Game Review: Life of Slime

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

You'd think that a game called Life of Slime would be a cozy slice-of-life sim or something similar, and while some of those elements are present, it's actually one of the strangest games I've played in recent memory. Coming soon to the Switch, PS4, and PS5, Life of Slime is a game that defies all genre norms and expectations. We're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today, and explore exactly what I mean by that last statement. This is going to be an odd one, so let's dive right into it!

One of the most important plot elements.

This girl offers some interesting asides.

Life of Slime drops you into the role of Slami, a slime who wants more from his life and also fears the process of merging. You'll quickly learn that "merging" is the slime equivalent to sex, and he fears that he'll lose himself in the process. You may think this is a random thing for me to bring up, but it's a through-line that runs the entire course of the game. After a hard day's work on his parent's farm, Slami decides that he's going to steal money from his parents so he can head to the big city of Intown to be with his girlfriend Slimi. Slimi clearly loves Slami, but she also wants to merge with him as soon as he arrives. Much of the game involves Slami doing his best to reject Slimi's advances, but the pair do manage to settle into a domestic partnership. Slami eventually gets a job as a cashier at a local market, and life seems to be calm at the very least. Just when Slami's life starts to feel boring again, strange things start happening throughout Intown. An illness is spreading like wildfire, and Slami is forced to make several life-changing choices. Though he's always trying his best, Slami ends up in several precarious situations, and his struggles with life soon become deadly. From there the story expands into places that I'll leave out for the sake of not diving too much into spoilers. I'll talk a bit more about story later in the review, but I have to say that it is the single best part of Life of Slime.

I want to be a Slamager.

I don't even have words...

Describing the gameplay in Life of Slime is rather difficult as I'm not really sure if I can say that it even has any. I guess you could call this a third-person adventure game, but there aren't any real mechanics that would make this an actual "game". You don't solve puzzles, you don't have an inventory to manage, there are no dialogue choices, and the action sequences are the very definition of basic. The closest thing I can compare it to would be a kinetic visual novel, but obviously this one has a bit more walking and jumping then you would normally expect in that type of game. Each chapter starts with Slami setting a goal of some sort. These goals can be getting a job, walking a different way home, or even trying to buy Slimi a gift. Though you always have full control of Slami, you're pretty much railroaded into only completing the current goal. There are some optional sections and scenes you can experience, but they act more as world-building asides rather than anything resembling a sidequest. If you ever try to veer off the mandated path, you'll be stopped and told where it is that you're supposed to go. I don't want to make it sound like I'm particularly complaining about this aspect of the game, but it's best to know what kind of game this is.

Even though the game always chooses the path for you, you're able to wander around a bit within its confines. There are several easily missable interactions and conversations scattered throughout the game. For example, when you're first looking for Slimi's apartment, you're able to speak to several of her neighbors, one that even hints at Slimi's activities when she's away from Slami. Even in Slimi's apartment, you can miss small details like the notes Slimi leaves for Slami on their shared computer. Later on you can even see what's going on in buildings you can't enter by peering into their windows, and there are some scenes that will have more resonance if you were thorough in interacting with every slime earlier on in the game. It's the small touches like these that left me wondering if I should classify this as an adventure game or not. In the end it's all just a lot of flavor text, but these are the kind of things that separate the good games from the great ones.

Things change quickly.

This feels a little too real.

I already covered the basic plot earlier, but let me say that Life of Slime has one of the craziest stories you'll ever experience. There wasn't a single scene in this game that played out the way I thought it would, and my jaw dropped more than once. I did often wish there was some sort of player agency involved, such as making choices that might lead to different outcomes, but I'm sure that would've made this a completely different game if they had been included. I hesitate to say that the story put Life of Slime into the horror genre, but there's something truly horrific about how everything goes from being cheerfully optimistic, to mundane and boring, to deadly serious, and finally back chill and calming. I can honestly say that I've never played a game like this, and it's been stuck in my head ever since I completed it. With that in mind, part of me feels that this game is almost a bait and switch. While it never gets too drastically dark, it's not at all the cute, silly game that I thought it would be going into it. Not only is one of the repeated plot threads Slami not wanting to "merge" (read: have sex) with his girlfriend Slimi, but that's not even the worst thing you'll find here. Among the more controversial topics the game covers are police brutality, protests that turn into rampant looting, xenophobia, murder, and even allusions to the COVID-19 pandemic. I personally have no problem with Life of Slime choosing to tackle these plot elements, but I can easily imagine some players feeling bamboozled when the game does a complete 180 on them partway through.

Story aside, another thing that Life of Slime has going for it has to be its awesome visual style. Everything is presented in a 2.5D world, and all the graphics are nice and blocky in a neat retro-inspired aesthetic. There's a lot of variety to the slimes you'll encounter throughout your journey, and the small details I mentioned earlier extend into the visuals as well. The happy-go-lucky opening cutscene, the way the city devolves over the course of the game, and even the way the title screen changes once you beat the game, are just a few examples of how Life of Slime uses visuals to its advantage. Obviously the graphics aren't going to push any platform to its limits, but they're very impressive for such a small indie release. You wouldn't think a game of this limited would have great lighting effects or a dynamic camera, but it does. Also, since there's not really any gameplay to get in the way of things, there's no on-screen HUD to deal with. I guess my only negative would be that the game is rather limited in scope, but that's more of a nitpick than anything.

This rally goes south quickly.

Slimi's fanfiction is pretty strange...

Music is another place where Life of Slime shines, with the soundtrack also sporting a retro aesthetic. Every track has a lo-fi 8/16-bit vibe to it, and that's something I always love to hear. The music matches the look and feel of the game, and there wasn't a single track that ever felt out of place. The sheer amount of music tracks is also very impressive. Each scene in the game seems to have its own theme that you only ever hear once or twice. This means that the soundtrack features dozens of tracks, which is somewhat strange given the game's short length. I do have to wonder if the music in Life of Slime was created specifically for the game, but it's an impressive collection of music even if it wasn't. I did find myself wishing that the sound effects would have a bit more of a punch to them, as they seem to often fade into the background, but that could just be issues with the default sound mix. Lastly, you won't find any voice acting here, but I don't think most people would've expected it in the first place. 

Seeing as there are no in-game choices to speak of, there's just one ending to be had in Life of Slime, and getting to it will take most players about an hour or two. While I have to admit that there's very little reason to ever play the game again once you've cleared it, that one playthrough feels like enough. You can always go back to experience the story again if you find yourself wanting more, and maybe you can catch all the things you might have missed your first time around. Normally I'd have at least a slight complaint about a game offering as little content as this one does, but seeing as Life of Slime is currently priced at a very reasonable $4.99, I can't find it in myself to be upset. This isn't a long game by any stretch of the imagination, but it is one that's worth every cent of its asking price.

Good things never last.

Yeah, things get weird.

If you have any of the platforms Life of Slime is going to be releasing on, you owe it to yourself to pick it up at your earliest convenience. It's an experience akin to watching a great movie, and its low price means that it's cheaper than most other entertainment options anyway. Its lack of a distinct genre also means that it can be played by just about anyone. There's no previous gameplay knowledge needed, and I'm sure even the most casual of players will be changed by this game's story. I guess those who may be offended or put off by the subject matter might want to stay away from this one, but I do think it's worth giving it a shot based on story alone.

Check Out Life of Slime on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/life-of-slime-switch/

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​Story: A-
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A-
Value: A

Overall: A

Pros:
+ A cool game that is very hard to describe in just a few sentences.
+ Though a rather short experience, it is packed full of world-building and characterization.
+ The graphics look great and there are tons of small details that are easy to miss.
+ Features a soundtrack full of great music.
+ Priced perfectly for the experience you'll get.

Cons:
- The story covers some very dark topics, and may not be for everyone.
- Feels more like an interactive movie, and doesn't feature a lot of actual gameplay.
- The action scenes where you can die can feel like they come out of nowhere.
- There's very little reason to play it again after you complete it.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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I found myself in the game!

#LifeOfSlimeConsoles