Sometimes free games mean trying something completely different then your normal style, and this would be one of those times. The farming/ranching/life sim games are not normally where I play, but when Epic Games offered it for free it was a decision that came to "why not?" And as I finish up, I have to admit, I'm kinda glad I made that choice.
Story: Welcome to the Far Far Range! Here on the edge of known space, Beatrix LeBeau has setup shop to try her hand at the newest resource collection job of the final frontier: slime ranching. This is pretty much exactly as it sounds: many species of slime call this place (and many like it) home. Beatrix' new job will be to collect and raise these creatures with the goal of collecting their "plorts" which they generate shortly after eating (so you can imagine what they really are) to sell for a profit.
But underneath this setup is a mystery to uncover. For Beatrix is not the first person to have this ranch. That honor goes to a man named Hobson... a man who one day sold the ranch and disappeared. Discover what happened to him as you explore the Far Far Range, maybe just how much like Beatrix he really was...
While this story will guide your adventure from start to credits, it will not be front and center. Rather it will be told to you between emails Beatrix receives from home and notes Hobson left behind and you will find through regular exploring. At least assuming you choose to explore, but we will get back to that later. For now, it's not the most detailed story but it is oddly deep, and leaves you on a fairly bittersweet note that I'm not sure is satisfying... but to the right person it will certainly strike a strong personal chord.
7/10
Graphics: If I had to describe the look of this game in a two words, they would be "cute" and "cartoony." You will play form a first person point of view, looking down the barrel of your vac-pack equipment the entire time, only seeing Beatrix herself on the title screen and when you retire for the night. Aside from those moments, you will basically be wandering around varied locations, most of which are highly saturated presentations of the world around you and sorted into a handful of biomes. They all fit together very well, even as each one carries it's own flavor of laid back beauty, showing themselves in a style that reminds me personally of a cross between a Saturday morning cartoon and a water-colored painting.
But Beatrix is not the only character in this game. Along with her, you will find the world inhabited by two other creature types: chickens and slimes, both of which fit the cutesy look well. Chickens generally are the doofiest looking things you will see in the game and outside of their resource value you are likely to ignore them. Slimes, on the other hand, are your stars here. They come in all hues and sizes as you run into several species. Almost all of them carry the same cute happy grins (or even angry faces or "feed me already drooling" ones.
This chill vibe also comes with a fairly clean and simple look to everything as well, including the interface. Mellow colors and almost Apple-like menus and displays will show you at any time what you are working with, what cash you have to work with it, your health and energy, and even what you have stored in your pack at the moment.
This is not a game that is going to win awards for technical work, but it will just exude a chill and relax atmosphere even just looking at it.
7/10
Sound: The music backs up this aspect of the visuals brilliantly as well. Each area will carry it's own tune, be it one of chilling on the range, accordion music playing low in the background like you might hear in a restaurant that really wants to put a theme on, or even to awaken a feeling of awe later in the game, but there is almost nothing that will bring up any tones to suggest tension... almost. There is one tune that will play once in a while and when you hear it, you know one of the few things that exists to cause trouble and danger is in the area.
There is also no voice-work in this game. The only voice you will hear is at the end of the story mode in a song played during the end credits, so don't expect any voices to spoil this tone. Which leaves us to the sound effects, and these are limited by the very nature of the game. Most of the time you will be listening to slimes... be it them "plorting" with a bell-like ring, spawning into the world, bouncing, laughing, eating... they are not quiet creatures. Thankfully the noises they make are generally meant to be just as cute as their design, making them very easy to just have in the background of any given scene. I'm pretty sure if there is any one sound that will be iconic to this game, it's their laughter. (What they are laughing at is anyone's guess... I have no idea.)
But the end result of this is a game with a generally serene soundtrack to go with the chill graphics... and the two fit together better then a lot of games I've played.
8/10
Gameplay: While Slime Rancher is played from a first person perspective, it has little in common with the shooters one might expect from that view. Rather, this is a game with more in common with games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley. At face value, your objective is to build your ranch up, collecting and raising the different breeds of slimes to collect their "plorts" and sell them on the open market. This income will give you the currency you will need to upgrade your ranch to handle more and different kinds of slimes as well as produce the materials you will need to feed them. And while you appearantly don't need to sleep, you can use it as a time skip to get to 6 AM the next day, allowing you to not be forced to wait through the time-loop if you get everything you need get done done.
This will be the basic rhythm the game will offer you as you relax, build up, and enjoy your time on the Far Far Range and it's honestly a very enjoyable flow. Take your time, chill out, and enjoy. But there is also a story-based adventure hidden within, and your first trek off your land to collect your first slimes, you will get hints of it in the form of a note left just about on your doorstep. Hobson's notes suggest he sold the range to go on a life's journey of his own, and you can follow his adventure to discover what he found. Discovery is part of the gameplay here, so I can not say much without ruining it for you, but like the main loop there is nothing you will run into that doesn't explain itself shortly after seeing it, allowing the adventure to flow with ease. This is not a hard game in any possible way, but it is interesting, and worth the time.
Nor is ending that adventure necessarily the end of the game. After the credits roll, you will be right back to continue as you see fit (or quit if the adventure is why you were here). But this is the one issue I can bring up against this little romp. The way to reach the ending doesn't make sense. You will reach a final step, only to not see the credits like you would expect. It was strange enough to be the one place I looked up to make sure I did it right before I decided to leave, only to find out now it was a waiting game.
6/10
Bugs: And here we have yet another game which I had no issues with at all. The game ran perfectly from start to finish.
Score: I don't normally play this kind of game so you should probably take my score with a grain of salt. However, I walked away having seen some very nice looking scenes, chilled out maintaining a ranch to raise slimes, and even get excited for a little bit towards the endgame of Hobson's story.
I will admit I would have liked to see that adventure go just a little bit further, but I see the point the author was making. It screams of a personal touch like the author dealing with personal regrets and doing so very well. I just... really wanted to see the next place.
What is here is pretty good overall, but I am happy to finish as the credits roll. I can see why others would want to go on, however and max out that ranch itself. This is a very solid title and if chilling out on your own little place in the frontier of space sounds good to you, you may just want to check it out.
7/10
System Requirements:
- 2.2 Ghz Dual Core CPU
- 4 GB RAM
- Anything with at least 512 MB of VRAM
- 1 GB hard drive space
- Windows 7
System Specs:
- Ryzen 7 (5700X) 3.4 Ghz
- 32 GB RAM
- AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (8 GB VRAM)
- Windows 11 (64 Bit)
No comments:
Post a Comment