If there’s a DLC that we never knew we wanted, Planet’s Zoo latest DLC, the Twilight Pack, definitely fits the bill! Not only does this DLC shines a light - albeit a subdued one… we don’t want to scare away these animals – on an underrated category of animals, the crepuscular animals, it also comes with an impressive array of new content that might just hint at the possible, and mystical at this point, Avian DLC.

So, let’s take a deep dive into this brand-new Twilight Pack and take a look at why it is possibly our favorite Planet Zoo DLC of the year!

The new Twilight Pack DLC comes with the usual five animals, all of which are perfectly on-theme, both to the title of the DLC and to the upcoming Halloween celebration. The crepuscular animals featured here include the raccoon, the red fox, the common wombat, the striped skunk, and the Egyptian fruit bat.

Now, the raccoon, the common wombat, and the striped skunk are all very well-received, mainly because they each come with realistic animations and looks where you can follow them as they frolic around their enclosures and raise their adorable young in their burrows. The red fox is also an excellent addition here, especially with the many color morphs you can get. Have fun trying to breed your foxes to get and collect all the gorgeous coats available, including silver, black, white, cross, and coveted piebald.

However, as much as we all try to not pick favorites – sorry, my other furry friends, there’s a clear winner among all the animals here – it’s hands-down the Egyptian fruit bats. Not only are these the very first bats that are added to Planet Zoo, it also comes with an impressive walk-through exhibit, allowing your visitors to actually walk among the bats as they fly from perch to perch, feast on delicious fruits, or even take a nap.

Now, you might be wondering – are the bats free-flying or simply have a realistic-looking looped animation. Well, it’s kind of a bit of both, which is what makes the bat animations so incredibly life-like. Mastering how to properly animate flying creatures, even within the somewhat narrow confines of an exhibit box, is also a precursor to what every avid Planet Zoo fan has been chomping at the bit for… the birds DLC. This is exactly why this Twilight Pack, and especially the fruit bats, are such an exciting development for Planet Zoo fans, both avid and casual.

Of course, despite having a stellar selection of animals, the DLC also comes with a myriad of over 200 new scenery pieces that will help you spruce up your zoo in time for Halloween. From scary yet naturally-occurring foliage, like bristlecone pine, ivy, ghost fungus and foxglove, to classic Halloween props like the bubbling cauldron, fake spider webs, creepy eye decals, and not to forget, a range of carved pumpkins, to even a plethora of architecture and building blocks which would allow you to set up magnificent medieval castles and villages, there are plenty of inspiration within the scenery pieces to kickstart your imagination and creativity when it comes to decorating your zoo for October 31st!

However, what’s truly eye-popping – besides the walk-through exhibit – is the brand-new career scenario, the first to be released in a Planet Zoo DLC since… well, forever! Here, you’ll get to travel to the mysterious Transylvania where you’ll get to help Nancy restore a struggling zoo. As with any career scenario, there are multiple objectives that you’ll have to complete throughout the campaign, whether it is to adopt and care for a host of different animal species or to rescue a Himalayan brown bear from a rich socialite.

This is a very welcomed addition to the DLC since not everyone enjoys playing Timed Scenarios due to the time limits imposed. Hopefully, this shows the Planet Zoo team knows what their fans want and will bring on more Career Scenarios in future DLCs!

So, overall, let us just say this - What a splendid DLC this is! It manages to give the center stage to a fairly underrated category of animals which fits the season and the upcoming Halloween celebration perfectly and provide us fans with a gloriously mouthwatering sneak peek as to what a potential birds-oriented DLC would look like in the future. There’s also the fact that it contains the first new career scenario linked to a DLC, an upgrade from what we typically get in previous DLCs.

Hopefully, the very positive response from their players regarding this Twilight Pack DLC would let the Planet Zoo team know what the community really wants as well so they could come up with even more outstanding DLCs in the time to come!