Mo' Slimes, Mo' Problems

I recently finished the main storyline in Slime Rancher 2 and now it's time to share my thoughts about the newest slime-venture.  Should there be more slime wrangling in your future or should you just leave the slimes to their own devices?  Read on for the answer!

Pink-cotton slimes are the perfect cute combo.

What is it?

The Slime Rancher games are a pleasant mix of management, exploration, and some light action.  You play as Bea, an adventurer outfitted with a vac-pack that can suck up slimes (and various other materials) who is looking to join the ranks of successful slime ranchers.  Part of the game revolves around running your slime ranch--capturing the various slimes that populate the world of Rainbow Island, corralling them, feeding them, and then harvesting their valuable plorts.  The other side is more exploration oriented--exploring the various areas that comprise the world and unlocking new areas.  There are numerous hidden treasure pods sprinkled throughout the world and finding all of them (without looking them up) is a real challenge.  Overall, it's a casual, kid-friendly type of game that is nice for relaxing.

How much playtime can you expect?

This number can vary greatly depending on your own playstyle.  If you are just hoping to wrap up the main story it could probably be done in 10-20 hours.  My own total was around 45 hours and included some time spent tracking down and flagging resources (which I will explain in my review), searching for treasure pods, and completing the main storyline.  I did not find all the treasure pods or unlock many of the pods sprinkled throughout the Grey Labyrinth area (those require some grinding for shadow plorts).  You could definitely spend much more time--I would easily venture 100 hours if you're thoroughly exploring, unlocking pods, and are spending time decorating your ranch.

Pros:

+ A colorful, vibrant new world.  Part of the delight of Slime Rancher is the cute, bouncy vibe and Slime Rancher 2 manages to improve on the original formula.  Rainbow Island is made up of colorful areas filled with adorable slimes and exploring them is fun.

+ The new ranch is massive!  The starting conservatory area has plenty of room for multiple corrals and resources (growing crops and raising chickens).  There are also five additional areas that can be purchased and unlocked.  This large amount of space gives you plenty of options for how you want to manage your ranch and tons of room for decorating.

My sloomber-twin largos.

+ An assortment of cute new slimes to capture.  Almost immediately you are greeted by the cotton slime--an adorable species that resembles a bunny.  My personal favorites include the sloomber slime--a fluffy pinkish/purple slime that spontaneously falls asleep--and the butterfly-like flutter slimes.  There are also many classic slimes around like the tabby slime and crystal slime.

+ An absolute avalanche of decorative items.  If your playstyle includes turning your ranch into a beautiful, slime-filled haven there are tons of options.  Some can be purchased from the handy Pronto-Mart machine on your ranch; others are gifted to you from your friends who periodically call you on your phone kiosk; and there are even more that are unlocked in the various treasure pods.  Many of the items are themed to specific areas of Rainbow Island so you can specialize or just pop down a random assortment.  There are also numerous fun slime toys and gadgets.

+ Upgrade system that improves Bea's equipment.  There are numerous upgrade that will increase Bea's health, energy, vac-pack storage, and other capabilities.

+ Drones.  I never managed to cobble together all the required items to build one, but these popular items from the first game can be used to automate many of your ranch functions.  The downside is that they are fairly resource intensive and require some hard to find materials.

+ Many warp items to facilitate easier travel around the various areas of Rainbow Island.  There are multiple varieties of portals which allow you to set up your own system for travelling exactly where you want to go (and back to the ranch).

+ An enjoyable story with a heartfelt ending.  I won't spoil it, but it's as good as in the first game.

+ Tons of hidden treasure pods.  If searching every nook and cranny is your thing...you'll be an absolute pig in mud.  There are probably 100 or more pods sprinkled throughout the world--some are easy to find and others are definitely well hidden.  The joy of finding treasure pods is truly enjoyable.

+ A new flagging system for marking resource deposits.  Bea can create a set of flags to mark different types of resources and those markers will appear on the game map.  This is a handy feature if you're trying to gather materials for upgrades or for building certain items.  The downside--creating these flags requires resources (luckily they're easily accessible resources).

+ The music perfectly matches the vibe of the game and manages not to get annoying.

Cons:

- Map markers can be difficult to find and means that your map will remain covered until you find them.  I'm sure that it's meant to facilitate more exploration, but part of me wishes that they were located in easily accessible areas so you could get a better idea of the area for exploration.  I did eventually find the markers but some of them are pretty tucked away.

- Grey Labyrinth treasure pods are very grindy.  Each pod requires probably 30-50 shadow plorts which means you have to track down elusive shadow slimes and try to shoot them as many times as you can.  While it's not necessary to unlock all these pods, many upgrade components are found in the pods.  If you're hoping to find and unlock all the pods you're in for quite a bit of grinding out shadow plorts.  Personally, it's not something I enjoy, but others might not mind it too much.

Recommendation:

If you're looking for something relaxing but fun, Slime Rancher 2 offers up the perfect combination of cuteness, exploration, and some light management.  It's a very rated G kind of game, so it's perfect for kids.  There are tons of options to match your playstyle whether that is more completionist, aesthetically-oriented, or just playing through the main story.