Slime Rancher 2 Review: A Whole Lot of Ex-Plort-ation

HIGH Adorable slimes and fantastical environments.

LOW The frustrating progression system

WTF The ethics of my “ranch”

All the way back in 2016 I picked up a Humble Bundle containing the original Slime Rancher and tried it on a whim. Stardew Valley had only just been released and the indie farming mania had yet to fully take effect so while it had some problems, Slime Rancher felt fresh and I was quite taken by it. There was such a whimsical charm on the Far Far Range, filled with all its gelatinous inhabitants. Many hours were spent enjoying the feeling of discovery as I explored new areas, built up my ranch and let it devolve into Dickensian work standards as overcrowded cells of slimes generated income for my capitalist vices.

Over 8 years later Slime Rancher 2 finally got its full release and I was eager to get back to the range and start rounding up some colourful characteristic creatures. After finally making my way through the main content, let’s just say I have some thoughts…

To set the scene, the player reprises the role of Beatrix LeBeau, an intrepid slime rancher who has made her way to a new land with a conservatory most could only dream of, ripe for turning into a brand new Slime Ranch. Alongside her is her trusty ‘Vacpack’, a gun capable of sucking in, and then firing out nearby food, slimes and the occasional decorative pot. The system is quite simple, catch a slime, feed it food and out plops a ‘plort’ which can be sold for that sweet sweet cash. Different slimes have different food preferences and conditions needed to keep them so if the player wants to “Catch ’em all” they will need to expand their ranch with a number of different environments. Amateur geneticists can also look to crossbreed slimes by feeding them each other’s plorts (I would advise not dwelling too deep on this system), creating a larger and feistier, but also more profitable Largo Slime.

For the first act of the game I was enjoying myself. The trappings feel immediately similar to the original Slime Rancher. Some large open areas full of nooks and crannies to hide secrets. Progression gates to get through to other areas in the forms of especially large gordo slimes that must be overfed to the point of exploding. I was a little disappointed to find the majority of slimes were reused from the first game but Slime Rancher 2 manages to maintain the same whimsy and comical interactions as Slimes bounce around looking for food and bumping into each other. The initial areas are relatively colourful and diverse in terms of biomes and the player will have some immediate goals to fill out the ranch and get a few key upgrades.

On that note, Slime Science is back from the original game and has a much larger role to play. Alongside stockpiling plorts the player will need special science materials that randomly spawn around the map. Initially this added an element of excitement as I stumbled across rare resources and hurriedly carried them back to base. Slime Rancher 2 does seem to assume the player just loves running by the way, it forces them to do it a lot!

One of the main areas Slime Rancher 2 has evolved itself is in the use of this science to unlock both utilities and decorations. Warp devices to move people and resources, utilities to help recover health or stamina and aesthetic pieces to liven up the ranch and bring it to life. I want to make a clear caveat up front to the players that just want to make a visually pleasing ranch, there is a lot to like here. It’s a bit on the grindy side but exploration is constantly rewarded with new ways to beautify the conservatory and other areas.

Slime Rancher 2 is split into 2 distinct acts and Act 1 is certainly a continuation of the original formula. For fans of Slime Rancher 1, Slime Rancher 2 will initially come across as a successful albeit potentially uninspired sequel. Act 2, or “The Grey Labyrinth” is where the story truly starts and frankly I consider this section to be actively harmful to the game, judging by the player reviews I might be in the minority so allow me to defend myself.

As I made my way further and further out from my main base, the sheen started to wear off. Having to trek through the same landscapes time after time became frustrating more than pleasant. There are a couple of portals and shortcuts that help skip some of the journey but the ability for the player to create their own teleporters is locked until almost the very end of the game which means constant trekking back and forth, especially as my progress was often gated by resources I simply wouldn’t have handy in my very limited inventory slots.

As time goes on Slime Rancher’s 2 primary focus becomes less about ranching and more about exploring. There is not one, not two, but three RNG resource grinds in order to get to the endgame which just means running around in circles to try and collect the needed items. Maybe I am just going crazy from hunting shadow plorts but I swear the RNG odds also decrease for areas that have already been explored until some time passes to reset them. This often resulted in me having to go back to base and do the long runback yet again to grind out more resources because I hadn’t found all the rare spawns I needed to make a teleporter. It’s just not enjoyable for the player and feels like such a weird design choice in an otherwise cozy title.

There are two ways a game can do an upgrade cycle. The player can start by walking and then be helped to metaphorically run, drive and then fly, or the game can break the player’s kneecaps and charge them for medical care to recover. Both options result in the player gaining strength with time but the latter just feels so much worse. With its limited stamina that takes slightly too long to recover, grindy late game utility unlocks, confusing level design and lack of focus on the actual ranching aspect, Slime Rancher 2 sadly dipped into the latter option for me. Unlocks were often met with relief that I didn’t have to grind further or deal with a frustrating mechanic rather than being excited about by my new toy.

It’s not all bad, the later stages of the game do feature the most impressive environments the series has to offer, numerous times I stopped in awe to admire the scene before me and I found the dynamic soundtrack to be consistently good throughout the game. Some of the new slimes also have interesting designs and quirks that immediately made me want to add them to the collection. The story feels like it was added too late into the game but doesn’t actively detract from the title and atleast gives context to some interesting world events and settings.

Ultimately much like its titular monsters, Slime Rancher 2 is a strange beast. On paper it has everything the original does and then some. More slimes, more unlocks and much more imaginative environments. Sadly the frustrations overshadowed many of the positives for me as a lot of the new additions actively work against the tone of the game. An option for fast travel or unlimited stamina would go a long way to easing these complaints and make me feel like the game somewhat respects my time.

I’ve been rather negative on the latter sections but for those who enjoyed the original Slime Rancher this will still give a very similar feeling to the original. Those who enjoy decorating will likely enjoy it even more. Just… maybe use a guide to minimise additional grinding.

Rating: 6 out of 10

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Buy Slime Rancher 2 — PC — PS — XB

Disclosures: This game is developed by Monomi Park and is self published. It is currently available on PC, PS5 and Xbox One. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC.

Approximately 15 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There is currently no multiplayer option.

Parents:

The game has an ESRB rating of E10+ due to fantasy violence. Evil slimes known as Tarr that will consume friendly slimes are able to be toggled off on game start however the player can still be damaged and bitten. All “fighting” is done by launching enemies away or shooting them with water.

Colorblind Modes:

There is no dedicated colorblind mode.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers:

This game does not offer subtitles but there is no audible dialogue, all story is conveyed via text. Slimes do make noises but they do not affect gameplay with the exception of the lucky slime which does have a jingle to indicate its presence, this is not needed to complete the story.

Remappable Controls:

Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls on both keyboard and controller.

This review was originally written for Gamecritics.com