Jurassic World Evolution came out about half a year ago, and Frontier Developments has just launched a DLC update for the game that expands the game’s content with new tools and a story campaign. Time for a closer look at Secrets of Dr. Wu – for which we played the PC version.
Dr. Wu, though you may not instantly recognize the name, is one of the few characters from the original 1993 film that appeared in the recent movie sequels. One of Jurassic Park’s lead scientists in the John Hammond era, he’s continued his research and mastered the genetic manipulation and cross-breeding of dinosaurs. It makes him, at least from my perspective, a more interesting returning character than Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm, whose contributions feel more anecdotal than anything.
But just like how Jeff Goldblum was involved with the original Jurassic World Evolution release, so is BD Wong – the actor behind Dr. Wu. In a title where fan service is a big ingredient, this is definitely one of the big draws for the new content pack. The story itself is also interesting and fun to play through, as it focuses far more on intrigue, secrets and moral dilemmas than the original game’s plot did.
The new content pack isn’t just a story pack though, as it also includes a small range of new dinosaurs (some of which are original creations by Dr. Wu) as well as more control over the genetic modification of your dinosaurs – allowing you to “train” them to better behave and co-exist with other species, for example.
What’s a little odd, however, is that while the story has a firm focus on research and corporate pressure, you’re still forced to engage with all of the original park builder mechanics like the need to build shops and earn reputation – when both are not relevant to what’s going on in the story. Elements like this feel a little forced and out of place here, which is a shame considering the strong premise for the story.
In the months following the release of Jurassic World Evolution, a part of the community playing it started to feel like there wasn’t enough left to do after a while. The new Dr. Wu pack definitely helps in that regard, with a storyline that’s actually stronger than what we got before as well as new gameplay dynamics – even though they’re oddly intermixed with old ones at times.
In addition to the new content pack, Frontier has also launched updates to the core game that you get for free even if you don’t purchase the DLC pack. This includes day/night cycles where your dinosaurs actually go to sleep now – which makes the entire thing feel much more lifelike now (I didn’t realize it at the time, but the always-awake dinos of the original game kind of made them like bionic robo-dinosaurs). So, even if you’re not going to dive right into the Dr. Wu content, there’s plenty of reason to go back to Jurassic World Evolution and craft your own park (and dinosaurs). If you’re interested in reading more about the game, our original review is still up here.
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