Review – Jurassic World Evolution (Nintendo Switch)
With thanks to the ever lovely folks at Frontier Developments, I’ve been taking a look at the Nintendo Switch release of Jurassic World Evolution, Complete Edition. While We’ve reviewed the Xbox and Playstation release way back in 2018, the Switch version does come with some differences, and I thought it would be good to get a completely separate review, alongside the common sense parent’s guide for this portable platform.
The Basics
If you haven’t seen much about Jurassic World Evolution at all, here you’ll find a solid park builder, where you’ll be charged with building not just one Jurassic World, but a franchise covering the islands of the Five Deaths.You’ll need to spend time digging for new dino fossils, researching new buildings and upgrades alongside building the parks themselves, unlocking new abilities as you go.
The Complete Edition on Nintendo Switch comes with all DLC packs released since Jurassic World Evolution first landed in 2018. As well as the smaller dinosaur packs, this also includes the three large DLC drops with Secrets of Dr. Wu, Claire’s Sanctuary and the 93 edition Return to Jurassic Park.
Outside the fact that it’s all bundled in one package for the first time, most of the functionality remains the same between the new Switch release and the previous releases on consoles and PC.
One thing that’s important to note is that there are some sacrifices to be made with visuals here as we move to the portable platform. It’s not enough to put me off the title, but they are definitely worth noting and we’ll cover in a little more detail during the overall run down.
Parent’s Eye View
Jurassic World Evolution is rated by PEGI at 16 and above, and by the ESRB at T for Teen. This comes with the same content and warnings as last time. There is violence within the title, but no graphic blood, and the only attacks will be dino to dino. It’s one that I’m quite happy to let the Micro-Bandits have a play around with, especially with the fact that you as a player can’t hurt either dinosaurs or guests.
Accessibility
In terms of accessibility it’s getting a lower rating of moderate. There are a good number of difficulty options here, and while there’s a lot of play time to be put in, you don’t have to dedicate your life to this title to enjoy it.
The Run Down
Visuals – Good: This is where the title separates itself from xbox and playstation versions a little, and it’s important to remember that this rating is based solely on the Switch platform. With the portable nature of the platform, there are some visual limitations which should be expected. I’ve had minimal frame rate issues, and most of the time the performance is nice and smooth, with the only negatives being pop up of detail when zoomed out, and blur on visuals when playing in handheld mode.
Overall I’ve not been too disappointed, and while the visuals aren’t going to be a match for the other consoles of the current generation, it’s certainly very playable here on Switch
Audio – Great: The audio design is great and well implemented even here on Switch. As ever with handheld move you’ll not get the booming sounds of your TV, but overall the original cast and great soundtrack and effects will likely please switch players
Narrative – Great: With all content bundled together there are some great story elements when playing through the base game and DLCs. Original casts come together for the most part, to really provide some jurassic stories
Replay – Great: Having all DLC bundled together really provides some outstanding play time here. Over on Xbox I’ve managed to get a few hundred hours out of Jurassic World Evolution, and if you’re coming new to it on Switch or hopping over from another platform to play it on the move, you’ll find a lot to be getting on with
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The Verdict
Overall the Pixel Bandits Life Finds a Way Level for Jurassic World Evolution on Nintendo Switch is Grab it! . The various different DLC packs coming together makes this a really strong contender, especially if you don’t have another platform to play on. The limitations of the Switch console do mean a compromise when it comes to the visuals, but overall they haven’t impacted my gameplay too much and in docked mode when you’re down and close up with the dinos it stands up pretty well.
If you have Xbox or PlayStation you may want to look at picking it up on those if you really value higher end graphics, but if you only have a Switch or are looking at portability, you should get a good few hours out of it.
