Slime Rancher 2 from Monomi Park is a colorful first-person farming sim set in a world full of adorable bouncing creatures known as slimes. While I never played the original, I jumped into this sequel eager to see what all the excitement was about. Check out our Slime Rancher 2 review!
Slime Rancher 2 is a sequel to the award-winning, smash-hit original that has been enjoyed by over 15 million fans worldwide. Continue the adventures of Beatrix LeBeau as she journeys to Rainbow Island, a mysterious land brimming with ancient technology, unknown natural resources, and an avalanche of wiggling, jiggling, new slimes to discover.
Slime Rancher 2 from Monomi Park is a colorful first-person farming sim set in a world full of adorable bouncing creatures known as slimes. You once again step into the boots of Beatrix LeBeau, a slime rancher invited to explore the mysterious Rainbow Island. The story takes a lighthearted approach — mostly serving as a backdrop to your day-to-day slime collecting and ranch managing — and its tone fits the game’s relaxing pace.
Armed with your Vacpack, you’ll suck up wandering slimes and deposit them in corrals — glass enclosures where they bounce around happily until feeding time. You’ll find veggies, fruits, and other ingredients scattered across the island, which you can grow indefinitely using planters at your ranch. Feeding your slimes produces plorts, your main source of income, which can then be sold on the market for newbucks.
The gameplay loop sounds satisfying on paper, but in practice, it’s a bit slower and grindier than you might expect. Corrals are fairly small, and when collecting plorts – that would be what the slimes produce when you feed and care for them – it’s easy to vacuum up slimes by mistake — meaning you’ll have to spit them back out, again and again. Progression also moves at a crawl; you’ll need to gather resources and unlock new plots one at a time, with long waits between crop harvests. That said, there’s still a sense of discovery as new areas and slime varieties slowly open up, giving you something fresh to look forward to as you expand your ranch.
Another minor frustration – at least in my case – is the overall lack of direction. After a short tutorial, the game leaves you to figure things out on your own. While this open-ended approach might appeal to returning fans, I found myself wishing for clearer objectives and better guidance as a newcomer to the series. A minimap would also have been appreciated, instead of having to pause to consult the full map every time I was in need of some directions.
Visually, the game shines on PlayStation 5. Its bright, pastel colors and soft edges make Rainbow Island a joy to explore. Cutscenes feature a charming watercolor aesthetic, while the in-game visuals mix cartoon simplicity with warm lighting. On the technical side, performance mostly holds a steady 60 frames per second, though oddly, the slimes themselves animate at a noticeably lower frame rate — which can be jarring at first. The use of the adaptive triggers on the DualSense is a nice touch, offering subtle resistance when vacuuming or shooting slimes. Strangely, they’re disabled by default, so make sure to turn them on in the settings to enjoy the full DualSense experience!
The trophy list is a pleasant mix of exploration, progression, and creative experimentation. The list is split into 14 Bronze trophies, 7 Silver trophies, and 6 Gold trophies for you to work on. You’ll earn trophies for discovering new regions, building gadgets, and pulling off fun interactions such as feeding Gordos until they burst or shooting a slime into a tornado. Other trophies reward more dedicated players — for example, crafting Quantum Drones, selling 15 different types of plorts, and even completing the whole Slimepedia. The coveted Platinum trophy will demand patience, so be ready for it!
Slime Rancher 2 offers a bright and wholesome experience, but its slow pace and grind-heavy loop might test your patience. For fans of cozy, repetitive routines, this sequel delivers plenty of charm. For others, it might feel a little too relaxed for its own good. The game is priced at $29.99 on PlayStation 5, but if you buy it right now, you can take advantage of a 34% discount, which brings the price down to only $19.74.
Disclaimer
This Slime Rancher 2 review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Monomi Park.
