Recently, the kind folks over at Frontier Developments were awesome enough to allow me to spend some time playing the brand new Chaos Theory Mode from Jurassic World Evolution 2, as a part of a fantastic virtual event which they hosted for content creators and community members. It’s worth bearing in mind that we played a pre-release version of the game – meaning there are likely to be additional changes before the game’s release later this year.
I don’t want to waste any more time as I am writing this up straight after the event and really want to give you my raw thoughts and feelings on this new game mode – so let’s drive straight in and let the Chaos unfold!
The premise behind Chaos Theory Mode is essentially like Marvel’s “What If…” but for the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises – providing fans with the opportunity to play out alternative scenarios to those which unfold on screen. In the situation which we had the opportunity to play through, InGen choose to recruit Ian Malcolm in the wake of the 1997 Isla Sorna incident – bringing him in as a consultant as the remaining animals on the island were recovered and used to build Jurassic Park San Diego. This provides a refreshing alternative perspective on the prior established canon of the Jurassic franchise – and also provides a great opportunity to immerse ourselves in different periods of the Jurassic universe.
What I loved most about this concept was the fact that Frontier are clearly committed to getting it right – with unique characters like Mr Thompson used to tell their own era-specific stories. This is supported by the inclusion of a range of era-specific assets to really immerse the player in the scenario. It’s worth noting that this mode essentially functions as a more on-wheels sandbox mode experience. The player still has a wide range of tools and options available to them with a great degree of flexibility and freedom – but they also have specific objectives to complete which further the specific narrative taking place in the mode. I really enjoyed this hybrid approach to both a traditional Story Mode and a less restrictive Sandbox mode – giving players the best of both worlds, whilst still packing a separate narrative-driven Campaign into the game, too!
“Scientists have different attributes which mean they work best in different areas – like research or incubation – and this, in turn, means you need a balance of Scientists working in your park. Managing their stress levels with a staff building is also vital too – as stressed staff can seriously impede your progress and can cause chaos to run rife in your park through sabotage.”
The Gameplay was really refreshing in this game mode – and this, undoubtedly, speaks for the game as a whole. If you’ve played Jurassic World Evolution then you will already be familiar with a lot of the core gameplay loops – but a lot of work has been done to really refine these systems and build upon them. Rangers now have patrol routes where they monitor different check-up stations across the park – allowing you to constantly check how your animals are doing and address their needs before they become distressed. Staff management is now a huge part of the game – with the recruitment of Scientists being a crucial element of every process in the game. Scientists have different attributes which mean they work best in different areas – like research or incubation – and this, in turn, means you need a balance of Scientists working in your park. Managing their stress levels with a staff building is also vital too – as stressed staff can seriously impede your progress and can cause chaos to run rife in your park through sabotage.
The game also makes new and interesting strides in the territory of enclosure construction – with plants grouped together in different categories now depending on the need of an animal. If an animal needs more ground leaves, for example, then you may place a specific clump of vegetation, but ground fruit may mean you place an alternative plant. Having a good mixture of these is crucial in balancing the environments of your parks – and I can imagine it proving a struggle when you create a large Herbivore enclosure. This balances the prior Palaeobotany system present in the Claire’s Sanctuary DLC for the first game really well – creating a feature which feels much more natural and which really encourages thought when it comes to creating your enclosures. It’s also worth noting the inbuilt ability to speed things up really helps with things like incubation time – meaning there is always something to do in the sequel. I was really impressed with how much the gameplay really built on the formula the first game established. I think the enhanced gameplay really will lead to even more scope for replay-ability in the future.
As with any Jurassic game, Dinosaurs are, of course, the stars of the show – and I spent some time with a couple of returning dinosaurs. During my playthrough I had the opportunity to see the newest rendition of the Compsognathus, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Pachycephalosaurus and also the Dilophosaurus. All of these animals look just as good as their appearances within the first game – with additional behaviours really helping to sell these as natural animals. It was really cool seeing moments where the animals would just pause and break – and I also appreciate the enhanced group mechanics which are present meaning that things like the Tyrannosaurus Rex can now be grouped together with more than one animal in a paddock. Of a particular note to me was the fact that animals may want more of a certain texture or type of land in their paddock – adding more to this feature than it being a purely cosmetic tool, which I thought was a really nice touch.
“ One new building is the ‘Guest Attraction’ building – and although we only saw the Cinema in this build of the game, I am very curious to see what other facilities our guests may have access to in the final release.”
On the subject of cosmetics, there are lots of new cosmetic adjustments which can be made to buildings and facilities within the new game – allowing you to change them depending on whether you want them to build a park which embraces the Jurassic Park or Jurassic World aesthetic. Interestingly you can mix elements from both – allowing you to create some truly diverse looking builds which give you a much greater level of individuality and customisability throughout your parks. The fact that you can go as far as individually colouring the elements of the building is a welcome addition to – allowing us to potentially colour-code specific elements of our parks. Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t Planet Zoo level customisation, but it really does build on the first game and opens a lot more possibilities. I am excited to see how Frontier build on this. One new building is the ‘Guest Attraction’ building – and although we only saw the Cinema in this build of the game, I am very curious to see what other facilities our guests may have access to in the final release.
Another thing which really impressed me was the scale of the maps which are present within the newest game. The San Diego map we played on not only gives you an expansive sandbox to build within – but also features the city of San Diego in the backdrop, providing a really unique new vista which drastically contrasts the mountains and waterfalls which we saw across The Muertes Archipelago in the first game. The team appear to have really embraced the fact that the animals are intermingling with our own world in new ways in the upcoming Jurassic World Dominion – with scenarios like this perfectly encapsulating the idea of dinosaurs being brought much closer to us. This is a fundamental flaw which is present with the concept of Jurassic Park San Diego in the films – so it was exciting to see Frontier choosing to explore it in the sequel here. I think fans who perhaps found the prior maps in the first game constrictive, will really welcome the new sense of scope and scale which Evolution 2 brings to the franchise.
One final thing I wanted to touch on was the Music and Sound Design. This game really brings back the beautiful tones found within the first game’s soundtrack – creating something which feels familiar whilst also sprinkling some new sound into specific scenarios, complimenting them well. Just like the first game, felt like a lot of work had been put in to capturing the sense of wonder and mystery and the result is something which feels refreshing. The music really amplifies the feeling that Jurassic World Evolution 2 is something familiar, but new in its own right – so I thought it was worth mentioning this. If you enjoyed the score for the first game, then you’re going to have a big smile on your face whilst playing the second game.
In summary – Chaos Theory Mode embraces the best of the Jurassic franchise by creating some fantastic scenarios which really amplify the new gameplay Jurassic World Evolution 2 offers. The sequel in the series really builds upon the original title in meaningful ways, with growth and development felt in almost every area present in the game. It’s clear the developers took a lot of time to listen to the feedback the community offered for the first game – using it to inform changes which will keep players coming back and will make for a game with much more diversity and personalisation than it’s predecessor.
I am very excited to play more of this game in the near future. When we first visited Frontier back in 2018 for Jurassic World Evolution, I was fully immersed in its wonder with a huge smile on my face – and I am happy to report the sequel had the same effect on me. I am sure the story, and the other modes present will other a fantastic new experience for Jurassic fans as we continue to wait for the release of Jurassic World Dominion.
Written by:
Tom Jurassic