Jurassic World Evolution 3 review: It’s good to be back, but it’s not perfect

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

It’s great to return to the series, but Jurassic World Evolution 3 isn’t flawless. That’s my take as someone who’s enjoyed these dinosaur theme park building games for a long time.

I was worried when Frontier Developments shifted focus from their dinosaur park games to create Planet Coaster 2. It seemed like the Jurassic World Evolution series might be cancelled, just like the characters unfortunate enough to encounter a Mosasaurus.

It’s great news that JWE is back with a fresh game! It’s even lasted longer than the original Jurassic World movies, which have recently been revived with a new cast featuring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey.

The new game doesn’t focus much on characters from the movies like Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard). They were central to the previous game’s story, and Bryce Dallas Howard even provided a voiceover, but they’re only briefly mentioned in this release.

Fortunately, Jeff Goldblum returns as Ian Malcolm, and he’s fantastic! He consistently points out the potential dangers and questions the choices being made, and Goldblum’s unique delivery makes everything feel more genuine and entertaining.

Following the events of Jurassic World Dominion, this story sends you on a global journey to help dinosaurs. You’ll visit different locations – some are traditional theme parks, while others involve scientific research or breeding programs where your help is needed.

Breeding is a major new feature in this version, and it adds a lot more depth and keeps you much more involved in the game.

Before, once your dinosaurs were settled and content in their enclosure, you could leave them unattended for long periods without any issues.

This game now lets you breed dinosaurs! If you provide a nest for a breeding pair, you’ll eventually see a baby dinosaur hatch. It’s a wonderful sight – especially if you enjoyed welcoming new dinosaurs before – and it significantly changes how the game is played.

Young dinosaurs often have different requirements than adults – they might prefer different food or social groups. This means dinosaur keepers need to carefully plan and frequently adjust habitats to ensure all the dinosaurs are thriving.

Parks can now be built with multiple levels, creating interesting sights like waterfalls and habitats built high up on mountainsides.

The game also includes security cameras, letting you automate some of your park upkeep – a feature similar to the burglar system in Two Point Museum.

If you liked the first two Jurassic World Evolution games, you’re going to love this one!

Learning this will take time and effort, but it’s worth it – you’ll steadily unlock new features and improvements. The gameplay is solid and the overall experience is exactly what you’re looking for, perfectly complemented by a fantastic soundtrack reminiscent of Jurassic Park.

The game isn’t flawless, though. While many players might use a mouse and keyboard, I always prefer a controller, and I found the controls a bit awkward this time around.

As a fan, I’ll admit it was sometimes really tricky getting a clear shot of what I wanted to see, especially when trying to photograph things inside and outside the aviaries. It took a lot of careful maneuvering!

Navigating the menus without a mouse could be difficult. It was sometimes frustrating to locate specific items and remember what category they belonged to – like whether something was an ‘enclosure’ or an ‘attraction’. I often had to pause the game just to find what I was looking for.

Sometimes, because the game has so many interconnected systems, I found myself stuck trying to figure out how everything worked together – it took longer than I wanted to combine different abilities.

Building a successful dinosaur park involves carefully choosing the right people to research locations, discover fossils, and extract DNA. While some routine tasks are inevitable, it’s crucial to avoid making them so tedious that they overshadow the fun of actually creating and managing your park. The goal is to spend more time building, not getting bogged down in menus.

Jurassic World Evolution fans should be pleased with the return of the series, as it offers plenty of new features to enjoy. However, if you haven’t enjoyed previous games, this one likely won’t change your mind.

Jurassic World Evolution 3 launches 21st October for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

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2025-10-21 17:35