movie, I didn't do a lot of extra preparation for my work in the games. They'd send me the lines, and I'd look at them and do a little work on them. But then I would come in with them and mostly do it in the room. That kind of self-trustfulness and confidence came from [the thought that] hey, I think I can just make this work as the scenes come up and as they explain to me what we're going for and what's happening in the world around me. It was a fun experience and I think maybe contributed to my further evolution as an actor who's more self-trustful and can have faith in my own instincts."
Goldblum's perspective as Dr. Malcolm throughout the game hints at the deeper themes of Jurassic World Evolution 2. While he often offers insights about the different creatures players can synthesize, he also includes asides about the dangers of human hubris and attempts to control and manufacture nature. These questions further immerse the player in the world and force them to experience firsthand and confront some of the most powerful takeaways from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World series. This, above everything else, shapes Jurassic World Evolution 2's unique identity.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 already feels massive, especially with the addition of avian and aquatic dinosaurs. Fans of the original game will recognize many of the mechanics, and newcomers to the series will have plenty of guidance as they get started. The new mechanics, while a little more action-intensive than management sims usually have, also play well with the atmosphere and immerse players in the world of Jurassic Park. The true standout of Jurassic World Evolution 2, like its predecessor, is the ability to play with dinosaur genetics and customize each individual creature, then create dynamic exhibits to thrill guests at a player's personally designed Jurassic Park.
Underlying the gorgeous graphics and sophisticated mechanics, however, are the larger questions and themes for which the Jurassic Park franchise is known: questions about nature, the environment, and the human desire to control it. These themes are what set Jurassic World Evolution 2 and its predecessor apart from other zoo and park management simulators dominating the genre today.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 is now available to preorder for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Screen Rant attended a private preview demonstration for the purpose of this article.