Planet Coaster 2 is my childhood dream come true, now with wild water parks and better management tools than ever before

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy several hours of Planet Coaster 2, the exciting upcoming sequel to Frontier Developments' genre-changing 2016 banger. I couldn't wait to see how different it would be when compared to the original - and older - predecessors. Some of my fondest childhood memories revolve around management simulation games like RollerCoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon.

I'd pour hours and hours into constructing the perfect park (or perhaps more accurately, eight-year-old me's idea of one), ensure everything was in tip-top shape, watch as guests enjoyed each corner of my creation, and repeat. Admittedly, I'd also wreak havoc here and there - some wild animals running loose through my zoo or broken roller coasters with no end weren't exactly unheard of in my games.

When Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo launched, I got to feel like a little kid again. That's why Planet Coaster 2 is such a big deal to me - and why I was thrilled to preview it early. During the first hour of my time with the soon-to-release sequel, I was tasked with playing a bit of the game's campaign career mode. This alone was honestly a bit of a challenge for me, as I tend to exclusively play in sandbox mode.

Making a splash

It was a good introduction to some of Planet Coaster 2's new features, however, including one of the community's most highly requested - water parks. I quickly found myself wrangling with the game's pool-building tools while trying to complete objectives. There were six pre-built pools to choose from, ranging from your average rectangular community lap-like pool to quirkier options with rounded edges and attached flumes.

I went for the quirkier ones because, well, flumes! I also tried my hand at building custom pools with the game's new tools, exploring different options like depth and the stamp grid system. It was challenging and I didn't quite get to master it, but I'm looking forward to learning the ins and outs of pool building when I have a less limited window of time to do so. I do love that you can easily round your pool's edges, turn it into a lazy river or a wave pool, and customize it as you please.

As for flumes, there are a few slides to choose from ranging from body bowls to raft flumes. Thanks to Planet Coaster 2's fantastic new first-person point of view, you can also live through your brave park-goers and experience each flume yourself - a feature that once again transports me to my RollerCoaster Tycoon days. There is a caveat to all of these fun water park-themed additions, though - you have to worry about proper filtration and water sources.

I'll be honest. Whenever I play Planet Coaster or Planet Zoo, I usually find ways to bypass the requirement for power sources and the like. This rings especially true in the latter game as it harbors more complicated features like an energy and water treatment system. Much to my dismay, these are present in Planet Coaster 2 - but that's my entirely subjective view. I'm aware that this particular flavor of realism is important to other players, and I get it.

Letting creativity flow

That's why I adored getting to dive into the game's sandbox mode for an hour following my (likely embarrassing) attempt at the campaign. This is where one's creativity truly gets to shine through - there are no financial limits, and you can play as you please. I immediately set off to customize my park entrance, decorate the land surrounding it a bit, place a twisty-turny roller coaster, and so on. I could've played this way for hours, and the first-person toggle only drew me in more.

The new pathing options made decorating that used to feel like a chore in Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo feel like a breeze, and I can't get enough of the scenery brushes. Scenery brushes, y'all. I painted my park left, right, and center with these - from flowers to rocks to trees, you can easily breathe a bit of green life into the game. The opportunities for customization feel endless, so much so that it's almost overwhelming at times - and I've only touched the tip of the iceberg in Planet Coaster 2.

You can add anything you'd like to your rides for some seriously themed coasters, change the color and size of every individual item, and more. I'm certain that the creative community will thrive in Planet Coaster 2, and I'm looking forward to seeing workshop creations. The pre-existing in-game themes are nice, too - I really like the mythology theme myself, but there are aquatic, resort, and Viking-esque builds to choose from as well in the base game.

Even though I got to play two hours of Planet Coaster 2, there's so much left for me to explore when it releases later this fall. I'm personally most excited about the sequel's multiplayer features, which I wasn't able to test during my preview. Sharing a park with friends is something I'd have loved to do as a kid, and soon I'll be able to. I truly can't wait to play the full game and discover everything - I just hope that one day, I'll also get to play Planet Zoo 2.

Need even more to look forward to? Here are new games coming this year and beyond.