Frontier has never disappointed its fans with the slate of quality DLCs they have produced for their hit zoo simulation/tycoon game, Planet Zoo, and this brand new DLC that was dropped earlier this month definitely is the best of the lot… and I’m not saying this just because I adore penguins!

Not only does the DLC comes with everyone’s favorite king penguins, but the Aquatic Pack DLC also introduces four other magnificent aquatic animals, including the giant otter, grey seal, dwarf caiman, and the diamondback terrapin. The animal 3D designs are as meticulous as ever – and all the babies are just so adorable - and I’m impressed by how realistic everything looks, sounds, and feels.

To make sure your animals are happy, there are brand new ways for you to regulate your new water-filled enclosures, such as the water temperature regulator. Not to mention, with these new animals, a slew of new enrichment items is added as well, including rubber ducks, jetties, and floats. These will make your new aquatic animals happy in their new enclosures for sure.

In order to build a proper water-themed zoo, you’ll need a host of new scenery items that fit the theme… and this DLC has just that! There are just lots for you to choose from, allowing you to design your own mangroves for the giant otter and dwarf caiman, or a frozen landscape that king penguins and the grey seal call home. There is plenty of new décors too, ranging from gorgeous natural-themed wall murals to brand new animal sculptures, to even massive cascading waterfalls.

There is also an option for you to design cool underground observation points, allowing your zoo visitors to get as close to the aquatic animals as they can. Couple that with the new underwater feeder and your visitors will be able to watch as penguins dive deep to snatch up fishes in real-time.

However, personally, I’ve got to say that it’s not as easy to dig underwater as you might expect, making the construction efforts a bit on the difficult end. There are also some collision issues where animals will just go through underwater tunnels and barriers I’ve built as though they aren’t there. Expect to get a lot of “escaped animals” notices mainly because your seals decided that walls aren’t for them.

Interestingly enough, this DLC helps players move away from putting up excessive signage in their zoos and opt for a human touch instead. There’s a new staff type that you can hire called Educators in this DLC and their job is to stick around in the kiosk you’ve built for them and talk to the zoo visitors about the animal they are admiring… a.k.a. “Animal Talks”.

Of course, the DLC wouldn’t be complete without a brand new challenge. The Aquatic Pack DLC takes you over to Oregon, USA, where you’ll be asked to restore a zoo centered around a dried-up riverbed. There are lots for you to do here and you’ll need everything you’ve learned from previous challenges to design a water-themed zoo that your animals would love to live in.

That said, this challenge requires players to also have the Australian Pack DLC and if you don’t have that, you won’t be able to save your progress, which admittedly sucks. This isn’t mentioned anywhere on the DLC’s Steam page unless you check out the user reviews, and it would have been nice to put a note somewhere in the DLC description just so players know what they are getting into.

Nevertheless, with so much to offer at the cost of just $9.99, Planet Zoo’s Aquatic Pack DLC is definitely one DLC any fan of Planet Zoo wouldn’t want to miss, especially if you’re like me and have been wishing for penguins in Planet Zoo since like… forever. Hopefully, in the future, the developers will further expand on the range of aquatic animals available and maybe… just maybe… allow us players to finally build massive aquariums with a variety of aquatic animals living in them. That would be the dream!