Planet Coaster 2

Planet Coaster 2 launched with significant technical issues and gameplay frustrations, notably with frequent crashing and a problematic camera system that hindered building, which disappointed many early adopters. However, Frontier Developments has shown strong commitment to improving the game through frequent free updates, adding content, restoring missing features from the first game, and steadily enhancing stability and performance. Players praise the game’s creative building tools, improved coaster design flexibility, beautiful graphics, and the integration of new water park elements that add gameplay variety. The career mode and guest AI have also seen meaningful improvements, making the park management aspects more engaging.

Despite the rocky start, the game has evolved into a robust and enjoyable theme park simulator that offers deep customization and a rich sandbox experience. Still, some UI quirks, shallow utility systems like water and power management, and occasional bugs remain. Overall, it is now regarded as a worthy sequel, especially for fans of the genre and the original game.

Highlights

Players particularly praise the creative building tools that allow extensive scaling, recoloring, and flexible object placement. The graphics are stunning, with impressive lighting and water effects enhancing immersion. The addition of water parks and new coaster types expands gameplay variety, while the improved career mode and guest AI add depth and challenge. Frequent free updates and developer responsiveness have been widely appreciated, restoring missing content and improving stability. The game is now seen as a solid, deep theme park simulator with strong longevity and replayability.

Criticisms

Common criticisms include persistent crashing and technical instability on various systems, especially at launch. The camera controls are widely regarded as frustrating and unintuitive, making building cumbersome. The UI is clunky and designed with consoles in mind, leading to some awkward controls and lack of convenient features like saved flashlight settings. The water and power management systems feel shallow and busywork-like, lacking strategic depth. Some players miss certain themes and rides from the original game, which are expected to return via future updates or DLC. Additionally, the game’s economy and pathfinding have been criticized as confusing or broken.