Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Malta Expansion Review

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Frontier Developments has recently released another brand new DLC for their already extremely fun ‘Jurassic World Evolution 2’, and the ‘Dominion Malta Expansion’ only increases that fun, adding in a new campaign, new buildings, systems, and of course, new dinosaurs! We had the chance to dive into the new content and take it for a test drive.

For those of you unfamiliar with ‘Jurassic World Evolution 2’, it is a dinosaur park management sim which builds on the success of the original 2018 release. It’s your job to build a profitable park, whilst also making sure the dinos are happy… and don’t break out and eat the guests!

Set before the dramatic events of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World Dominion movie, the new ‘Dominion Malta Expansion’ brings a brand new campaign. This is set over three islands in the Mediterranean, and features the return of Cabot Finch alongside 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). Whilst research is carried from island to island, money and scientist are not, so you have a bit of a balancing act, jumping back and forth across the islands to make sure they are all running smoothly.

The expansion also introduces a few new systems that help bring to life the murkier side of Jurassic Park management. Most notably, the new Acquisition Centre, which gives you access to the “Dinosaur Exchange”.

Prior to this, the only way you acquired dinos was to grow them from scratch (as in the original Jurassic Park films), or capture them from the wild following the events of the later Jurassic World movies. This new “Dinosaur Exchange” option means you can just buy your dinos straight from the open market. You can also pick up eggs and genomes if you still want to grow your own, but want to bypass the archaeology and research.

Some of these animals come from the “Authorities”, a reputable source who has rescued them from places where they were a danger to themselves or the public, or from illegal traders, and they care about giving them a good home. Others come from the rather more questionable “Underground”, who are in it to turn a profit, and don’t care where or how they get the dinos, or what condition they’re in…

You need to build up trust with each side to gain reputation with them, either by being a reputable and ethical dino owner, or by buying and selling to feed the Underground’s dino needs. It can be a tricky balancing act as some exchanges you make can improve your rep with one side, but drop your rep with the other. Levelling up your reputation gives you access to better dinos, upgrades, locations and more.

The Dominion Expansion campaign has a far more dilapidated look to it than the base game. The three islands you take over are very rundown parks that you are tasked with bringing back to life. The buildings have seen better days, and there are piles of junk and equipment around the islands for you to clean up. The locations themselves are pretty stunning though, with one island even featuring a “natural lagoon” for your aquatic dinos. To go alongside this rundown look there are updated models for existing buildings such as the viewing gallery and hotel, alongside new looks for vehicles, and of course, new dinosaurs and skins.

Those new dinos include the Atrociraptor, a cousin of the Velociraptor; The adorable-looking Lystrosaurus, which is a short and squat herbivore with an unusually shaped skull; The feathery Oviraptor, a smaller predator with a distinctive head crest; And Moros intrepidus, one of the smallest Tyrannosauroids to have ever existed. There are also new variants of the Iguanodon, Dimorphodon and Allosaurus. I’m particularly taken with the new Oviraptor. It’s a really interesting and unique addition to the dino line up and I can see it making its way into more of my parks in the future.

Another new feature in the expansion is how you can control some of the 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. It can be a little clunky at times, with you having to use multiple calls to push the dinos in the right direction, but it’s a nice little additional way to round up those wild animals and get them where you need them to be.

Overall, the ‘Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Malta Expansion‘ is a solid addition to an already great game, and I would say worth the £15.99 price tag. It does, of course, require the Jurassic World Evolution 2 base game to download and play, which is available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and GeForce Now, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.