[Quick review for early access launch version]
Though it's too early to pass judgement on Slime Rancher 2 as a complete experience, the launch of the game offers players a pretty solid idea of expectations going forward. We have the heart and soul of Slime Rancher 2 in front of us, and eight hours of gameplay later, despite being pretty much what I expected, I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed.
The core gameplay of the first Slime Rancher hasn't been tampered with much—feed slimes to get plorts, sell plorts to get money, use money to expand the farm. You also make hybrid slimes to save on space, and explore the world by platforming to areas possibly intended for later in the game (something I genuinely love about the first game). There aren't any big new mechanics, but a few things have been expanded upon or streamlined. For example, upgrades now also cost plorts and resources on top of money, a wise decision that keeps players from gathering upgrades too fast. Players no longer have to place resource extractors down—they're harvested from specific locations once a certain vac upgrade is acquired. There are also a few more slimes and foods now, with more to come, though that's fully expected. I very much appreciate the presence of bat slimes.
Now, these updates to the game are all fine and dandy, but none of them feel particularly substantial. Nothing here screams "Slime Rancher 2!" so much as they do "Slime Rancher 1.5!" Instead of getting the impression that this is a grand new adventure, I'm left feeling like I'm playing the first game but with a big graphical overhaul. The visuals are nice, and I'm especially fond of the new art direction, but I feel like it was given special priority over updates to the core gameplay experience. Slime Rancher 2 plays it very, very safe. The benefit to this is that Slime Rancher 1 is a very, very good game—so on its own, Slime Rancher 2 has the beginnings of one as well. But when I played Slime Rancher 1—even in its early access state—everything was new, and everything was a surprise. Slime Rancher 2, with its copied homework, has yet to offer that.
Though it's too early to pass judgement on Slime Rancher 2 as a complete experience, the launch of the game offers players a pretty solid idea of expectations going forward. We have the heart and soul of Slime Rancher 2 in front of us, and eight hours of gameplay later, despite being pretty much what I expected, I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed.
The core gameplay of the first Slime Rancher hasn't been tampered with much—feed slimes to get plorts, sell plorts to get money, use money to expand the farm. You also make hybrid slimes to save on space, and explore the world by platforming to areas possibly intended for later in the game (something I genuinely love about the first game). There aren't any big new mechanics, but a few things have been expanded upon or streamlined. For example, upgrades now also cost plorts and resources on top of money, a wise decision that keeps players from gathering upgrades too fast. Players no longer have to place resource extractors down—they're harvested from specific locations once a certain vac upgrade is acquired. There are also a few more slimes and foods now, with more to come, though that's fully expected. I very much appreciate the presence of bat slimes.
Now, these updates to the game are all fine and dandy, but none of them feel particularly substantial. Nothing here screams "Slime Rancher 2!" so much as they do "Slime Rancher 1.5!" Instead of getting the impression that this is a grand new adventure, I'm left feeling like I'm playing the first game but with a big graphical overhaul. The visuals are nice, and I'm especially fond of the new art direction, but I feel like it was given special priority over updates to the core gameplay experience. Slime Rancher 2 plays it very, very safe. The benefit to this is that Slime Rancher 1 is a very, very good game—so on its own, Slime Rancher 2 has the beginnings of one as well. But when I played Slime Rancher 1—even in its early access state—everything was new, and everything was a surprise. Slime Rancher 2, with its copied homework, has yet to offer that.