Monomi Park has, however, managed to make the perfect game for a specific type of person. It doesn’t look particularly good, it doesn’t run all that well on my computer, and it is a somewhat basic game. Monomi Park’s first effort is not a perfect game. In summation, exploration is fun and solid, I’m just concerned about the people who might drop the game before it becomes that way. As I write this it seems obvious that it must be whatever pink slimes eat… I’ll be sure to try that when I’m done typing. I’ve still yet to work out what I’m meant to shoot into the pink slime statue’s mouth. Naming is a bit on the nose, but once you’ve gotten through a few doors there’s a lot to explore, and a few puzzles to unravel. There’s a lot to explore in game once you’ve completed somewhat obscure tasks in order to obtain a “ Slime Key” that unlocks one of the mysterious “ Slime Doors“. Later on though, things get a lot better. None of it is compelling or even interesting. You might wander around, observe slimes in their natural habitat, and read notes left behind from your predecessor.

play it quite a bit.Įxploration, the other half of the Slime Rancher formula, is lackluster at first. In fact, I really like it and would like to do it every nigh… err. In much the same way I won’t bemoan Slime Ranchers farming component. Sex is a pretty repetitive thing, but you won’t catch me complaining. Regardless, there is a science to the simplicity. Maybe this is what people with real jobs feel like after toiling all day. Maybe this is why your mom STILL loves Farmville so much.

Maybe this is what hardcore RPG players feel like when they grind for hours and hours. The resource management and splitting of time between this main maintenance loop and exploring to find new and more valuable slimes is just enough challenge to give me a consistent sense of accomplishment. Perhaps it says something about me that the repetitive loop of farming crops, feeding slimes, collecting Plorts these slimes excrete (gross), and redeeming them for space money in order to buy upgrades for your farm and your character provides me with a very deep sense of calm. From what I can tell, the main farming loop is enough to keep your garden variety video game player entertained. Slime Rancher’s is nothing to write home about. Main gameplay loops, are the bread and butter of both of these types of games. Every shortcoming that I’ve encountered comes down to either my personal preference, the nature of this genre of game, or something that the very active developers patched up before I can get my review up. This criticism is rendered completely inert now that the developers have included a map of the world you can pull up at any time. It’s difficult to criticize the somewhat confusing layout of the map when the very nature of an exploration game is traversing a complex and hostile world. It’s difficult to complain about the repetitive nature of collecting the “Plorts” your slimes generate when the very nature of a farming game is repetitive action. The mashing of the “ Exploration” and “ Farming” genres make it almost immune to criticism, because any complaints are simply a part of one of the two genres. Slime Rancher is a brilliantly planned game. Do not go into things looking for a story that really makes more than a shallow level of sense, or compelling and complex characters. While wrangling your slime critters is a blast, there’s no deeper meaning or reason behind it. Everything that explains why you are where you are is insignificant compared to the fun you will have being there in the moment. However, in this instance, “story” could be replaced with “contrived reason for this fun game to exist” in every conversation about the game without issue or inaccuracy. Explaining how and why your character decided to move to a slime ranch millions of miles from home adds something to a game like this. “StarMail” (in-game email) sent to your character and notes left around different parts of the map comprise the entirety of the game’s narrative. The effort to include a back story into the game is noticeable and appreciated, but it really falls short. It would be unfair of me to say Slime Rancher’s story might as well not exist.

Caution – Push your slime science experiments too far and PERISH!.

Experimentation – Create new slime types using slime science and PROFIT!.

Far, Far Range – Your very own ranch to call home and customize!.

Exploration – Explore a big, wild world in style… jetpack style.

Trusty Vacpack – Use your vacpack to vac up and shoot out anything you see!.

Slime rancher review