Little Kitty, Big City
Little Kitty, Big City
Game
Game2015
Zoo Empire
Developer Enlight Software Limited
Zoo Empire (simplified Chinese: 动物园帝国; traditional Chinese: 動物園帝國; pinyin: Dòng Wù Yuán Dì Guó) is a 3D interactive construction and management simulation, much like Zoo Tycoon and Wildlife Park before it. The player must successfully create and manage a zoo that gathers sufficient profits. As the player moves through the game, he will acquire objects that can improve game play. The object of the game is to create a… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
81 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Jun 20, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
66
Fresh
53 positive · 27 negative
95% range 55–76%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 53 | 27 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
1 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
118 of 161 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 81 · most liked firstThis game brought back so many memories from my childhood, was worth it to buy it again. Animals reproduce like rabits Most of the animals die of starvation Koalas are extremly easy to take care of Train rides flock in money Penguins make stupid sounds 11/10 Would go back to my childhood again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not bad, but im still waiting for zoo tycoon
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →May not be the best Zoo designing simulator out there, but used to be incredibly fun to me 10 years ago and it still is! I wouldn't recommend it to people who never played it earlier though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this for free in a Nesquik cereal box back when I was 12. I bought it again for the nostalgia.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ah, i played this game a long time ago :v when i'm still 6 years old, using my dad's PC.... really a educated game :3 and now, i'm buying this game to play my childhood game :v
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is very old and it's the worst zoo game that I ever played. I regret that I bought it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like the game; I bet it's not bad, and maybe it's just my settings/computer but there IS a mouse sensitivity option in the menu, but I can't get around the strange mouse sensitivty when trying to click small objects. It feels like the mouse movement detection is not sensitive enough and I have to jerk the cursor farther than where I want it to go so it makes precise aiming for building things VERY obnoxious. I tried every slot in the mouse sensitivity settings in the game. I have to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game advertizes itself as the Zoo Tycoon games you've been nostalgic for, and that's exactly what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. The features are identical and the gameplay a slightly polished version of what you know and love from your childhood. The scenarios are rather boring but you're not forced into playing them, and the custom gamemodes let you start off with max cash and just have fun designing your zoo! I do miss some elements I remember from the old Zoo Tycoon games I used…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Zoo Empire I really like this game! It's fun to play and very easy to understand. There are 2 Gamemodes called Career (or szenario) and free play. The graphics are outdated, but ok. For this low price you could definitely buy Zoo Empire!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Still one of the best zoo simulators, and even though it's partially a nostalgic thing it's still very solid.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was my childhood. Since I didn't know any English, I sucked at it. When I re-discovered it a few months ago, I just had to try it again. Sadly, not only was it lacking graphic-wise (which is understandable considering how old it is), it also had many bugs. I keep on replaying missions but never get the promised rare animals, even when I am supposed to get them. My animals won't stop dying even when I do everything I'm supposed to, and the game starts crashing at a certain point. I was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice game, I discovered it thanks to a cereal box.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome game! Needs a little work with the tips and helps but other than that its awesome!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved this game growing up, and it holds a lot of nostalgia for me. The graphics are awful and the staff don't do anything you ask them to, but I still managed to really enjoy this game! The career mode gets more challenging as you get further along, and I spent a lot of hours working my way up the career path. The poor review, though, is because about 2/3 of the way through career mode, the game crashes. This is a known issue that other users have experienced and, to my knowledge, there is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I remember playing this game when I was young. I own the 2004 retail version. When I bought the Steam version. The game says 2007 which was probably released 3 years later in Europe. And the fonts were different than the retail version I own. Although they didn't bother fixing the invisible cursor bug in this version.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can finally have pandas without Chinas permission. This game really made my wish come true. PANDA BABIES FOR EVERYOOOOONE #crazypandalady #dontjudge #lovethisgame
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game meant everything to us growing up. It still holds up and at this point is great as a retro title
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game keep crashing when im in half way completing the zoo, it's annoyed me. I didnt find any solutions in this crashing problem
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Seems to be some kind of resolution issue. Game gets stuck on a black screen with music at launch rendering it unplayable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →worst zoo game ever
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →can't afford planet zoo
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This used to be a somewhat enjoyable game. There's no point in playing this today though. The resolution is an unfixable broken system. Just like the controls that are just annoying. And there is literally no patching whatsoever. It feels like this game shouldn't be working. Even with nostalgia goggles: It's worthless. I just can't enjoy this after all those years. Today it's clearly past its expiration date. This game is no longer enjoyable to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game almost destroyed my computer. somewhere between placing down water and moving the camera, it totally froze up and crashed. everything on my computer began to shut down- i restart and low and behold, it tells me that it cant access system 32 or any of my other files. luckily another restart managed to fix the issue, but that was close. immediatly got a refund. dont waste your time, just get zoo tycoon.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nostalgia, charm, and pure old-school zoo-building joy. Zoo Empire was never about ultra-polished mechanics—it was about fun, goofy animal AI, colorful maps, and the magic of building your dream zoo from scratch. I remember watching a friend play a pirated copy back when I had no PC of my own—and even just watching was magical. Those were hard times, but this game brought happiness when little else could. Decades later, with less free time but a bit more means, I bought it on Steam—not…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If I could only choose one game to play for the rest of my life it would be this game. Can't wait for the remaster!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game of my childhood. nowadays unplayable, but still epic af
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's an old game. So I'm not gonna be hard on it. Used to play it 24/7 when I was small. So it will stay incredible in my heart. I'm actually not gonna start a pro and cons list. It's an old game, so it'd be unfair to judge it. The game even used to be inside cereal boxes. So, it's just a nostalgia game that makes me cry. Really cute too. And whoever is judging its graphics I-............ I don't even know what to say lmfao. Idk what some people expect from a game from like 2004 or sth x)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My absolute childhood. And it still stands as quite a complex game. Story mode is fantastic.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice game in the beginning but a few thinks make it unplayable. - Animals die because they are too stupid to go to the water/food alone. - Research is set to zero when the responsible person quites the job, even for finished research projects. I tried to raise the salary to keep all employees, but it did not work. It is impossible to play the game like this...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Zoo Empire is a management simulation game developed by Enlight Software Limited and published by Retroism and Enlight Software Limited. Designed around the challenge of creating and maintaining a successful zoological park, the game combines business management, animal care, research, and visitor satisfaction into a surprisingly detailed experience. Although it originated in the early 2000s, it still offers a substantial amount of content for players who enjoy classic tycoon-style simulations…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good old classic
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Literally inferior to Marine Park Empire in every way; not even worthy of a price tag to those who already bought Marine Park Empire, as that game contains virtually all of the content from this game and then some even without the additional content that game advertises itself with. To further emphasize how much of a waste this game is, ZE's version of Freeform Mode is also inferior to MPE's version of it because unlike the latter, there is no Unlimited Funds option available, meaning those who…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best game i ever played
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've enjoyed this game ever since I was little and it is just like how I remembered it! I could spend hours playing it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good game, i play when i kid many years ago
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got this game out of a bin at Target when I was 10 or so. Ended up being my most played game after the Sims, so I had to get it when I saw it was on Steam! Maybe best to leave nostalgia in your memories, as this was... much worse than I remember. HOWEVER, I would still buy it again just for the music and the feels that come with it. Planet Zoo will have to suffice as a 2020 Zoo Empire!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(My Steam play time on this game isn't accurate at all. I actually played it obsessively for days or weeks.) I'd recommend this game on a sale, or the improved version, Marine Park Empire (which I don't have and therefore cannot review, but is bigger and apparently better). Zoo Empire is pretty addictive for a while even if you're an impatient person. One of the things I like about this game that I feel is an improvement over Zoo Tycoon 2 is that you get a list of the exact requirements and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So... to start, I grew up with Zoo Empire. Played it when i was younger. Recently i bought it on steam and as much nostalgia as this brings back, it really isn't that great. There aren't very many animals you can have, no reptile houses, etc... Plus, the graphics are really outdated and the animal animations aren't really good either. The deer run with noodle arms and the people walk like zombies. Overall its fun for a little, and the only saving grace is the childish memories it brings back.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I used to play this game as a kid! Similar to Zoo Tycoon games, but not as good! Either way, there's a nostalgia factor that I love! Fun game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Total waste!!! Game crashes and stop playing. Disapointed
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful on market page, but full of ugly messed up pixels in real game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played this a lot as a kid. Still holds up well. I love the strategy and prefer it over zoo tycoon.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the gameplay too much. You must develop your own strategies to beat each goal. I don't like there isn't a cloud progress save.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's dated, but you can still make a zoo.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The closest thing to Zoo Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon 2 available on Steam. Challenging levels
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is crashing again and again.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best zoo tycoons! I love it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2) PLANET ZOO i loved Zoo Empire (as glitchy and shite as it was) and I was seeking an equivalent for ages I own all the DLC for this game, I love it so much I also use it a lot for charity streams!
unlabelledView post →It's fun to play!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The best zoo game during my childhood.. i remember back then i got this game when i bought cococrunch.. very nostalgia..spend my whole time and use all my creativity i had to build the zoo..Recommended
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I too am a cereal box nostalgian.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →recomended if you want some cheap zoo management game but can't afford to buy planet zoo. very old games btw
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is really fun! I couldn't keep myself from buying it after I saw the trailer, and it did not disappoint, however, I don't think I'll be playing it much more than I have already. It's kind of redundant after a while and I lose interest easily. It's challenging enough though, and it was fun while I was into it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not terrible, but honestly, just play Zoo Tycoon.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not my cup of tea. Not fun at all. Too childish for my taste (i.e. take pictures to pass to the next level). I would have enjoyed a challenging Zoo Management game with characters with realistic features. The characters in this game seem to be taller toddlers.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →would be nice with more animal options but over all fun addicting game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →please fixed bug i want to play it but why my view always zoom in i cannot play it
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As much as I really wanted to love this game, the mechanics are truly awful. Do yourself a favor, don't even bother.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its a coll zoo building game great for relaxation
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mostly bought it for the nostalgia. If you haven't played it back when it was modern you'll propably dislike it, but if you have, let me tell you, it's worth it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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