作者彙整: Kimberley Wallace

A good simulation game has the power to make micromanagement exciting instead of laborious. Watching your empire grow and seeing the fruits of your decision-making is what drives these experiences, making the overwhelming feeling of pulling so many strings rewarding. Planet Zoo captures a lot of that appeal, trying to take its simulation elements in more meaningful and complex directions. Unfortunately, it spends far too much time on the tedium.

From the creators of Planet Coaster and billed as a spiritual successor to Zoo Tycoon, Planet Zoo doesn’t hesitate in throwing you to the lions. It’s a challenging simulation due to all the areas you must excel in, and being lucrative isn’t your only concern. Angry protesters run amok if you’re not giving your animals excellent care. Customers turn into vandals if they aren’t enjoying themselves. The animals always need something, and they are clever enough to escape if you don’t repair your barriers often enough. All of these factors force you to constantly balance the happiness of animals and people against your pocketbook. I enjoyed the challenge of this juggling act, even if the animals sometimes exhibit diva-like behavior with their high demands.

Since animals are the main attraction, they take up most of your resources. You must research different species and study the basic attributes and tendencies in an expansive encyclopedia. You need to pay attention to things like temperature and terrain type when building your exhibits, and regularly add new toys to keep your animals interested. Even adopting the best-fit animal available within a species can change things drastically. For instance, choosing the timber wolf with a higher fertility rate is in your best interest, even if the cost is high and sets you back from getting other animals to exhibit.

Your level of care has a huge ripple effect on your success, since high animal welfare means no protestors and a higher chance of procreation. I was impressed by the scope of the animals, from Komodo Dragons to Japanese Macaques, but learning about them quickly became like taking a boring open-book test. You must constantly reference the zoopedia to succeed, as research often unlocks and records new details, which allows you to improve animals’ welfare. The amount of detail and specificity for each species is impressive, but it’s presented in such an unappetizing way; spending the majority of your time with your head in a book isn’t exactly a fascinating way to learn about different animals in an interactive format. At the very least, Planet Zoo does touch on conservation and the importance of releasing animals into the wild to repopulate areas, giving you incentives, such as currency bonuses, for finally setting them free. 

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Building my own zoo and managing the cash flow held the most allure. Zoo themes (like India and Africa) help you create cool designs, and I enjoyed the strategic elements, such as placing souvenir shops by popular exhibits and putting animals’ food trays near glass windows so guests get a better view. Training staff members, running marketing campaigns, and selecting pricing are also interesting things to consider. Planet Zoo certainly provides a challenge, and having so many different things to weigh kept me on my toes, but it also took a lot of experimentation to actually learn about all the elements. Planet Zoo doesn’t offer adequate guidance for its complexities, with a lot of important things not being explained well or at all. This is a shame because the game is packed with so many different areas and aspects to consider. I learned the hard way about the importance of exhibit size, using non-climbable fences for specific animals, and how animals fight for dominance and space if you don’t balance the male to female ratio accordingly.

Learning through failure and looking up topics in a glossary aren’t the only ways to master the complex mechanics, but it’s far more fun than the frustrating career mode. That path is basically a long tutorial through various zoo types to help teach the basics, but it’s awful to play through. On top of listening to bad dad jokes, you get a checklist of tedious tasks to complete, like increasing animal welfare to an extremely high percentage, placing objects and buildings in specific areas, and adopting a certain amount of different species. I started with the career mode to learn how to play the game, and it left a terrible first impression. The problem is you need to play some of it to have even the slightest idea of how to navigate the game; with several different systems and elements to consider, this is a huge issue. I couldn’t believe how much more fun Planet Zoo became when I stepped into other modes where I had the freedom to do things as I pleased, as there’s everything from economic challenges to just a sandbox to build the zoo of your dreams with no restrictions. 

While swapping to other modes mitigated some of my frustrations, it doesn’t alleviate the extremely menu-heavy interface. I always felt like I had to go through one more hoop than necessary to find information or take actions. For example, if I researched a new enrichment for my animals, I had to go back into the zoopedia to even see what it was, then back out and go into another menu to find said item and put it in the habitat. At times, I even wrote things on paper so I didn’t forget them as a way to avoid the hassle of going into extra menus. 

Planet Zoo put up a lot of obstacles to my enjoyment, but once I broke through the majority of them, I found that engaging loop of mastery and success that makes simulation games fun. I enjoyed trying to one-up my last creation and surpass my previous revenue and years in business. Unfortunately, Planet Zoo requires an unreasonable level of patience that creates a barrier around its best qualities.

Score: 7

Summary: Planet Zoo requires an unreasonable level of patience that creates a wall around its best qualities.

Concept: Construct and manage your own zoo, catering to your animals’ and customers’ needs while staying profitable

Graphics: The building and animal variety allows you to create majestic zoos, all with their own flair thanks to real-world inspirations

Sound: Sound effects and music add to the atmosphere, especially the noise of crowds, protesters, and distinct animal vocalizations

Playability: With its menu-heavy interface and poorly explained management tools, Planet Zoo is too obtuse for its own good, leaving it hard to recommend to anyone but hardcore simulation fans

Entertainment: Planet Zoo has a lot of ambition and depth, but it often comes at too high a cost

Replay: Moderate

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The Trails of Cold Steel franchise continues to impress me. Whether it’s in the depth added to its fantastic turn-based battle system or the intriguing revelations tucked into its sprawling storyline, Nihon Falcom keeps taking the series in exciting directions. The way the developer has built up a massive world and its political tensions is fascinating, referencing events that happened way back in the Trails in the Sky arc. Seeing how all this history and lore unfolds has been an exciting part of the journey. Fans are constantly treated to callbacks and character reunions that feel like rewards for the long investment. While the narrative is certainly a big draw, Trails of Cold Steel III is also a solid RPG through and through, especially if you yearn for something with a classic feel and modern sensibilities.

As the third entry in this four-game arc, Trails of Cold Steel III sets the stage for the grand finale. Instead of narrowing the focus or dialing back, Nihon Falcom goes all-out, adding tons of new characters and retaining familiar faces. The story picks up about a year and a half since the last entry’s civil war. Protagonist Rean has since graduated and become a professor at a new branch of Thors Academy, one reserved for the outcasts and misfits. After growing exceptionally close to the cast of the past games (don’t worry you’ll see them plenty), I was worried about how I’d take to a new class, but the fresh faces bring a lot of interesting dimensions to the plot. For instance, gunner Juna formerly worked at the Crossbell police academy, providing a more personal perspective on how political events affected that area. 

I grew to love most of the new students, but not all are great. Musse is just awful; her main shtick is constantly hitting on Rean, which is overplayed and gets grating fast. The coolest scenes in the story are the reunions with familiar characters from past games. Everyone reenters Rean’s life in an interesting or surprising fashion, making these moments feel super satisfying if you’ve been following the expansive plot through multiple games. If you haven’t, there is a backstory glossary that catches you up on everything from key characters to detailed summaries that break down each game. You can certainly get by using this, but this story is best experienced having played the previous two entries. 

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Trails of Cold Steel is content to keep its school-year structure, allowing you to guide the new Class VII on field assignments and socialize with them in your off time. The social elements remain a highlight, and this entry provides several opportunities to hang out with your new students or former classmates. You even have a camp where you can catch up, unearthing extra details or opening new side quests. But sometimes you have too much downtime, and the school aspects feel drawn out, creating busywork before you get to the good stuff. Just like previous entries, this installment is massive and slow-burning. I like how this builds up the relationships and world, but bloated dialogue segments and chore-like fetch quests test my patience. 

The turn-based battle system remains one of my favorites in recent years due to its many options. You’re forced to use your head instead of spamming attacks and specials. While the system is still focused on enemy weaknesses, character placement, and timing, Nihon Falcom introduced some new elements to keep you on your toes. A break gauge causes enemies to cease all actions for a turn with lowered defenses. I loved saving all my specials for this moment so they’d pack an even greater punch, as watching the high damage add up is extremely satisfying. Another new addition is Brave Order, which allows you to activate tide-changing perks, such as reflecting damage or taking half-damage. Implementing them into my strategy quickly became a new wrinkle to conquer boss battles. You can also now perform a “Burst” with two linked characters, which multiples break damage by 10. All of these new mechanics play off each other wonderfully, and combining them at the right times is a recipe for devastation. They make you feel powerful, and the gratification from crafting smart strategies is hard to top. 

While I enjoy the combat, the dungeons stand to be improved. For a good portion of the game, you revisit and run through trials in a bland practice dungeon. Outside of battles, you find switches and crawl through ducts to reach different places, with the latter being especially overdone, alongside the commentary about being able to see up the girls’ skirts every time you enter one. The dungeon design is simply uninspired; all the floors have a sterile feel, with only differing color schemes giving them any defining features. You also fight in other places such as forests, caves, and ruins, but they are pretty generic. 

Trails of Cold Steel III’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses. While the story takes its sweet time to unfold, it offers a lot of shocking outcomes. I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that things just keep heating up and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead. There’s something special about following characters for so long across various games – that attachment makes these journeys matter so much more. I just hope the next entry addresses the more glaring flaws, because there’s too much good here for it to be bogged down by a few problem areas. 

Score: 8

Summary: With great combat, an engrossing narrative, and a charming cast, Cold Steel III has all the makings of a great RPG.

Concept: Put lead character Rean in the role of professor and introduce fresh threats to an all-new Class VII

Graphics: The visuals certainly have a dated look, especially the environments. However, the new designs for the returning characters look great

Sound: Repetitive music loses its appeal fast, and the quality of voice acting is inconsistent

Playability: Occasional framerate stutters and graphical hiccups aside, the controls are smooth and all the mechanics are well-explained

Entertainment: Trails of Cold Steel III marks another school year full of adrenaline-pumping battles, interesting new faces, and unexpected hardships amidst political turmoil

Replay: Moderate

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In today’s world, rideshare services like Uber and Lyft have become ubiquitous modes of transportation. Using that as a springboard, Neo Cab is a fascinating ride. It takes something we’re all familiar with – hiring a driver through an app – and explores meaningful topics through that lens, like our relationship with technology and confronting toxic friendships. The concept of being a driver and managing conversations to ensure a five-star rating is enticing on its own, but Neo Cab shines by adding intriguing layers, like a future where humans are increasingly losing themselves to technology. 

What does it mean to be human in a world overrun with machines? How do you enact positive change when the world is shifting before you in such dangerous ways? These are just a few questions at the heart of Neo Cab, and they’re part of what makes the game so much more than simply a driver-for-hire simulator. You play as Lina, one of the few human drivers left, trying to make ends meet by working for Neo Cab. Lina is new to the city and preparing to move in with one of her oldest friends. However, things get complicated when her friend goes missing, leaving Lina to search for clues about her recent activities. 

Since Neo Cab is more of a visual novel mixed with survival aspects, the basic gist of the gameplay is making little decisions that add up to your ultimate ending. Not only do you have to decide which riders to pick up, but you also must keep track of things like fuel, funds, and emotional well-being. The latter is handled in an interesting way, as you have a bracelet that tracks your mood with different color indicators. This lets you know when your emotions are getting the best of you and may need to take a break. Depending on your feelings, certain dialogue options will or won’t be available. For instance, if you’re in a good mood, you might be more likely to flirt with a customer, but if one is testing your patience, you are less likely to suck it up and be polite for your star rating. If your star rating gets below a certain threshold, you get deactivated, so that’s just one more thing to balance. 

I like the idea of paying attention to your emotions and making sure you’re taking care of yourself in theory, but trying to play conversations to a particular mood is frustrating, since your moods ping pong based on the interaction far too quickly. Even if you play your cards right, it comes down to the luck of who you pick up. You can also role-play Lina one way and then have this weird disconnect when suddenly an option that seems natural can’t be selected due to an arbitrary system. 

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The biggest offense is how your mood plays into your ending, which sends mixed signals about the emotional state you should be in for it to get a satisfying finale. Don’t expect to get a good ending on your first playthrough, as the slightest slip-up can damn the whole interaction. I played through Neo Cab multiple times, and that last encounter always bothers me because you are set up to fail. I won’t spoil anything else about it, but those last moments cast a dark cloud over an experience I otherwise enjoyed.

The best part of the adventure is the one-on-one interactions with your eclectic riders, like a quantum statistician who dazzles you with alternate timelines, and a girl whose overprotective mother has locked her in robot armor. Since you can pick up some riders multiple times, you really get to know them and see their growth through your interactions and advice. Outside of a couple that feel half-realized, I was surprised at how intriguing the majority of these character arcs are; they not only give you more information about this futuristic, tech-crazed world, but they also have a lot to say about life and give you a say in determining what really matters. In one, I helped a young work-obsessed woman see what was missing from her life. In another, I let an older man jump out of my car to feel alive. 

Neo Cab poses a lot of questions, crossing something familiar with a plausible futuristic backdrop. Chance Agency crafts an intriguing world where people all have their own ideas about technology and how much it should be a part of our everyday lives. Neo Cab has the fun of being a driver, meeting new people, and trying to hustle for cash and get that coveted star-rating. But it also offers a much deeper experience – one that makes you look inward. That’s especially why it’s worth the trip. 

Score: 8

Summary: Neo Cab explores meaningful topics through intriguing characters, making for a memorable ride.

Concept: Get behind the wheel as a rideshare driver in a technology-driven, futuristic world

Graphics: Flashy, neon colors capture the backdrop wonderfully, and the characters all have their own eccentric sense of style

Sound: The game is light on sound, with only music to guide you. Unfortunately, some tracks get repetitive

Playability: A clean interface and simple controls make it easy to pick up and play. However, you may want to adjust the text speed in the options to ensure you don’t miss details

Entertainment: Neo Cab has a fun gameplay loop, but the customers you pick up are the stars of the show, making it a memorable journey that examines what it means to be human

Replay: Moderate

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Making mischief can be fun, but imagine doing it as one of nature’s biggest pests: a goose. Untitled Goose Game is a simple-but-amusing experience about being a goose and harassing unsuspecting humans. While there’s something charming and delightful about that, the game shows all its cards upfront and never reaches outside the initial thrill of the premise. Untitled Goose Game is a lighthearted jaunt that I’m glad I took, but it left me without much of a lasting impression as the credits rolled.

Whether they’re lazily meandering across the road in front of your car, chasing unsuspecting children, or leaving their “presents” on sidewalks, geese can be real jerks. This is why assuming the role of one and doling out the inconveniences is so satisfying. Your goal is to advance through different areas of a town by completing objectives, which nudge you toward your evil deeds. Maybe you need to steal items for your goose picnic, or chase a terrified boy into a phone booth. You accomplish this with only what nature gave you: your beak to honk and pick up items, and your wings to get attention.

Untitled Goose Game combines light stealth and puzzle elements. As a goose, you need to watch people’s routines and routes, looking for things like tables and decks to hide under. You can also pick up items and place them wherever as a way to distract humans, which is essential; if you get caught, they chase you out of the area and take back whatever item you’ve stolen. Every place becomes its own puzzle, forcing you to think like a goose to complete some of the tasks, such as pretending to be a statue, or honking right as someone is about to do something to startle them for hilarious results. Some of your actions are just plain devious and depend on careful timing, like pulling a chair out from under someone right before they’re about to sit down. All of this is plenty of fun, especially as you watch the reactions and consequences of your actions, like causing two neighbors to argue or seeing a lady who was shooing you break her broom.

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You quickly fall into your routine of raising hell, and watching townspeople chase you as you waddle away for dear life is a sight to behold. Some puzzles take additional effort and can’t even be completed until you gain access to a new area and go back later. Once the credits roll, you also get new, more complex objectives in the same areas for replayability; some hijinks even have timed conditions for added pressure. That being said, Untitled Goose Game is a condensed experience, and the first run only takes a few hours. I don’t have a problem with short games, but even at that length, your tasks get repetitive by the end. There are only so many times you can steal items, move things from one side of the area to the other, and run from townsfolk. Also, for all this frenzy, nothing really stands out as over-the-top silly or extremely memorable. The gags are fairly standard and safe, and only a couple post-game objectives are intricate enough to require serious thought, which is disappointing.

Untitled Goose Game is a great concept, and ends in the same charming way it started. Pranking people is fun, and doing it as a goose just adds to the thrill. Most people will play it for the silly premise, complete it in a few hours, and go on their merry way without touching it again. If you just want to mess with people as a goose, here’s your chance – but the shallowness and repetition hold it back from being a truly engaging game.  

Score: 7.5

Summary: Untitled Goose Game is a simple-but-amusing experience about being a goose and harassing unsuspecting humans.

Concept: Be a goose out on the town, making mischief and toying with humans

Graphics: Outside of a few hiccups like clipping issues, the simplistic and colorful art style is pleasing and fits the tone well

Sound: Tense classical music plays if a human catches you in the act, appropriately adding to the frenzy of chase scenes

Playability: Easy to pick up and play, though sometimes it can be hard to pick up items when they’re close to one another

Entertainment: Untitled Goose Game leans into its lighthearted, silly elements, providing plenty of chuckles and capturing the joy of figuring out how to mess with people

Replay: Moderate

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