Reaching the correct audience can be a challenge for video game companies. Not every game is available on multiple platforms, and it can be hard for small developers to market their projects once they are ready for release. Companies like Electronic Arts (EA), Blizzard Entertainment and Ubisoft — to name a few — rarely suffer from these problems, thanks to their name recognition and large budgets.

Enter Monomi Park, an independent game studio formed in 2014. Their sole claim to fame thus far has been the hit game “Slime Rancher,” which reached 6 million copies sold this past month. While initially being a small release for PC and Xbox One in 2016, the game eventually became available on Playstation and Nintendo Switch due to its rising popularity. Now, thanks to this success, “Slime Rancher 2” is available for everyone to enjoy.

Much of the appeal of Slime Rancher — and now its sequel — has been its unique spin on the typical first-person model of farming simulators. Players have their own farms where they herd various slimes, feed them crops and collect “plorts” in exchange for in-game currency. While building and expanding their ranch, players are also tasked with exploring the game’s open world to unlock new areas, crops and slimes.

In “Slime Rancher 2” specifically, there is a new map to navigate and different slimes and crops to discover. While there is not a linear story to follow in either game, discovering every region and completing each puzzle in the first installment prompts the credits to roll, signaling the completion of a ‘story,’ per se. Once “Slime Rancher 2” is fully complete, it will most likely offer a similar opportunity to ‘beat’ the game.

The freedom players have to explore and progress as they please is appealing and enjoyable. Combine that with the beautiful aesthetics and fun atmosphere the game offers, and this is truly a game for anyone. Players have the opportunity to discover the universe at their own pace, while also feeling motivated enough to want to play for extended periods of time.

Overall, “Slime Rancher” and “Slime Rancher 2” have emerged as some of the most surprising indie game success stories in recent memory. Building upon the aforementioned sales numbers of the original release 6 years ago, the sequel has already reached over three hundred thousand copies sold in less than a week’s time.

This is great news for Monomi Park who, according to CEO Nick Popovich, developed “Slime Rancher 2” while giving developers unlimited paid time off and not forcing them to work overtime — known in the industry as “crunching.” These benefits are practically unheard of in the video game development space, making the company even easier to root for.

If you are looking for a new game to try on PC — or have a subscription to the Xbox Game Pass — be sure to give “Slime Rancher 2” a try. It is an experience that fans of any genre can enjoy and many will certainly find themselves playing for hours.