Slime Rancher 2 Review - A Near Slime Dunk

Developer Monomi Park has returned to its slime-tastic origins, more than nine years after the Early Access launch of Slime Rancher, with its much-anticipated follow-up, Slime Rancher 2. The game's developer first released Slime Rancher 2 through Early Access in 2022, and after three years, it bid farewell as it finally slime dunked its way onto consoles and PCs.

Slime Rancher 2 sets out to continue the epic adventures of rancher and protagonist, Beatrix "Bea" LeBeau, but this time around, in a brand new location, the Rainbow Island. This new location is filled to the brim with new slimes to care for, mysteries to uncover, and areas to explore as Slime Rancher 2 aims to deliver a bigger, slime-filled adventure, something the developer has long sought to provide since the original game's release.

A Brave New Slime-tastic World

This much-anticipated sequel to the 2016 farming sim game from indie studio Monomi Park continues the story as our protagonist, Beatrix "Bea" LeBeau, heads off to Rainbow Island for a brand new adventure and more slimes to wrangle! While the journey that brought her to this new location is somewhat cloaked in mystery, equally intriguing are the secrets that Bea will uncover during her stay on Rainbow Island.

As mentioned earlier, Slime Rancher 2 spent three years in Early Access, allowing the developer to continue developing the game, listen to community feedback, and patch up much-needed fixes before shipping its 1.0 version to consoles and PCs. Now, ready in its final jiggly form, players can finally pick up the story of Bea as she sets off to unknown territory with a new adventure awaiting her on Rainbow Island!

Much of what many loved about Slime Rancher is present in its sequel, like its gameplay loop of wrangling new squishing slimes, farming Plorts, exchanging them for currency, and upgrading Bea's tech to explore the island further. By the way, there are a few new slimes, features, and plenty more for new and returning players to wrangle with when jumping into Slime Rancher 2.

It's Plortin' Time!

Let's be honest: one has never played Slime Rancher, and to one's shock and horror, it's really a good thing we got to experience this game through its sequel. In this open-world simulation sequel, Bea boards a mysterious boat that crosses the Slime Sea, escorting her to Rainbow Island, where not only will she encounter new and returning slimes and unique resources to collect, but also discover ancient technology that she can learn and use to navigate her new surroundings.

From the get-go, players are given the option to turn on or off a few gameplay settings to make their time and experiences on Rainbow Island smoother. The biggest gameplay option is regarding the Tarr and Feral Slimes spawning on the island, as these slimes are incredibly hostile and can be a nuisance to deal with when exploring, so for a more cozy gameplay experience, turning them off would be wise.

Each new area on the Rainbow Island is mostly easy to access, with exceptions for the Powderfall Bluffs and the Grey Labyrinth, which have specific requirements needed to unlock. It's possible for players to unlock them quite easily; however, unlocking the Grey Labyrinth will require players to acquire a particular gadget from a friend and solve some puzzles before this area opens its doors to Bea.

Upon arriving on Rainbow Island, Bea will gain a new home, the Conservatory, the sequel's counterpart to the Ranch from the first game, which serves as the central hub, boasting various facilities to use to earn a living as a Rancher. While the game doesn't adequately explain how players can use these facilities, the Fabricator and the Refinery being such examples, it took until reaching Day 43 to figure out how to use them both.

The Refinery functions as a deposit for various resources like Plorts and other valuable items before they can be used for crafting gadgets via the Fabricator, the latter allowing Bea to craft using blueprints before she can equip and use them. Our picks for gadgets to prioritize first are the Resource Harvester, Jetpack, and the Tank Booster, which the harvester lets Bea acquire items from nodes found throughout the island, the Jetpack for easier traversal, and the Tank Booster to carry and store more resources in inventory slots.

Exploration in Slime Rancher 2 is your best friend, and understanding each area and its biome, and detailing what resources can be acquired, will go a long way. It's worth stating that for each day spent on Rainbow Island, collect as many resources as possible, especially if Bea can't place them in the Garden to grow, as Bea may need them to feed various Plorts, like the Cuberries for the Phosphor Slime.

Your gadgets are equally important, too, especially the Jetpack, which allows Bea to cover greater distances and find items that are harder to reach by jumping higher and gliding for a brief time. The Jetpack will be a great gadget for exploration, but a drive must be found first, and then its upgrade must be purchased before crafting it at the Fabricator with the required resources and spending Newbucks.

The game's UI design is simple, clean, and very legible, which is pleasing to the eye, especially since every game element, such as the inventory slots, in-game prompts, and the Health and Energy meters, is clearly identifiable. Additionally, all items held in the inventory slots are clearly and largely displayed, which is a significant UI improvement and indeed user-friendly.

Slimed Out!

With massive improvements and overhauls to the game's visuals and UI designs, a fun and cozy gameplay loop, and a new location to explore to one's content, some game aspects do hold the game back from being a great sequel. While not having played the original game and putting in the work and hours wrangling slimes and establishing the Ranch, the overall story is less compelling to follow along.

It does heavily rely on various NPCs that Bea established connections with from the first game, and communication with these characters is limited to video call messages. Their messages don't contribute much to the ongoing story, but equally disappointing is that these characters' stories don't progress or expand in the sequel, and at times, their appearance can be nonsensical or overbearing, but we love the gifts they share with Bea.

Staying with familiar NPCs that Bea reconnects with in the sequel, the game doesn't introduce new characters for her to meet that could contribute something meaningful to her journey and exploration on Rainbow Island. This excludes the new Research Drones that provide Bea with new lore for the new location that Bea can find in most areas, excluding the Grey Labyrinth and the Slime Sea, but even so, it takes a while for the lore drops to be paid off.

While the game's story isn't heavily emphasized, the exploration is, as there's so much of the world that can be explored, and it doesn't need every gadget to advance to the next area. However, while unlocking these new areas is gated by Gordo Slimes that Bea must feed to unblock the passages, it's reaching the endgame areas that are restricted by specific requirements, and farming for these materials can be pretty time-consuming and frustrating.

This can take up much of players' time locating the resources required and crafting specific gadgets to progress, before finding the hidden gates to solve the door's puzzles. Grinding for these resources makes Slime Rancher 2's endgame feel tedious and less thrilling, especially for those wanting to reach the game's end and to see the big story/lore payoff, but for others who enjoy the exploration and ranching more, this won't be a major concern, as there's plenty of content to enjoy until reaching those final moments.

Slime Rancher 2 Review | Final Thoughts

Developer Monomi Park had the blueprint to build Slime Rancher's sequel, leaving room to create new, innovative features and content that would expand on what they had first achieved with the original game. They didn't need to change much of the formula, like the gameplay loop, as many of the improvements saw massive overhauls to its visuals, as the environments feel more lush and vibrant, and the textures are exquisitely clean, especially with more biome varieties present in Slime Rancher 2.

All in all, what the developer set out to achieve with Slime Rancher 2 should be widely praised for, as the vast changes to the game's visuals are absolutely stunning and vibrant, from the vistas to the wiggly slimes we encounter. The improvements to the UI are greatly appreciated, and the diversity of biomes and areas makes exploration extremely rewarding and exciting, as no two areas feel or look the same, even if the gameplay loop can be repetitive for players.

Where the game lacks is the opportunity to flesh out further or expand the story, leaving much to be desired. Sure, we have some of our returning companions to aid Bea during her adventures on Rainbow Island, but at times, they add or offer so little that it makes their presence feel more like fan service than one of substance, and their interactions something that can be avoided when there's so much of the world and gameplay content more worthwhile to explore.

Slime Rancher 2 was reviewed on PC via Steam for 38 hours with a key provided by the publisher. All screenshots were taken during the course of the review.