Wisent - Doesn’t do anything for me as it’s pretty much useless outside of Eurasia, but I’m always for regions getting their most essential animals and this is Europe’s flagship. It would be like having Australia without a kangaroo or NZ without a kiwi. A great addition to the game’s overall roster and I’m happy it’s in.
Wolverine - One of the few community favorite animals that I’d legitimately consider overrated. Just because I think it’s overrated though doesn’t mean I think it’s a bad addition - it has a very wide range and is relatively unique. On top of that it’s gorgeously made and very fun to build for. Was it essential as many have touted? Personally, I don’t think so, but I still love it and it’s a wonderful addition within its range.
Wild Boar - Where I’m from these are an incredibly destructive invasive species, and I’ve never seen them in a zoo. That being said, their native range is ridiculously huge and they’re very common in zoos within that range. A great addition to the overall game even if it’s not for me.
Takin - I like it, but I have no strong feelings or thoughts on it. It’s just one of those animals that’s a nice addition, and one I’ll use, but isn’t particularly memorable for me (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, not every species needs to be an absolute must-have favorite).
Mute Swan - Out first waterfowl and hopefully not our last (please). By far the best animal in this pack and one of the best in the game overall. It’ll get knocked down a lot if we get a few more common waterfowl species, but the fact that we finally have this rig at all now is a huge deal.
Sloth Bear - For what it is, I love it. It’s amazingly made and a solid addition on its own. As an addition to the game’s roster overall though, another bear would have been far from my first choice, especially considering the potential inclusions for a pack with this theme (monkey, pheasant, duck, indian antelope, etc.)
Saiga - The most unneeded ungulate in an already ungulate heavy pack. I’ve said my thoughts on it elsewhere, but to sum things up it’s not essential for anywhere, rare within its own region, does poorly in captivity, etc. I have nothing against it, but that’s not exactly a good set of qualities for a zoo game. Swapping it for an Indian monkey species, a blackbuck (another ungulate yes, but at least it’s a worthwhile one), or another bird would have instantly improved this pack by a lot for me. I still like to look at animals for what they are rather than what they aren’t though, and it at least looks amazing. I’ll probably use it at least once just for the sake of doing so - even if it is just a one off build - but I won’t lie and say that I think it was the best choice.
Hermann’s Tortoise - Haven’t really checked it out yet, but from what I’ve seen it’s cute. It’s a nice, unique exhibit animal and I don’t have too many thoughts on it. Though after hearing the critiques of it as an exhibit animal it feels like a missed opportunity. A small habitat tortoise would be amazing.
Overall, it’s too ungulate heavy for me, but I can at least appreciate the wisent, boar, and maybe the takin to a lesser extent(?) being essential for certain regions.
My thoughts still remain the same as they were on announcement, in that the swan heavily carries this pack for me (although my thoughts changed drastically after the announcement, as hinting at two carnivorans and two ungulates during the livestream wasn’t exactly very promising). Sad that this many ungulates in one year is nothing surprising but 3 birds or even one monkey is an achievement, and I hope Frontier notices such critiques from the community going forward. I’m not saying I don’t like these ungulates - they’re mostly good (and probably easy to make) additions and it’s great to have variety for such a common group, but it doesn’t change the fact that we won’t get animals forever and the primate/terrestrial bird roster still hasn’t even scratched the surface of what’s essential. Priorities have to be taken.
Also seriously how has the peafowl rig still not been reused? A pheasant would’ve been perfect for this pack and I’d switch the sloth bear or especially the saiga for one in a heartbeat.
TLDR: Not the best for my personal wants, although mostly decent for the games overall roster. A few flawed animal picks keep it from being great though.
