- Slime Rancher 2 – PC (P)review - April 10, 2023
- Moonbreaker – PC (P)review - February 6, 2023
- In Retrospect – PC Review - December 19, 2022
Genre: Casual farming adventure
Developer: Monomi Park
Publisher: Monomi Park
Release Date: September 22nd, 2022
Edited by AlexKnight2005
Slime Rancher 2 has just come out after the first game’s success. Slime Rancher 2 is an early access like the first one, but it builds upon the first. The areas to explore are much bigger. If one were to call the game in the current state Slime Rancher One but Bigger, they wouldn’t be wrong. Adding with it a large amount of quality-of-life enhancements and a rework of the upgrade system. For an early-access game, it feels mostly complete. Seeing most of what is to come will add to the current.
The story fits perfectly with the first Slime Rancher as you control Beatrix LeBeau as she travels from the lands from the first game to the islands of the new game. You take over a new home and large conservatory to base your new ranch. Over time you will be able to decorate and unlock surrounding areas to expand your ranch. The story is progressed with the comm system within your ranch; the NPCs you contact will provide more story, goals, and gadgets for you to use. Like the first one, the core story is what you make it, setting up your slimes to care for and gain income on—exploring the large world as you see fit. Apart from a management-style game, This one doubles as a nice adventure title. Rewarding the player for finding the nooks and crannies of the places for upgrade parts, decorations, maps, story logs, and doors for shortcuts. I was finding stuff I hadn’t found yet, even twenty hours within the starting area.
Gameplay is exactly like the first game on the ranch side. Those new to the gameplay will find it simple but rewarding for those that plan. You capture slimes, food, and materials using your vacuum-like gun. You can also blow out what you captured in your inventory. You do this to shoot slimes in the pens and shoot items to places to store them. The method is simple and effective as the physics adds a fun spin to it than just picking up while having a large range of reach. Different slimes eat different items and produce “plorts” when being fed. Feeding them their favorite type of food will get you double rewards. The plots for your slimes can be upgraded to better hold different types while bringing more quality of life to your ranching, like auto feeding and collecting their plorts from the pen. Having two different slimes in a pen or feeding a plort to a slime will turn it into a “Largo.” They will be large enough to where you can not suck them up, but they will be two different slimes in one. The two slimes’ qualities will be combined into the new largo. Including how it attacks, its diet, and how it acts. If a third different plort is eaten, it can be ugly as it turns into a monster black rainbow slime. These can be defeated by tossing them or spraying them with water. They will also disappear if they can’t eat any more slimes in the area. More dangerous if it happens within your ranch as it can cause damage to what you collected. Normally this will only happen if your slimes don’t get fed enough, escaping easier by that fact and coming in contact with different plorts that are around. The player can use the plots to build storage or farms to help support the ranch to better care for the slimes. The true balance is being able to get away from your ranch to explore while your slimes are still ok to be fed and happy while you are away. If you do lose your health, you are returned home with nothing in your current inventory. The only issue is I think the map can use some markers that the player can add and a rework of how the fast travel can work.
Visual and music will be and still is the core attractor to the game. The bright, cute, wholesome vibe is fun and relaxing. If you played the first one, you would still love the feel and look of this one. You can still take damage or pass out, but it is still a joy and relaxing setting. Giving more of the feeling of being careful and adding a bit of a rewarding feeling to explore the places. The care that is put into the look and design of it all is amazing. The “Largo” slimes and all the mixes having key features look natural and believable. The fantasy vibe of the landscape encourages exploration. The music and sounds of the slimes fit perfectly and feel finely tuned to the game. Controls can be done with both a controller or keyboard and mouse with no issues favoring one or the other. No bugs to note.
Overall, this is a very successful early-access launch. It feels like a complete game already and builds on the first one with nothing feeling like it is missing, and priced at an ok amount of thirty dollars. If you liked the first game, you have to get this one. If you are new and interested in this one, you are missing nothing if you get slime rancher two first over the first title. The management gameplay and focus on adventure made me enjoy this series again, and I can’t wait for future updates.
Pros:
- It perfectly Builds on the First Game
- Large Map to Explore
- Cute and Bright Visuals
Cons:
- Lack of Fast Travel Options
