Thanks to the folks at Frontier Developments I’ve been looking over their new DLC for Jurassic World Evolution 2 with the Dominion Biosyn expansion. With the quite short nature of the base game’s campaign mode, this one brings some very welcome new story as well as new inhabitants for your park and a fresh Chaos Theory scenario. As an expansion, our common-sense parent’s guide for the DLC is still based on the original title, and there are no additional concerns we’ve found. Find our usual video review below, as well as the extended written review for Dominion Biosyn.
The Basics
Dominion Biosyn is the largest DLC which has released for Jurassic World Evolution 2, and brings new campaign, a new Chaos Theory scenario, four new park inhabitants, new skins and new mechanics. The expansion has been launched to coincide with the release of the latest film, and much like over in Hollywood we find a lot of top-flight names returning. Players will work alongside familiar characters such as Drs Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant, Claire Dearing and Owen Grady. In addition, working to reconstruct Biosyn’s research complex will see significant interaction with Lewis Dodgson, a familiar name since the first Jurassic Park film way back in 1994.
The title brings two new locations, including Biosyn valley and Owen’s Sierra Nevada ranch. It also brings four entirely new park inhabitants, the Pyroraptor, Therizinosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus and Dimetrodon, bringing feathered reptiles and pre-prehistoric creatures to your park for the first time. In addition, there are also new variants for the Dreadnoughtus and Giganotosaurus as well as a new Dilophosaurus skin, three Parasaurolophus skins and two new Tyrannosaurus skins, including a new feathered T-Rex aesthetic.
Players will also find new mechanics in the form of new amber mines, the film-based hyper-loop network and Biosyn-styled buildings, vehicles and decorations which can also be used in sandbox mode. In addition to the Biosyn-focused campaign players also have a new Chaos Theory scenario inspired by the new film. Within this you’ll work to protect dinosaurs with security upgrades and dino-wrangling skills to try and save your precious herds by intercepting rustlers’ vehicles before they can steal away your dinos.
Parent’s Guide
Rating: Mostly Harmless. Those who have played the base game for Jurassic World Evolution 2 won’t find many surprises here. While the expansion adds a fair amount of new content, there’s nothing we’ve found to be worrisome or troubling above the offering of the main game. This includes the standard violence which comes from running a “Completely Successful And In No Way Dangerous” dinosaur theme park.
Accessibility
Rating: No Barrier. Things are pretty laid back in Dominion Biosyn and much like the base game there are some great tutorials to help players to get your head around the new mechanics and features. In a way, this echoes the campaign of the initial release, as the new campaign can at times feel a little like a set of tutorial missions, but it does mean that players should always have a good handle on what they need to do. It also continues with the save structure from the very first Jurassic World Evolution, allowing players to have multiple games in the various modes, without losing their saves. This makes it exceptionally easy to drop in and out of game modes as you like making it especially suitable for those who can only play in dribs and drabs.
The Run Down
As an expansion, the Dominion Biosyn DLC echoes the visuals and audio of the base game. The Expansion of course provides further replay value and a decent story to play through. Other than this, there’s not much to go over, as things remain the same with well-designed dinosaurs and exceptional sound. Overall, the Pixel Bandits’ Life find a way Level for Jurassic World Evolution’s Dominion Biosyn DLC is a Good 3/4. I’ve really enjoyed the new functionality in this expansion, and it provides a great introduction to the new wrangling mechanics as well as features such as invisible fencing which can make your park look much neater. The new creatures to unlock are also pretty cool, and work to add some great variety to the Biosyn compound and to the rest of your parks.
While not as extreme as the base game, my only issue with the DLC is that I would have liked it to be a little longer. The extra chaos theory scenario does add some great variety and replay value, but as with anything Jurassic World I don’t want it to end.
