The best zoo games in 2024

The Pocket Tactics team are all fans of animals, so we’re here to present our picks of the most addictive and immersive zoo games on Switch and mobile – letting you gawp at gorillas and stare at seals all day long without questioning the morals behind real-life zoos. Build the zoo of your childhood dreams in these games packed with hybrid animals, food stalls, and ingenious money-making schemes.

Pocket Tactics is known for its lists, so here are some more for you to look at. These are the best cleaning games you can play, ocean games, wildlife games, and some bear games if you’re a big fan of grizzlies.

Right, let’s jump, swing, run, and stampede into the best zoo games.

Let’s Build A Zoo – Switch

Prepare to get addicted to this delightful zoo creator. It’s got a cute, pixel style, and hundreds of types of animals to rescue and raise in your own zoo. You can choose to be eco-friendly, ignore your emissions (who does that though, really), or just focus on creating hybrids like a snakegoose.

There’s even a dinosaur-themed DLC and an aquarium pack for even more zoo building, but in different flavors. Check out our Let’s Build A Zoo review right here.

Zoo Park Story – Switch

Sticking with the pixelated zoo builders, Zoo Park Story does much the same as Let’s Build A Zoo, but in a different layout. And it’s by Kairosoft, so you know there’s a good backbone to the game.

In Zoo Park Story you can breed plenty of new animals as well, meaning adorable babies will bring in those paying customers. Play with your exhibits, build them up, and run the best zoo you possibly can. Oh – and there’s even a ‘most liked animal’ contest within your zoo, too.

Minecraft – Switch and mobile

Maybe Minecraft isn’t what comes to mind when you think of zoo games. But hear me out – Minecraft is filled with endless possibilities, and you can build any type of zoo you want. A petting zoo for farm animals? Check. A jungle-based aviary? Also check.

There are so many animals in the game now that you can create a sprawling zoo complete with villager-run shops and as many decorations as you please. There are also packs – or mods for PC players – adding even more animals to your complex.

We’ve got tons of Minecraft stuff to get you going, too. Here’s the latest Minecraft update, some great Minecraft builds, and how to find Minecraft diamonds.

Zoo 2: Animal Park – mobile

Take your zookeeping on the go in Zoo 2: Animal Park on Android and iOS. There are regular updates introducing new animals and areas to build up, with more attractions and amenities to boot.

Breeding animals is key here for fun colored coats and variations to wow the crowds – who wants to see normal-colored kangaroos, anyway?

Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition – Switch

Everyone loves Jurassic Park and has wanted to have a crack at building their own park since the early 1990s. Well, in Jurassic World Evolution, you can! It’s got all the best dinosaurs like the T-Rex, Triceratops, and many more that you can bioengineer.

Watch out, though, there’s plenty that can go wrong here so disaster management is high on your list of priorities. We’ve all seen Jurassic Park, after all…

Parkasaurus – Switch

If you don’t fancy the super HD graphics (and price tag) of Jurassic World Evolution, then Parkasaurus might be your thing. It’s got cartoon-style dinosaurs that need care.

Build up your own prehistoric park filled with loving dinos, while making some sweet money and hatching new species. Bonus point: you can put wooly hats on your dinos!

Bunny Park – Switch

If you really like rabbits, then Bunny Park is your perfect game and is the cutest zoo game on this list. Create a cozy woodland retreat for bunnies of all kinds.

Pet them and keep them happy, while attracting more by decorating and adding new amenities. The buns dig up coins for you, so definitely keep some lettuce well-stocked to feed them as treats!

Megaquarium – Switch

An aquarium is basically a wet zoo, right? Megaquarium, in its ten levels, takes you through your new career as owner of an aquarium that you need to make into a profitable paradise for fish and marine critters.

Each species needs its own specialized home so pay attention to which filters you’re installing, lest your ratings go down.

And there you have it – plenty of zoo games let you live your keeping dreams. We’ve got even more recommendations if you’re interested – here are the best baseball games, truck games, and the best mobile games of the year.