SLIME RANCHER
A good slime to be had by all
He who corrals the slimes, corrals the universe. On the Far, Far Range, that’s the name of the game as you feed slimes and farm the ‘plorts’ they drop. The entire economy is based on this resource, with prices for each variety of plort fluctuating daily. The money you earn can go into new ranch facilities for holding new types of slimes, unlocking new parts of the Range, or upgrading your gear so you can hoover up even more plorts, slimes, and resources alike.
Beyond the odd offworld email offering delightful crumbs of a story, there’s not much more outside of that. You quickly get into a relaxing rhythm, spurred on by the cutesy chirps of the chubbily appealing slimes you hoover up with your vacpack. The world itself is suitably colourful, each new zone visually distinct from the others (as well as offering new slimes, resources, and farming opportunities), mitigating the lack of a minimap and the confusing layout of the world map.
Not every slime you encounter is happy to be a plort mule1 and not every new area you venture into will be a walk in the park, however, with feral slimes and environmental hazards stalking new parts of the Range. While it’s surprising the first time you come a cropper to such a threat, all are easily ousted when you’re packing the right tools or resources. But danger is generally fleeting2 on the Far, Far Range, plorts are plentiful, and the slimes are never not adorable… though we wish our inventory was just a few slots bigger. While gameplay isn’t super-deep, you’ll still find yourself returning to the slime ranch again and again. Jess Kinghorn