Slinking from her bed, Beatrix helps herself to a freshly brewed mug of coffee, fingers wrapping around the warm ceramic as she inhales the delightful earthy scent. Another day of ranching- her farm had grown considerably in a short period, leaving her drowning in plorts to sell, and crops to harvest. Deep breath, Bea.
Coffee finished, she turns for the door, fingers grasping at the handle just as a shrill explosion of clucks and caws met her ears. Groaning, she peers out- immediately spotting the culprit: One of the new hunter slimes made their way over to the hen hen pen. Shaking her head, she bolts out the door. A ranches job is never done...

You'll see plenty of familiar faces... er... slimes... as you work your way through Rainbow Island. 

A sequel to one of the most brilliant games to fully release in 2017, Slime Rancher 2 continues to follow in the footsteps of Beatrix LeBeau as she embarks on a massive, brand-new adventures on Rainbow Island. Not only is it loaded with amazingly beautiful new biomes, but it’s also jam packed with mysterious technology, unknown resources, and an insanely large amount of new slimes for players to wrangle.

There are a TON of upgrades available for you to make your work far easier and more productive.

Out the gate, I will absolutely say that if you were were hooked by the gills with the first Slime Rancher, this will be NO different. With nothing but a wild amount of expansions, there is much to see, so much to do, slimes to wrangle, feed, explode, gadgets to build and conservatories to embellish- you will ALWAYS feel like there is nowhere near enough “time” in your “day” to get it all done.

The Conservatory is a gorgeous home base that you are free to modify and decorate.

Much like it’s predecessor, the  game world itself is bright, bold and BEAUTIFUL. The Conservatory itself is absolutely gorgeous and the entire world while just as brilliantly vibrant as the original, it holds all its own. The same can EASILY be said for the controls. Simple, straightforward and fluid, if you played the previous title, you’ll feel right at home-and if you haven’t, they’re about as absolutely intuitive as any first-person title could get. Basically, horribly easy to pick up, and as expected, terribly hard to put down. With beautiful and crisp graphics, smooth controls for both keyboard and mouse as well as controller, and a slew of activities to do, you can’t go wrong. Music is brimming with charm and delight, or grows tense when it’s warranted. Really, there is very little if at all ANYTHING I would change here- Monomi Park has, once again, absolutely gone in for a slam dunk.

What is a Slime Rancher game without Gordos!? These chonkers are back- and hungry as ever.

Besides what I would call the “Generic Starting Biome” filled with you casual inhabitants, the other areas are vastly different. Huge magma caves, along with beautiful coral reefs, tropical tidepools littered with puddle slimes- there is so much to see. Not only that, you have collectibles to scour for, and secret doors to unlock. There’s a ton of things to see, do, explore and fine- you may feel at a loss for time with how many things there are. I will admit I did run into this feeling quite frequently. So much to do, slimes to feed and care for, plorts to collect, stash or sell, resources to gather…. But there was not enough time in my day. I think that was effectively one of my biggest qualms, though if you manage things right, over time this becomes less of a hassle.


Speaking of less hassle, there are some fantastic Quality Of Life elements that have been worked into Slime Rancher 2. From slapping the V key to mark all new items as seen, bigger silos for storage, one way teleportation and links to the market and refinery storage- there has been a ton of changes. A lot of little things have been implemented to make it a relatively painless experience- which seems to have been a load of lessons learned from it's predecessor. When it comes down to it, it's obvious the game is trying to be much more considerate of the players time. Which, with a game such as this, where some of the day to day can become a bit of a hassle and grind, it's hugely appreciated when we can cut some corners within reason.


Ultimately what it boils down to is this:
If you are looking for a cozy title to relax to, and casually chip away at, this is your game. Farm, collect, grind resources for upgrades. It is a perfect cozy game to keep your mind occupied with cute bright and colorful graphics. If you’re seeking a much more action/adventure oriented title, this one is very leisurely paced, and may not be for everyone. Cozy is absolutely not everyone’s cup of tea, but as did the original, Slime Rancher 2 isa strong contender in the genre, and is a heap of fun to boot. Relax,  and slip into Beatrixs’ shoes, all while unraveling the mysteries of Rainbow Island.

Slime Rancher 2 is available on the Steam Marketplace in Early Access for $29.99 USD.