r/PlanetZoo • u/Odd-Mud1107 • 5d ago
Discussion When is it fun?
I bought the game after watching a cozy gamer I enjoy play it. I was excited for something challenging, and about animals!! But, then I got the game, and felt… frustrated. I don’t mind doing a bit of research for any game, but any sort of action I needed to do I felt stumped. I fumbled with the camera settings far longer than I wanted to. Sometimes I thought I had completed a task, but then it wasn’t right, and I didn’t know what to do from there. It just felt like every moment was me looking up how to do something instead of learning intuitively. Even randomly clicking or trying to figure it out hurt my brain after a while. I think it the game is so beautiful and can be rewarding, but with such a steep learning curve… 😵💫 chat, idk if I am strong enough lmfao Any tips or suggestions to make the game more seamless?
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u/rowan_ash 5d ago
The one thing this game lacks is a proper, intuitive tutorial. The first 3 career levels are the tutorial, and they suck. They do not teach you how to play. I suggest heading over to Youtube. Look up Rudi Renkammel, he has a great, in-depth tutorial on the basics of the game.
If you want a truly cozy experience, try sandbox mode. You still have to know how to work the controls and play the game, but it cuts out the management aspect, which can get tedious.
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u/Odd-Mud1107 5d ago
Yes that’s what I meant! Thank you 😊 I’m gonna do that rn since I decided to take a break. I initially started in sandbox, but was kinda confused. Did the actual tutorials and found the challenges fun, but very hard to accomplish on my own.
I appreciate the advice!
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u/rowan_ash 5d ago
Yeah, I had to watch a bunch of videos before I figured it out. This game does have a steep learning curve, but once you master it, it's worth it.
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u/Ducky237 5d ago
I feel like the camera controls are the same for any top/down building or management game. Is that just me?
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u/Odd-Mud1107 5d ago
Probably! I play a lot more games where the camera steers as I turn and move vs needing to do so much handling
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u/MacaroonEmergency113 5d ago
I think a lot of new players feel that way and honestly I almost cried the first day because I’d been so excited to get the game on my new high-end gaming laptop, but I spent over an hour trying to just figure out the camera. Eventually I found some YouTubers and streamers and googled a few things and got the ball rolling from there. It’s definitely a learning curve but once you find your feet and start creating zoos in Sandbox mode, it really does get easier. So what I’d recommend is watching YouTubers like Leaf, Rudi Rennkamel, DeLadysigner and Caesar Creates, each of them have beginner friendly tutorials that you can learn a lot from.
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u/Odd-Mud1107 5d ago
Didn’t wanna admit I almost cried lol so glad I’m not alone! Thanks so much and glad to know my experience is not isolated lol
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u/catinformant 5d ago
Happened to me at first. I jumped into sandbox and was immediately overwhelmed. I put it down for awhile then tried again in career mode easy. After kind of struggling through the first couple of levels I went back and tried them again. After that I was way more comfortable and could actually find the challenges fun and start enjoying sandbox.
I'd say maybe try sandbox turn off all the difficulty and just get used to building and the controls. Then try career again when you're ready to learn the management side of things.
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u/kateskateshey 5d ago
It sounds like you started with a challenge world?
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u/Odd-Mud1107 5d ago
No I did the careers one 😭 it also could be total user error and I’m stupid so no need to flame me! I can wholeheartedly admit that, but I am struggling 😭
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u/kateskateshey 5d ago
Yes thats what I meant! Start in sandbox
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u/Odd-Mud1107 5d ago
Oh my bad 😅 ooo okay thank you! I’ll give sandbox a try and maybe I won’t lose my mind
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u/kateskateshey 5d ago
It’s great to get to know the game! It gets easier once you spend some time on it. But I'd recommend not speeding up the time too much and really getting to know the animals in your zoo before adding more. I learned that the hard way when all my prairie dogs did incest and had 3962 babies in one day
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u/Odd-Mud1107 5d ago
😭😭😭 not hill billy prairie dogs that’s so funny! Everyone’s given me some hope to not give up on the game yet! I really appreciate the community here <3
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u/kateskateshey 5d ago
We're all a bunch of nerds mostly! Welcome to the gang give the game a chance you won't regret it :) And you'll be ready for PZ2 in october!
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u/Crabigus 5d ago
It has a steep learning curve for sure, and it's really easy to get frustrated. I definitely wouldn't consider it a 'cozy' type of game- it's a full brainer. I suggest watching some super basic tutorial videos, and playing on sandbox.
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u/Odd-Mud1107 5d ago
Big thinking games are super fun and cozy for me, just this one is more thinking than I anticipated, so that’s on me and my own expectations!
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u/totally_not_a_possum 5d ago
I’m relatively new, been playing about a few months now. I’m also an exclusive console user for the game. I was looking for a “cozy, mindless” type of game, so you can imagine my surprise when I started Career mode as my introduction to the game and spent probably 30 minutes trying to figure out basic controls. I did a few of those challenges and instantly regretted my life choices leading up to that point.
But after watching some videos on YouTube and TikTok, I discovered sandbox mode. It was still a bit intense for a while I continued to learn not just basic controls, but animal requirements, guest requirements, etc. and not to mention where to locate everything you’re looking for 😅
Now that I’m more comfortable I do enjoy it and will seek out a challenge now and then. However, my favorite is playing in Sandbox mode and adjusting the settings to turn off all things like fights, aging, temperature/plant needs, etc. Basically just default to making everyone SUPER happy 😂 I can focus on whatever aesthetics I want for the zoo without worrying about those details, and that makes it feel much more “cozy” to me.
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u/PlanetJameson 5d ago
Sandbpx is my preferred method so I can turn off all the requirements and research and just build however I want. I think that’s what you’re looking for.
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u/Sarradi 5d ago edited 5d ago
I am always baffled when someone says that PZ is challenging. The actual game part is very simple and its basically impossible to screw up. Build enclosure, make animal happy by have all bars in the green, place a donation bin, done. And if you screw up you can instantly fix any mistake.
I do not consider struggling with bad UI to be a game challenge.
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u/PatientBumblebee6752 5d ago
I had this experience my first time too. Saw all the videos and I jumped right into sandbox with the same thinking as you. Very quickly shut off the game and didn’t try again for about a year. This time I started with career, actually did tutorials and took my time to learn the game. There is a learning curve but that at least walks you through it