Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition

Genre: Management Sim

Players: 1

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Jurassic World Evolution is a Management Sim originally released on multiple platforms in 2018 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2020 in a Complete Edition that includes all of the subsequent expansion content for the game. This game aims to give players the complete experience of creating and maintaining their own dinosaur zoo.

The graphical presentation here really hits two opposite ends of the spectrum. On the one hand, in docked mode this is an absolutely gorgeous game on the Nintendo Switch, with incredible detail in the buildings, guests, and dinosaurs, and detail that scales really well too – it all looks great from afar, and looks fantastic zoomed-in as well.The dinosaurs are all well-animated and have plenty of personality, the lighting is superb, and everything has a visual style that perfectly complements the film franchise this game is based on. All of this is done with negligible slowdown and pop-in, a small price to pay to get this game running on the Nintendo Switch.

On the other hand, when you take the game into handheld mode, the game’s resolution drops down to an ugly blur, and there’s a great deal more aliasing. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the game is unplayable in handheld mode, but it is certainly jarring to go from a game that I feel looks visually stunning to a game that almost hurts to look at. And while I’m talking about handheld mode, I should note that there’s no touchscreen controls here either, which seems like a missed opportunity.

However, no matter which mode you play in, Jurassic World delights with wonderful sound, starting with John Williams’ epic film score and supplementing it with an orchestral soundtrack done in a similar style that perfectly suits the majesty the game aims to capture. The sounds of various equipment, crowds, and the dinosaurs themselves are also fantastic, and you even get nice little details like park announcements when new attractions are open.

This is paired with outstanding voice acting, including many of the cast of the films returning to reprise their roles, providing narration and advisory roles, as well as providing the game with a story of sorts. In particular, Jeff Goldblum’s wry Dr. Ian Malcolm never fails to bring a smile to my face when he decides to comment. It bears mention that the game has a slew of new characters as well, all well-voiced also. In fact, the only place where the voice acting was a bit lacking is in their use of a few voice-alikes for the late Richard Attenborough’s John Hammond and Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady. However, given the passing of the former and the likely high expense of hiring the latter, I can’t very well blame the game for this omission.

In terms of the gameplay, this game well exceeded my expectations of a Management Sim set in the Jurassic Park universe. Players are tasked with not only the layout of the park’s attraction and facilities and the pricing of concessions and souvenirs, but must also conduct research to discover new species and to upgrade facilities, as well as swapping in and out different DNA segments to modify the animals they’re creating to suit the demands of various advisers. Players must also respond to emergencies in the park as they develop.

This last element makes for one of the more delightful surprises in the game, as players can call for park rangers to complete assigned tasks, or opt to jump into their role for a more immersive hands-on approach, driving or flying vehicles and shooting tranquilizers at animals yourself, or taking photos to use for publicity purposes.

Beyond the graphical issues with the game’s performance in handheld mode, there are a few other complaints here. It does take a little bit to get used to all the scientific and technical jargon being tossed around, which can be disorienting. However, once you understand what everything does the game can feel a bit simple for a Management Sim, as there isn’t a great variety of structures to place. Progression is also tightly-managed, and players won’t even have access to the game’s sandbox mode until they complete a decent-sized chunk of the campaign, which acts as a tutorial. Many of the game’s options, buildings, and dinosaurs are locked away until they’re unlocked in the campaign, which would be okay if the game didn’t feel so limited from the start. Also, the way advisers instruct you what to do sometimes makes it feel like you’re being led rather than making your own choices.

However, all of these complaints are fairly small in the grand scheme of things. In the end, Jurassic World: Complete Edition is a marvel of a Management Sim, and as of this writing it is my favorite straight-up Management Sim on the Nintendo Switch. However, I tend to play in docked mode, and I must add the caveat that players who want to take the game on the go may find the experience somewhat less enjoyable. That said, if this doesn’t bother you and you’re looking to manage your own dinosaur park, this is an outstanding experience that you should thoroughly enjoy.

tl;dr – Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition is a Management Sim that has you creating and managing your own dinosaur park, controlling everything from the layout and concession prices to the DNA of the dinos themselves. This is a gorgeous and detailed game with a fantastic presentation and wonderfully immersive gameplay… in docked mode. In handheld mode, it’s another story, as the low resolutions mar the otherwise superb experience this game offers. However, beyond this and a few other minor flaws, this is exactly what I’m looking for in a Jurassic Park simulator on the Nintendo Switch.

Grade: A-

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition

Genre: Management Sim

Players: 1

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Review:

As of this writing, the folks behind the Jurassic World Evolution series seem to have decided to port over the second game in the series to Nintendo Switch 2 rather than update the original game with any sort of patch or Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Even so, I decided to take a look at this game and see if Nintendo Switch 2 improves it in any way.

So… I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that the moment you load up the game, you’ll notice an immediate improvement to framerates, which are much smoother here. In addition, the resolution seems improved as well. The game still has plenty of pop-in and isn’t quite as clear as you’d want for a modern game platform, but it’s still surprising how much this game’s visuals leap forward without any sort of patch.

That said, this all comes at a price, and it’s a bizarre one. For some reason, the colors in this game look drastically off on Nintendo Switch 2, with blacks looking pink, purple, or red, and the sky looking more neon-colored. I tried to adjust the settings to see if I could fix this, and changing the color mode to “Jurassic Park’ rather than the default helps… but it still looks really off.

There’s also still quite a lot of pop-in on Nintendo Switch 2, but this seems like a minor issue compared to the color problem.

At the very least, the loading times are improved without any problem – on Nintendo Switch, it took me 17 seconds to load the game to title screen, and another 35 seconds to load a game save. On Nintendo Switch 2, those same times were 7 seconds and 13 seconds.

Still, given the bizarre image problems Nintendo Switch 2 causes this game to have, I feel like this really needs a patch, even if the publisher would prefer to just focus on the sequel. I would love to recommend this game for the improvements it receives on Nintendo Switch 2, but the odd color shift feels like too great a cost.

tl;dr – Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition is a Management Sim that has you creating and managing your own dinosaur park, controlling everything from the layout and concession prices to the DNA of the dinos themselves. This is a gorgeous and detailed game with a fantastic presentation and wonderfully immersive gameplay… and while Nintendo Switch 2 gives the game a great framerate and resolution boost, it also has a nasty, ugly color issue that makes shadows look pink. It’s glaringly ugly, ruining what would otherwise be great improvement on Nintendo Switch 2.

Grade: C+

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