Slime-san (Switch) Review
Slime-san has apparently been out on PC for a few months now, but somehow I had literally never heard of it until the review code turned up in my inbox. After playing it, I find myself wondering how the heck this could happen. How did a game this instantly and enduringly enjoyable go unnoticed? I have no idea, but it sure made for a pleasant surprise.
Slime-san is a quickfire, challenging platformer. Each stage pits you and your skills at controlling a little slime against a single-screen obstacle course where you’ll fail fast and you’ll fail often. But when you do fail, it’s barely a second before you’re ready to give it another try, and with the levels being short it never feels bad to jump right back in and fail another bunch of times. The end goal is never so far out of reach as to be discouraging. If you’ve played Super Meat Boy, that’s not too far off what to expect from Slime-san.
There is more to Slime-san than just running and jumping though. While these are essential skills, your repertoire will need to be a little wider to progress through the game’s increasingly grueling stages. A double jump and air dash are vital to getting around and combined with the ability to slide down and launch yourself from walls grant your slime great mobility. Your slime also has the ability to change state, allowing them to pass through certain types of terrain, and in later stages, this can also affect the layout of the level as well. Levels are smartly designed around these abilities and present an ever changing challenge. You’ll never quite feel comfortable, every new world presents a new way for your small collection of movement options to overcome inventive challenges.
Moving through the game you’ll find a series of collectibles which grant access to unlockables. Each level has an apple which is easy to find but requires a little extra skill to grab while finishing the stage, and in each world is a more hidden secret area with a coin. Apples are the most common, and are used to unlock things like the funky cosmetic items for your slime and their bird buddy – or filters to change the way the entire game looks. Things like neat backgrounds (the game is presented in a 4:3-ish window with side bars) can freshen up the game’s look occasionally but in addition to these, there are also unlockable filters. Things like a VCR or CRT filter are super impressive to look at, but I found most filters made the game unplayable even at the Moderate setting so never used any of them long term. As well as the plentiful cosmetic additions, you can unlock new characters to play as. Each has their own perks that differentiate them from your regular slime. One can dash twice in the air, one can move quickly but can’t stop moving, one has more floaty movement. Each will give you a new way to approach the game and along with the remixed new game plus levels, there’s a bunch of replay value here if you seek it.
Slime-san’s presentation is, much like the game itself, unexpectedly excellent. While it is presented in a pixel-art style, it makes interesting use of an intentionally limited colour palette and in doing so stands out from the kinds of pixel-art games that are causing people to grow tired of the style. The delightful aesthetic carries into character design and dialogue as well, on more than one occasion I found myself grinning with glee at well-written conversation. The story isn’t a driving force behind your motivation to play, but it maintains a really enjoyable atmosphere that might help keep your spirits up if patience wears thin.
Slime-san is a game I am surprised hasn’t garnered much attention. On Steam, smaller games come and go without much fanfare, and I guess even the better ones can get lost amongst the chaff unless they really gain some viral traction. In a less crowded market, a little gem like Slime-san might have the chance to shine – and I genuinely hope it does.
Rating: 4/5
