Slime Rancher 2 Review (grumm)
TL;DR: Fun for a while, until you realize its a grind fest with a lack of content beyond base Slime Rancher. Wait for the full release or buy Slime Rancher 1.
This game has a much different upgrade system than Slime Rancher 1 which in theory is an improvement, but in execution leaves fatal flaws that are very easily noticed. Much like the gadgets in slime rancher 1, the upgrades are crafted using materials and plorts. However, materials are locked behind timed resource deposits, resetting every 1-2 days, with some spawns not even being guaranteed. In order to go get these materials, you'll need to venture far across the islands and hope and pray they decided to spawn that day. While you're gone, your slimes will produce endless plorts, too many for one person to handle. When you eventually come home to deposit/use your materials, you'll find that there are way too many plorts to deal with. it will usually take 30 minutes to an hour to clear your ranch of excess plorts. While this may sound like a good thing, there is absolutely nothing to spend your money on. No 7Zee rewards, No toys, and the decorations available are way lamer than Slime Rancher 1, just being trees and rocks you would find on other islands. In addition to money being near useless if you aren't literally within the first 3 hours of your save, there are ZERO methods of automation for anything found in game. No automation for plort collection, sale, or storage. No automation for resource gathering or storage. Ultimately, this leads to the main gameplay loop being: Leave to gather materials > Come home > Spend 30 minutes to an hour cleaning up plorts and feeding slimes > Rinse and repeat. You may be asking yourself why I haven't mentioned any of the mini-games or quests found in Slime Rancher 1. That's because they aren't here. The only impact the NPCs from Slime Rancher 1 have on this game is occasionally calling you and giving you a blueprint or a lame decoration. For this game being over a year into it's early access, it feels like abandonware, the game feeling like a shell of Slime Rancher 1. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. If you already own Slime Rancher 1, play that. If you don't, buy that instead. Wait for this game to fully release to buy it, and even then, be cautious and read up to see if the lack of content has been fixed.