Not just a park creation simulator, Planet Coaster is a fully-fledged 3D modeling program with an in-game interface, providing legions of creative minds unlimited power to build the parks of their dreams. Some of these community creations are jaw-dropping — joys of engineering and design. As we slip from 2016 to 2017, join Gameranx to celebrate the best and brightest Planet Coaster parks available to download right now.
Even if you don’t own Planet Coaster and have no interest in the game itself, these builds are absolutely worth your time. The creators are proud of their work, and produce impressive POV videos so you can experience every ride without purchasing Planet Coaster. It’s just like being there, without all the hours of pain-staking work.
Skip the lines — let’s go for a ride with our favorite selections below.
#1: Maros
Created by: Silvarret
Built with exacting detail and an eye for realism, what makes this track stand-out is its totally unique tileset. Instead of using pre-made turrets, towers, and roof-tops, Silvarret goes the distance to include tiny detail in his fairy tale park, meant to replicate a Russian winter holiday. The track truly stands out at night, when the strings of Christmas decorations and spotlights illuminate the forest, adding extra layers of contrast to an already detailed build.
Basically, this track is one of the best. Just watch the video above for a POV of the track, set during the day and at night to give you the full experience. Honestly, it was incredibly hard picking only one track from Silvarret — check out his equally-awesome Youtube channel for lots more builds and POV videos.
Subscribe to Maros on Steam Workshop here.
#2: Return To Zero
Created By: FU_Films
Return To Zero escapes the bounds of reality, presenting an impossible track that crosses an entire futuristic city. Not just a coaster but an entire park’s worth of decorations, it seems like the guys at FU_Films detailed every corner of their creation, covering everything with a futuristic veneer. We especially love the travelling neon lights that illuminate the coaster track itself. Definitely experience this track at night.
With small touches like opening doors, lifting gates, and flashing lights, this is the most futuristic coaster on our list, but it deserves it’s place for the insane drop, massive loops, and crazy speeds — if you’re watching the POV video above, stick with it past the slow opening. It’s worth the wait, trust us.
Subscribe to Return To Zero on Steam Workshop here.
#3: Dark Blood Manor
Created By: Uthris
Putting on the brakes one moment, here’s one of the most creative and fun rides available now for Planet Coaster. Instead of super-fast speeds, this Haunted Manor is all about scares. Slowly moving from room to room, this detailed interior structure is full of event triggers, turning the entire coaster concept on its head. This is a haunted carnival ride, through and through.
Unfortunately, due to the in-game rating system, this coaster gets a big fat 0 in the performance category, but actually riding this dark coaster in POV is a blast. For more insight into the creation of this spook-tastic ride, watch the full video above.
Subscribe to Dark Blood Manor on Steam Workshop here.
#4: Red Rock Splash Mine
Created by: AdfoTV
This massive park is the complete package — a ride and plenty of scenery to complete the illusion, totally immersing visitors in a lawless Wild West world as they ride the gentle Red Rock Splash Mine. Like a coaster, but a lot wetter, this ride weaves through canyons and outlaw gunfights through beautiful terrain. Every vista looks natural, with running water, crashed trains, and rickety mining operations to give you something interesting to look at.
The Red Rock Splash Mine is a joy to experience, and its obvious a lot of love went into the creation. There’s even a train steaming by the park’s rocky cliffs. If you’ve been busy immersing yourself in West World or trying out Red Dead Redemption on the Xbox One, this is another great gaming addition to the Wild West genre.
Subscribe to Red Rock Splash Mine on Steam Workshop here.
#5: Firewatch The Ride
Created by: sammy
Who knew Firewatch would make such an amazing coaster? Set in the mountains and valleys of the Wyoming wilderness, this spectacularly fast track weaves all the highs and lows of Campos Santos’ walking simulator into a taught track that’s everything fun from a coaster experience. Super fast speeds, big drops, and corkscrews — this detailed coaster is just as much fun to ride as it is to watch.
You’ll visit iconic in-game locations like the Firewatch tower itself, a forest fire, the mysterious mines, the reservoirs, and more. The landscape even looks picture perfect far in the distance! We totally love this coaster, and it gets bonus points for adapting one of the best games of 2016.
Subscribe to Firewatch The Ride on Steam Workshop here.
#6: Baron 1898
Created by: Jurre
A perfect recreation of the “Baron 1898” ride from the Dutch theme park The Efteling, this is another realistic, heart-stopping coaster that many of us probably won’t get to experience in our lifetimes. The recreation doesn’t just cover the coaster itself — there’s an awesome pre-show, with indoor presentations and triggers to entertain guests as they wait in line, and the scenery surrounding the coaster itself it completely spot-on.
This is a professional quality creation. We’d talk about every little detail, how the open park compliments the view from the coaster’s seats, or that terrifying first drop into the darkness, but you should just experience it for yourself. The full park is available for download, and if you’re interested in the pre-show portion of the coaster, rewind the video above and watch from the beginning.
Subscribe to Baron 1898 on Steam Workshop here.
Those are our (current!) favorite Planet Coaster parks / rides. For us, it’s all about the combination of scenery, creativity, and coasters — what’s a park without a coaster, and what’s a coaster without a story to tell? Theme is integral to any themepark, and that’s what makes a great community creation amazing.
We’re positive there are plenty of mind-blowing coasters we failed to mention. What are you favorites? Let us know in the comments section below.
