Two Point Museum: Zooseum (DLC)

I went into Zooseum half-expecting a lazy asset pack with a giraffe texture slapped over a fossil stand, and I came out having spent several hours debating whether my Zig-Zebras and Spyglass Giraffes needed a jungle biome or a desert one. That alone says something about how well Two Point Studios hooks you, even when the concept has some obvious cracks. The core pitch is simple: the eccentric Wiggy Silverbottom opens his Silverbottom Park estate as an animal sanctuary, and you transform it from a stately emptiness into a five-star wildlife attraction. The DLC introduces two new exhibit types - terrariums, which are small glass enclosures you drop anywhere for snakes, frogs, and insects, and full habitats, large biome-customised enclosures built with the room tool for bigger creatures. Alongside those come a new Wildlife Expert staff role, a Wildlife Welfare station that functions as an on-site vet, and a conservation system where you earn Sanctuary Points by releasing animals back into the wild rather than just hoarding them. You can also apply through the conservation system to house specific animals you want, which gives you a bit more agency than the pure expedition-luck model of the base game. Expeditions themselves work the same way as before, now pointing at a new Farflung Isles map packed with over 40 weird creatures - think Colourwheel Hamsters that breed in different colours depending on their parents, origami Paper Cranes, a Blue Hedgehog that needs no introduction, and the derpy Box Fox. The animals arrive with quirks: many catch the Farflung Flu in transit, so they need the Welfare station before they can go on display, and carnivores absolutely cannot share space with herbivores. Where Zooseum earns its keep is in how that animal layer complicates the familiar management loop in a satisfying way. Balancing biome requirements across multiple habitat types, keeping herds healthy, and still running the usual museum operations - queues, staff happiness, info boards - creates a constant low-grade tension that the base game's more static exhibits don't quite replicate. The five-act campaign story around Wiggy's search for the elusive Painted Panda is fine without being memorable, and the humour lands consistently even if the writing feels a touch safer than the base game's wackier moments. One legitimate frustration is space: habitats eat floor area fast, and the Silverbottom Park map doesn't feel sized for the amount of wildlife it wants you to keep. Late-game you will be fighting your own layout. The late-star objectives also slow to a slog, carried mostly on fast-forward - a problem inherited from the base game rather than introduced here. There are also some inconsistencies in the animal knowledge system through the spa mechanic that reviewers noted didn't always trigger reliably. The honest critical perspective: this is not Planet Zoo. Habitat customisation is modest compared to a dedicated zoo sim, and the entire setup - live animals crammed into a carpeted indoor museum - requires a willing suspension of disbelief that not everyone will manage. Critics who wanted a proper Two Point Zoo with outdoor enclosures and animal escape events will feel the DLC's constraints keenly. Those who already love Two Point Museum's rhythm and just want more of it, with a fresh animal-welfare twist layered on top, will find Zooseum delivers exactly that. One useful detail: the first star of Silverbottom Park and the first three expedition Points of Interest are free for all base game owners, so you can test the new mechanics before committing.

Alex · Scout Team

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