The first update for Jurassic World Evolution 2 is just around the corner – with a brand new paid DLC, the Early Cretaceous Pack, coming to the game on December the 9th. This will be accompanied by a brand-new feature update – adding in a handful of additional features which fans have been requesting.
The Early Cretaceous Pack is set to add four brand new animals to the game. These are the Wuerhosaurus (a genus of stegosaurid dinosaur from China and Mongolia), the Minmi (an ever popular ankylosaurian from Australia), the Dsungaripterus (a very unique Pterosaur from China), and the Kronosaurus (a large spcies of pliosaur from Australia and Colombia). These animals will be included in their own brand-new DLC pack, and whilst we don’t have a pricepoint confirmed just yet, we are willing to bet that this pack will retail for a similar price point to the additional packs released for the first game.
Alongside this piece of DLC there are a wealth of quality-of-life upgrades which will be coming to Evolution 2 with the first update. Most exciting is the inclusion of the Department of Fish and Wildlife building skins from the campaign being added to the sandbox assortment – giving us even more options when it comes to constructing our parks. These buildings were some of my favourite elements of the campaign, and given the fact that the DFW appear in the recently released Dominion prologue, we are excited to have them in the sandbox. Alongside these building additions will also come Jurassic Park themed Lagoons and Aviaries – allowing us to have these attractions in our 1993 themed park. This is a great addition and shows that Frontier are already listening g to our feedback, so this gets a strong thumbs up from us.
A few other quality of life additions here include the inclusion of the Campaign Levels as Sandbox maps now – meaning we will be able to build on that gorgeous and vibrant Pennsylvania map in sandbox mode. This is very exciting as there are some incredibly unique locations packed into the campaign, so getting to create our own parks without restrictions on them will be fantastic. Alongside the addition of new sandbox maps is the option to start with a completely flat, tree-less version of the map – something which I think many fans will appreciate. Adding more breadth and depth of options for the sandbox is nothing but a good thing, so we are really happy to see this already being built apon just a month after launch. There are also new rock perch points for flying reptiles, new balance changes and accessibility additions – details of which can be found in this great writeup on the forums.
Whilst there is certainly an argument to be made for this paid DLC being too soon given the game has just launched, it is clear that the team are hearing our feedback and are making changes to the base game, too. The new additions to the game here feel like part of a wider post-launch roadmap which may be being worked on behind the scenes – so we are excited to see how free additions will grow the offerings already in the game. DFW Signs and Scenery options plus more could really help to build on this – so we are excited to see where subsequent updates choose to flesh out the sandbox further.
What do you think of this update? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for all the latest Jurassic World Evolution 2 news right here on The Jurassic Park Podcast!
Written by: Tom Jurassic