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I haven’t been shy about how much I enjoyed Planet Coaster: Console Edition when it arrived on Xbox in time for the release of the Xbox Series X. Not only was it the game that I felt was pushing my shiny new console the hardest but it kept me busy until actual Xbox Series X games came out.
And now, hot on the heels of the also brilliant Planet Zoo: Console Edition making the jump to Xbox, a new Planet Coaster is on the horizon. But there is no time between PC and console releases, Planet Coaster 2 is launching on both at the same time. And, we’ve played it.
For fans of previous Frontier games, the UI of Planet Coaster 2 on Xbox feels instantly familiar; all of your build options are on the bottom of the screen that can be easily accessed using the shoulder buttons. There are subtle improvements to be found there, like the ability to add special effects directly to your rides to improve your park rating. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to properly explore these as I was busy creating some heinous water slides, but I’ll explain my reasoning later.
These new additions to rides can be programmed in using the brand-new event sequencer. Animatronics, water spouts and maybe even hidden surprises for riders can all be added to existing blueprints and new to make your rides as unique as you can imagine.
During our hands-on preview of Planet Coaster 2 we had the chance to try out an early campaign mission that showed off how much thought has gone into the games. In the previous Planet Coaster, these campaign missions weren’t much more than completing objectives on a blank canvas and with limited budget. Here though, we learn that a rival company has purchased an area of land within our land set aside for our latest theme park. And they have some pretty tight restrictions for what can go on there. But luckily, these restrictions did allow us to explore the major new addition for Planet Coaster 2: water.
It used to only be that the old log flume was your way to cool off, but Planet Coaster 2 introduces more water-themed rides in a big way. There are plenty of water slides, swimming pools and associated facilities to either enhance your theme park, or to build a waterpark solely.
“We’ve built Planet Coaster 2 so it’s a choice for the player really. They can build waterparks only, if they desire, or they can build theme parks or a combination of both,” says Rich Newbold, Game Director on Planet Coaster 2. Our full interview will be coming soon – keep an eye out for it.
Once again, there are the standard blueprints for you to use, but you are free to design your own if you wish. It was this aspect I was keen to explore in the Sandbox section of the hands-on demo.
I will never forget the time I went on Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach in Disneyworld (and then had to surgically remove my swimming shorts from my posterior afterwards), and I wanted to see if anything similar could be replicated here in Planet Coaster 2. It could, and then some.
Firstly, I wanted to construct a massive platform in the sky to house the waterslides. When the Y-axis kept going higher and higher, I decided to stop when I could still see the park visitors mingling about below. And I was able to quickly create a long, steep waterslide in seconds, thanks to an incredibly easy creation tool. Having played Parkitect: Deluxe Edition recently, I was expecting trouble, but that certainly wasn’t the case for Planet Coaster 2.
But I wanted mine to be something a bit more as well, so I quickly constructed another slide, this time one that allowed the use of rubber rings down it. Again, it was a lot easier than I expected, providing you at least place the end of the slide into water too. The Olympic sized swimming pool was what I used to allow the most run-off as a body flies off the slide.
The kicker with my rubber ring slide was that I designed it to wriggle around the first slide, and it worked. Inadvertently though, I had created a monster, as I received a lot of complaints that this slide was too scary. And then I checked the nausea rating, and let’s just say I was glad I had chosen a big pool because it was about to overflow.
Thankfully the preview ended before I had time to hire additional cleaners. But it was enough time to know that the waterparks are going to be a fantastic addition for Planet Coaster 2. Along with the quality-of-life improvements and a shared Sandbox feature where players can team-up cross-platform to create a park together, providing they take it in turns, and there should be no reason to not be excited about getting hands on the finished product.
And there isn’t long to wait either. Planet Coaster 2 will launch on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC (simultaneously!) on 6th November. And pre-orders are live now.
For the Planet Coaster 2 standard edition, that will cost you £39.99. The Deluxe Edition is priced at £54.99 and comes with the Vintage Funfair Ride Pack; 10 new rides include a classic Grand Carousel and a wooden roller coaster. All pre-orders will also come with three additional rides as part of the Bonus Ride Collection.
For a better look at what you’re getting, check out the pre-order trailer here:
At first, I was dubious of a full sequel to Planet Coaster. But after even just a short amount of time with Planet Coaster 2, I am sold on the new additions. Let us know in the comments if you will be picking this up on launch day.
Huge thanks go out to Frontier for providing us with access to Planet Coaster 2. We’ll follow with a full review of the game on Xbox nearer release.