The purpose of this review is to hope that future updates will truly listen to player feedback, restore those beloved core features, and optimize the experience to return Planet Coaster 2 to its original creativity and immersion.
Steam Workshop is one of the key features that makes this game stand out among simulation business games. The workshop feature of Planet Coaster 1 is very easy to use. However, the second generation abandoned Steam's workshop in favor of a self-built workshop system, which greatly reduced the experience. Network connections are often slow, resulting in a long time to load or download works. In addition, the process of subscribing to works is more complicated and not as convenient as the one-click subscription of Steam Workshop. What's even more unsatisfactory is that there are download restrictions on self-built workshops.
The game was advertised as a multiplayer experience where players could collaborate to build their dream park. I even gifted a copy to a friend, looking forward to building a park together. Unfortunately, the reality is disappointing—"multiplayer mode" simply means players take turns building, which doesn’t provide any real-time interaction and feels indistinguishable from single-player mode. The original Planet Coaster offered a vast array of content with diverse themes and blueprints, making it easy for players to design varied and complex parks. In Planet Coaster 2, many classic themes like Fairytale, Western, and Pirate have been removed, leaving only limited Mythology and Viking themes. Without these beloved themes, players lack the range of scenery pieces they once had, and the number of available blueprints has been drastically cut. For players with limited time or design skills, these blueprints are essential for streamlining the building process. The range of vegetation has also been significantly cut down to just four or five types of biomes, omitting classic desert or polar vegetation, which were previously included for free.
The sandbox maps in Planet Coaster 2 are noticeably smaller, about one-third the size of those in the original game.
In Planet Coaster, players could move around the map easily using edge scrolling, a simple yet highly convenient feature. However, this basic functionality has been removed in Planet Coaster 2, forcing players to rely on less efficient methods to adjust their view, which complicates navigation and diminishes the overall experience.
There are obvious problems with the path selection of tourists. They are still likely to concentrate in the same area, resulting in frequent congestion. Such problems not only affect the operating efficiency of the amusement park, but also cause tourists to be unable to enjoy the facilities in the congestion, such as being unable to find a restaurant or go to the toilet, which in turn causes various adverse reactions (such as vomiting). Even more disappointing is that the personality and type of tourists have also been cancelled, and the behavior of tourists appears to be monotonous and boring, lacking personalized interaction, affecting the sense of immersion.
The UI in Planet Coaster 2 is cluttered and unintuitive. Additionally, accessing submenus requires repeated clicks to locate specific items, and exiting these menus can also be cumbersome. While UI design should prioritize simplicity and ease of use, Planet Coaster 2 fails to meet these standards, resulting in a clunky user experience.
In Planet Coaster 1, players could import audio, video, and images from their computers, adding a personal touch to their parks. However, Planet Coaster 2 lacks this basic functionality, restricting players’ ability to personalize their parks and reducing the overall creative freedom.
The most frustrating thing was that even if multiple technicians were hired, a generator could not be repaired quickly. Repeatedly clicking on the repair operation not only wasted time, but also affected the experience. If these events could be integrated into the plot or added more fun, they might be more popular with players.
Although Planet Coaster 2 emphasizes its waterpark theme, the water physics fail to deliver a realistic experience. For instance, the water behaves identically whether one or many people use the slides, ignoring the realistic differences in water reaction between light and heavy users. This uniform animation feels outdated and unconvincing, especially for a modern game.
The coaster-building experience in Planet Coaster 2 is less refined than in the original game, with several minor but frustrating issues.
Planet Zoo I still remember how Nancy, a keeper, helped me from a novice to a qualified zoo manager. This process can be said to be very interesting. However, the tutorial of the second generation of RollerCoaster is boring and the prologue content is unattractive.
The weather system in Planet Coaster 2 is purely visual, with no meaningful impact on gameplay. Guests continue eating ice cream in the rain without umbrellas, which feels unrealistic. The game would benefit from more interactive weather effects, such as guests reacting to rain or seeking shelter. For a 2024 game, these interactions should be achievable, and their absence diminishes the sense of realism.
The employee zoning is very cumbersome and requires repeated adjustments during operation. However, even after the zoning is completed, employees are still not active in their work. Even if the task is nearby, employees will complain that there is nothing to do. This design is frustrating. In addition, the employee work area division system is not as convenient as the design of Planet Zoo. Even if the zoning is carefully set, employees still find it difficult to cooperate, which affects the management effect of the amusement park.
Many core management items have been removed in Planet Coaster 2, including vending machines（water park）, popcorn stands, hotels, restaurants, advertising boards, ATMs, security systems, and CCTV. These elements were key to the park management experience in previous games. Their removal leaves the park feeling incomplete and leads players to question whether these essential items will return as paid DLC. Even small features like customizing drink ingredients (e.g., adding ice) are missing, and fireworks have been completely omitted.