My thoughts on the animals in new pack (since that’s what everyone definitely wants to hear)
Just thought I’d give my thoughts. Please don’t comment if you’re going to be negative. Most people are after DLC announcements and I get with this likely being the last one that there are a lot of emotions, I’ve got them too, but we don’t need to be fighting with each other. With that out of the way let’s get into the actual post.
The leopard/ the update. I know it’s technically not in the DLC but I want to talk anyway. I’ve wanted this guy from the start so I’m happy it’s here and I’m excited for the new enrichment item too. 8/10
Pallas cat. I’ve always loved the guys but I got to see one in person a few months ago and I’ve NEEDED one in game ever since. I will be very disappointed if they don’t do the paws on tail thing which would take my ranking down to a 0 but if they do then 9/10
Hamadryas Baboon. Another heavily requested animal and one I’ve also wanted. Monkeys have started to grow on me and while I would’ve preferred something like the black and white colobus (another animal I saw in person that blew me away) I’m still fairly happy with them, they’re a zoo staple. 7/10
Markhor. Love these guys and their horns, I’m an ungulate lover and a Himalayas lover so these are right up my alley. I’ve also gotten to see them in person and it was very cool. However I would’ve preferred the blackbluck. Either way it’s an 8/10 from me
Spectacled bear. We now have all but one bear species WHY DID WE GET TWO BROWN BEARS INSTEAD OF THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR!!!!!! But that’s something that has nothing to do with this pack. Overall I like these guys, probably one of my top 5 bears and of the two bears left they’re probably more interesting. However I don’t think we needed more bears, especially if we aren’t getting the full set. 7/10
Kirk’s Dik-Dik. This one has been on my personal wishlist since I first heard of their existence, absolutely adorable and dorky looking creature. I hope they have good interspecies enrichment. Solid overall, love to see such a tiny little guy. 8/10
African Spurred Tortoise. I’m pretty sure that’s another name for sulcatas and they are really cool animals. A desert tortoise is nice. I really like tortoises, I’ve never seen sulcatas irl but I have seen many others and always enjoy them. I hope it’s accurately sized unlike the other two. I feel like there’s a lot more unique reptiles they could of done instead especially when we already have two giant tortoises but for a tortoise I’m actually very happy with the one they chose and would’ve preferred it to the Aldabra in the base game. 7/10
Last but not least the sifaka. (Unrelated but my dyslexic ahh thought it was safika this whole time) I really love these guys, lemurs are super fun and as a “lemur” they are really unique, I’m always happy for Madagascar species because it’s a very cool place with some very unique and very endangered species that deserve some love. 9/10
Scenery. I’d also like to talk about the scenery items (cuz apparently animal packs have that now) I’m pretty disappointed, the main factors seem to be marquee and bunting (which we got in the Europe pack) and those ridiculous giant flowers. Theyre nice and I might use them once but wouldn’t be my first choice. However, I don’t want to judge too harshly until I can actually see all the pieces myself but I would’ve preferred even just one more animal to this. I would’ve loved getting another walkthrough exhibit.
I think overall I’ll rate the pack a 6/10 just because there’s some big disappointments in there but I don’t think it’s a bad DLC. It has the “final bang” reputation to compare to and I’m not sure it does that. If it was any other pack I’d be thrilled and give it a 9/10, but, as the last DLC it’s not what it needs to be.
So that’s my thoughts on the animals selected. I will also say there were some animals I was hoping for (and expected honestly) that weren’t included, mainly the secretary bird (I know, me and everyone else) the tree kangaroo (didn’t really want this one all that much but everyone was talking about them and I was getting excited about it) a coati, and a echidna, another one of my favorite animals. I could go on for days about animals until I’d listed every single one but I’m not going to. Of course I wanted flying birds but I never expected that. I think overall it’s a nice farewell pack,I think it could’ve been bigger considering that they labeled it an “animal pack” (7 animals and 100 scenery items is a scenery pack) and the number one post requested animal definitely should’ve made the list. I’m always happy for new content and even if we never get more content we’ll still have mods.
I’m also a little peeved that there’s no major gameplay update coming with the DLC like usual, it’s just the anniversary update as far as I can tell.