Slime Rancher 2

Slime Rancher 2’s is a fantastic and stylish work-in-progress with strong bones, but little meat on them (at least right now).

Slime Rancher 2 may play largely the same as its predecessor but, between the beautiful new world and some key quality-of-life improvements, the future looks promising for Monomi Park's sequel.

Slime Rancher 2 is a refined and slimy good time, building on what made the first game work. There's colorful exploration, exciting farming, and some of the cutest video game characters since Pokémon.

Slime Rancher 2's incredible charm helps soften the blow of what's occasionally a grind.

Overall, Slime Rancher 2 lost a lot of its momentum mostly because of the early access release and feels like it has a bit of a gameplay loop issue because apparently even slimes deal with inflation. It’s a fun game overall, with some fun improvements like the weather system, and if you enjoyed the original you will likely have fun this time around too.

Slime Rancher 2 is no great revolution — and it’s also not really trying to be one. The game fulfills its big ideas quite well in terms of gameplay, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing if it dared to dream a little bigger. It’s good entertainment that could’ve made more of an effort to become great.

Slime Rancher 2 is filled with charm, joy and adorable creatures, but the fun doesn't translate to every aspect of the gameplay. In seeking to expand and add content to the game, the developers have made what should have been an effortlessly delightful experience a somewhat monotonous one.

Overall, I did enjoy my time in Slime Rancher 2, but if I had a choice between the original and the second one, I would choose the first one every time. The original felt warm and cozy. I could jump in and tend to my fields or my slimes. I could choose to go out in the world and explore or find materials. I never felt like I had to scrounge around the world like a hungry squirrel to get a small nugget of something to bring back and find out that I now must do it 20 more times. Slime Rancher 2 rewards those that explore and grind which is great, except it comes at the price of alienating those that want to farm and just chill. I feel a multiplayer aspect of the game could help alleviate this issue by having one person searching for materials and resources while the other maintains the Conservatory. This is however assuming one likes exploring and the other likes farming. If you liked the first game as it was, this might not be the upgrade you are looking for.

A charming and relaxing adventure that’s fun in short bursts

Slime Rancher 2, of course, takes many things from the pre-laid foundation of its predecessor, very rarely for worse.