Beatrix LeBeau is invited to explore a new region of the Far, Far Range called the Rainbow Island. The player is given a large, expandable home base called the Conservatory, with multiple empty plots of slime pens, coops, and gardens. The Conservatory also features a refinery and fabricator for storing materials and producing upgrades, gadgets, and decorations, and the market for selling slime plorts.
As with the first game, Beatrix is armed with her trusty Vacpack for sucking up resources and slimes, and she's free to explore the world and discover new slimes and secrets.
Various passages, shortcuts, and blueprints are hidden behind Gordos, which are giant slimes that require a lot of a certain food, as well as locked doors that require a certain slime plort. By exploring and opening these paths, Beatrix can unlock new regions, finding more slimes, gadgets, and decorations.
At the Conservatory, Beatrix can drop off her slimes by building corrals with various upgrades. By feeding the slimes, they produce plorts, which can be sold at the market. Prices fluctuate, giving players a nice example of market demand, and knowing to hold on to some plots until the price is high enough to sell. Players also have to choose between using plorts for upgrades, or selling them for cash to spend on expansion.
The Slime Rancher series excels at being a cute and cozy game, despite its first-person gameplay. The world is large with tons of secrets to uncover. Or players can spend a long time decorating and expanding their home base, and filling it out with new decorations and gadgets.