“Jurassic World Evolution 2” is the critically-acclaimed sequel to Frontier’s highly successful “Jurassic World Evolution” which builds upon the ground-breaking and immersive management simulation. With it came a new narrative campaign that features new tools and awe-inspiring new dinosaurs brought to life through captivating authenticity. The results and outcomes of managing your own Jurassic Park/World are now bigger and better.

Set before the dramatic events of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World Dominion, you’ll experience new challenges and exciting opportunities that Massively expand the film and the scope and scale of the game itself as you help lead a brand-new enterprise in Malta. Work alongside Cabot Finch and key figures from the film, including Kayla Watts (voiced by DeWanda Wise), Soyona Santos (voiced by Dichen Lachman), Barry Sembène (voiced by Omar Sy), and Lewis Dodgson (voiced by Campbell Scott) as you set up parks across three Mediterranean locations. Establish key buildings, and trade on the dinosaur exchange to acquire more species, eggs, and even genome data. Work with both the Underground and Authorities and build trust with these organisations via various actions to unlock further opportunities such as hatchery upgrades, locations and more.

The Dominion Malta Expansion also includes a variety of new dinosaur variants and skins authentic to Jurassic World: Dominion and the PDLC launched together with a free update that offers existing players a range of new features and mechanics, but more on that later. Coastal House Media and I would like to thank Frontier and Heaven Media for providing us access to the new Expansion so that we can get our review coverage out to you all, I’m so excited to get playing the DLC as I’m such a big fan of this series of games.

if you’d like to read my In-depth review of the previous DLC The Dominion BioSyn Expansion, you can do so by clicking here.

This review may contain spoilers that are central to Jurassic World: Dominion’s plot so if you haven’t seen it, I’d recommend watching as I had a terrific time, especially with the extended version, otherwise please continue. Here’s just a taste of what the Dominion Malta Expansion will offer.

Campaign Review

The Frontier Development team have truly knocked it out of the park, especially with the scope and scale of this DLC expansion further extending what Jurassic World Dominion brought. The campaign starts with an outstanding opening cutscene narrated by DeWanda Wise’s character Kayla Watts bringing the events set before Dominion to life showcasing how the world looks with dinosaurs roaming modern-day earth and being traded on the black market.

We head to the Mediterranean in the latest DLC showcasing sunnier shores, sand, and sea which compared to the BioSyn expansion’s snowy landscape offers much richer gameplay, especially in sandbox mode. As I began to sink my teeth into this campaign, the Dominion Malta Expansion will have the player manage three parks across the Mediterranean as each location needs to be rebuilt from its decayed and dilapidated state with guidance from Cabot Finch, scientists, and Barry Sembène (voiced by Omar Sy). The locations are absolutely stunning to play through, with one island featuring a natural lagoon perfect for the aquatic dinosaurs.

The expansion also introduces a new system to the campaign which brings to life Dinosaur management through the new Acquisition Centre, which gives you access to the “Dinosaur Exchange”. This exchange truly brought an extra new layer to the gameplay, through this system you have to do some deals on the market to purchase dinosaurs, eggs, and genomes. However, you’ll have to do these exchanges with the authorities or the underground black market. The authorities are more trustworthy with their information letting you know of the selected dinosaurs’ aliments and providing reliable information prior to purchase.

The Underground however may lie and deliver an unhealthy dinosaur as they won’t disclose any information and don’t care where or how they get the dinos. All they care about is profit. However, you need to build up trust with both sides to gain a reputation with them as it’ll influence their trust meter with you, the higher the trust the more exchanges become available such as dinos, upgrades, locations, etc.

Another new feature in the “Dominion Malta Expansion” is the ability to control and steer your dinosaurs. When you’re trying to capture them, you no longer need to hit them with tranquilisers and airlift them to an enclosure. You can now use your Rangers to “herd” the dinos, calling them to you, and pointing them at the enclosure gate. 

New Species And Variants

Now having had a few days playing through the expansion I’ve gotten to see the majority of the dinosaurs, especially the Dominion Malta exclusive ones. The graphic and social animations of these prehistoric creatures were outstanding and I appreciate Frontier for giving each their personality and characteristics. The four different dinosaur types are,

Atrociraptor

Known as one of the ‘designer dinosaurs’, the Atrociraptor name meaning “Savage Theif” is arguably even more dangerous than its Velociraptor cousins. They’re fast, quick, and agile and able to move through and around just about any obstacle, jump great heights and distances, and adapt to changing areas. This is another Carnivore that will surely put your park management skills to the test. The game also provides you with Atrociraptor’s iconic Jurassic World Dominion skins: Ghost, Red, Tiger, and Panthera!

Lystrosaurus

Notable for its tusks and horned beak, a Lystrosaurus name meaning “Shovel Lizard” is a genus of herbivores dicynodont therapsids from the late Permian and Early Triassic Epochs. This mammal-like reptile is a very fast learner as it gains experience much more quickly than other creatures. It lived in what’s now known as Antarctica, India, China, Mongolia, European Russia, and South Africa.

Oviraptor

Oviraptor possesses an incredibly effective jaw for their size, and was named ‘egg thief’ because they were originally thought to steal other species’ eggs! It’s since been understood to be an omnivore, though. With a distinctive head crest and feathers, it offers a unique look. It lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. Oviraptor was an Omnivore, using its powerful beak and jaws to eat meat, eggs, seeds, insects, and plants.

Moros Intrepidus

Moros Intrepidus name meaning “Harbinger of Death” was one of the smallest Tyrannosauroids to have ever existed and is only a fraction of the size of its famous relative, the T. rex. This quick and nimble hunter. Its skin was covered in small, tough scales, and its teeth were sharp and serrated. Moros Intrepidus is a formidable addition to any park, It lived in what is now known as Utah in the United States.

Also to accompany the new dinosaurs in this amazing expansion pack is that you’ll be able to enjoy and customise the iconic dinosaurs from Jurassic World Dominion’s stunning Malta setting as Allosaurus, Dimorphodon and Iguanodon will all have 2022 variants. Carnotaurus will also have a 2022 skin!

Free Update 5

Releasing alongside the Dominion Malta Expansion is Update 5, which is a free update for everyone who owns Jurassic World Evolution 2. This includes some exciting additions as well as some quality-of-life updates and bug fixes, as well as the ability to import saves from PlayStation 4 consoles to PlayStation 5 consoles, and all you need to do to access this content is update your game. The update also includes the 5 DFW Campaign maps as Challenge Levels, which will become accessible once you’ve earned earns 3, 5, 7, 9 and 2 stars across all maps in Challenge Mode. You’ll also be dealing with some brand new Challenge Conditions, which will vary across levels.

Update 5 brings brand new behaviours for tiny dinosaurs, including group attacks for Moros Intrepidus and Compsognathus on guests & goats, as well as changes to navigation logic, so that Lystrosaurus, Oviraptor, Moros Intrepidus and Compsognathus will navigate around water. There will also be some changes to collision logic for Lystrosaurus, Oviraptor, Moros Intrepidus and Compsognathus, so that they no longer collide with guests or vehicles.

Verdict

Frontier has created a phenomenal expansion for Jurassic World Evolution 2, the campaign In Malta is so immersive and engaging and adds a whole new cosmetic set of decorations and species, the four new dinosaurs are incredibly detailed. The development team have added plenty of cool new features also for the DLC and the base game Update. If you haven’t purchased the expansion, which I suggest you do if you want more from this incredible park management game.