Animal-splicing sim Let's Build a Zoo gets Aquarium Odyssey DLC next week

Let's Build a Zoo, the cheerful tycoon game with a thing for DNA splicing, is almost ready to swim with the fishes; its previously announced Aquarium Odyssey DLC finally has a release date and will be making a splash on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch next Thursday, 17th August.

Let's Build a Zoo, for the uninitiated, combines familiar zoo management - where the goal is to build and maintain an appealing, lucrative park by importing and breeding animals, managing staff, and so on - with some unusual twists. There's a morality system - meaning you can either strive for ethical excellence or just go all-in on, you know, handbag manufacturing - as well as the kind of science-run-amok that would make the Jurassic Park boffins blush.

Essentially, any of the many animals available in-game can be DNA spliced with a second to create a dependably bizarre hybrid, which, helpfully, tends to be quite popular with the visitors. You could science-up a crocoduck, for instance, or a giraffephant, or a chickow.

Let's Build a Zoo: Aquarium Odyssey Reveal Trailer

Let's Build a Zoo's first bit of DLC, last year's Dinosaur Island expansion, increased the available splicing pool by introducing new prehistoric creatures to muck around with, and the Aquarium Odyssey DLC does pretty much the same thing, only this time with aquatic newcomers.

The likes of sharks, whales, manta rays, dolphins, eels, and seahorses are promised across Aquarium Odyssey's 50+ creature additions, and developer Springloaded says it's also packed in seven new enclosures including reefs and dense aquatic landscapes.

There's also talk of "100+" new shops - Squid Ink Pasta and Shark Bite bars are mentioned - as well as new decorations and facilities, plus a new story campaign set on the unexplored Aquarium Island, featuring new quests, morals choices, and news articles.

Let's Build a Zoo's paid Aquarium Odyssey expansion launches for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store next Thursday, 17th August.