Slime Rancher 2 adds a pile of new gadgets to play with in a chunky new update

A new update for Slime Rancher 2's early access build has wildly overhauled the ways in which you can customize the world of rainbow island and your slime ranch. The brand new Gadgets My Way update, released on February 8, expands the system of slime interaction with gadgets, comprehensively overhauls the system for building things, and adds some 36 new gadgets to explore and find around the island.

Perhaps most pressingly, you can now build a giant pinball machine of sorts, complete with bumpers, and shoot your slimes into it to bounce around. This is self-evidently a good thing.

That's because you can now build gadgets anywhere, and slimes will be able to interact with them all over the place. You can build a theme park out in the wild for them to enjoy, or one closer to home. You can also place new decorations, chairs—all manner of things, really. As part of that, every zone in the world has had some minor expansions added on to them.

That key part of the update is due to an overhauled building system and all those new gadgets, some of which are quite large.

"Experience a transformative building system with key features that include a streamlined Gadget mode HUD, offering a more intuitive building experience, and an innovative collection review system integrated into the updated Slimepedia. This update not only enhances the ease of constructing your dream ranch but also enriches the process of discovering and cataloging your unique slime and gadget collections," said developer Monomi Park.

5s far as the future of Slime Rancher 2? "Fear not, Ranchers. The fun doesn’t end with Gadgets My Way. We have two more updates planned for this year: one will drop Summer 2024 and the other is targeted for Fall 2024. We’ll share more details on what to anticipate next soon," said Monomi Park.

You can find Slime Rancher 2 on Epic, Steam, and Xbox. You can read the full details of the Gadgets My Way update on Steam.

Slime Rancher 2 screenshot showing off new gadgets

(Image credit: Monomi Park)

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.