It’s been close to a decade since the last Jurassic Park game that wasn’t a mobile, arcade, or Lego game (and a Lego game is always more parts Lego than anything else), and even longer still since we got the type of sim game we’ve wanted. It’s still a ways until mid-2018 when it releases, but we have some idea of what’s to come.

First of all, Jurassic World Evolution is being developed by Frontier Developments, who are known for the Elite series of space sims and more importantly, Planet Coaster. Planet Coaster is widely regarded as one of the best sim games out there because a huge number of tools and attractions allow users to make virtually anything they can imagine. This includes recreations of Disneyland parks, Times Square, and Hogwarts (down to the correct number of lights for some parks).

We also like the fact that Jurassic World is a bit of a throwback to older titles. Back in 2003, Blue Tongue Entertainment released Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, a game that was big with fans and had a solid baseline but lacked in content beyond a certain point. Hopefully Frontier takes pointers from Blue Tongue’s successes and not their failures.

Though what everyone really wants to know is what we can do inside of the parks. We can assume  gyrospheres (the human hamster balls) will make an appearance since they are shown in the trailer, but the biggest question is if crossbreeding will play a major role. We know the staples like the T-Rex and raptors will be there, but an appearance from the Mosasaurus or Indominus Rex from Jurassic World is what everyone is most eager for. We are also hoping for some new water or sky based attractions given the variety of dinosaurs.

 The game was announced for Q2/Q3 2018, so we’ll likely see more information come out early next year, and probably demos at E3 as well.Until then, we’re going to be left wondering just how much of our predications come true…and what surprises are still in store.