Planet Coaster 2: Toybox Pack Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC)

Planet Coaster 2’s latest DLC Toybox Pack sews itself into the chassis of a well-oiled thrill ride of block-and-plastic mechanisms in an attempt to dial up its fear factor and bring a flesh lick of paint to its core. With five new attractions and a plethora of QoL updates to grease the hinges of its track-based sandbox (and not to mention a ton of scream-worthy set pieces and oversized jewels), the subsequent expansion doesn’t just add a few pulley points and whirlpools to its tidal flow; it bundles in a trove of nautically useful features and a ton of intricate details to help even the driest water parks bubble and prosper. And the best part is, it’s absolutely enormous. Well, that is if you’re gazing at it from a doll’s perspective. But we’ll get to that in a moment.

The Toybox Pack serves as the sequel’s fourth major DLC, which includes two additional coasters, a drop ride, a track ride, and a brand-new wave pool that allows fledgling boarders the opportunity to surf some rather gnarly tidal feats. And that’s not all, either. To add to all of the above, there are also handfuls of microscopic and monolithic toy-themed set pieces, and a ton of decals, animatronics, and scenery items, to boot. With all of this in its casket, Toybox Pack stands tall as a meaty expansion pack that should, at least with the aid from your existing collection, keep you conquering the nautical circuit for hours, days, perhaps even weeks. A bit of a stretch, but stick with us.

Of course, if you’re unfamiliar with Planet Coaster and its vast swathe of DLC and high-octane thrill rides, then don’t sweat it — we’ve got you covered. If you’re keen to learn more about the Toy Story-like expansion and its bouquet of blocky spare parts, then be sure to read on.

Toys & Tides

Toybox Pack comes in the form of a traditional Planet Coaster DLC, with a similar “booster pack”-like deck of fresh coasters and an entirely new theme to unpack and carve through. Unlike the Sorcery DLC, however, the latest installment opts to shift its focus to a playful deck of cards—a bundle that includes scalable blocks, arts and crafts stations, and colorful utopias among other thematic rides and scenery elements. In other words, it favors the bashful nature of a kindergarten duplex. No complaints here, mind you.

The Toybox Pack sees you with full creative control over a floral collection of decorations and nautical embellishments, including a freshly scrubbed wave machine for surfing aficionados, a stomach-churning drop ride for all of those fledgling thrill seekers, and two new coasters, both Vector and F&N. Among all of these track pieces, you also have a list of gift shop items and park decorations, which includes plastic bricks and wooden blocks, colorful decals and googly eyes, naturally. Think Toy Story, basically — but with rollercoasters and surfers. That, really, is Toybox, in a nutshell.

While the latest add-on to Planet Coaster 2 doesn’t bring about any original scenarios or career-based challenges for you to explore and whittle down, it does provide plenty of opportunities for you to enhance a ton of areas in your park. For example, you can finally add a new wave machine to your custom pools, which essentially allows guests to board up and surf your tides. It’s a small treat, and it doesn’t do much to boost the signature gameplay experience, though it does provide you with several creative options to flesh out your favorite sections of the resort. And when all’s said and done, isn’t that sort of what a Planet Coaster DLC is all for achieving?

Drop Rides & Dollhouses

To answer the question of whether or not Toybox is a better DLC than its Sorcery pack is a tough one to call. Although it’s with a lot of the same bells and whistles, it does fall beneath an entirely different tone. Honestly, though, I will say that the Toybox Pack has more creative properties for you to play around with, particularly with its block-based jigsaw pieces and fully customizable bricks and monolithic components. If you have a keen eye for detail, then to be honest, you’re essentially flush with chances to experiment with thousands of designs and blueprints. Sure, it’s a little basic, but under the right conditions, you should be able to utilize these new assets to build enormous utopias and child-friendly quarters for your park.

Verdict

The Toybox Pack finds its rightful place on the track as a solid extension to Planet Coaster 2’s well-oiled locomotive of thrill-based shenanigans, with a brand-new larger-than-life theme and a ton of freshwater improvements to bolster its nautical goodness. It’s still the same ol’ Planet Coaster, but with more rides, sideshows attractions, and not to mention a ton of extra creative slack to help aspiring coaster curators establish a foothold in the world of hybrid parks. A perfectly sturdy DLC, then.

When all’s said and done, The Toybox Pack doesn’t beat around the bush or pretend to be something that it’s not. Naturally, what you see is what you get here: a minor upgrade over your vanilla version, which also happens to foster all of the standard track rides and thematic elements of a traditional DLC. It doesn’t add an extra layer to the base game, nor does it bundle in any career-based missions or maps for you to unlock. It does, however, bring about some minor QoL fixes and a well-rounded collection of attractions, decor, and animatronics, to list just a few of its core features.

Suffice it to say that, if the idea of bolstering your park with building blocks and adolescent treasures sounds like the next best step in your entrepreneurial journey, then it’s highly likely that this DLC will have more than enough to wax that creative imagination of yours. Better yet, if you’ve simply exhausted all of your options and are looking to add another wing to your resort, then you should definitely consider rifling through this box of, well, playthings.