'Grounded 2' Early Access Impressions
Obsidian’s pitch for Grounded 2 was likely something akin to “Honey, we’ll shrink the kids again… but better!”. The sequel to its co-op survival game launched in Early Access last month and, in many ways, feels like the original but larger and (at times) shinier. When Xbox provided access to the game, I was curious to see what it had to offer in its current state; so let’s find out in this impressions piece!
Grounded 2 takes place 2 years after the events of the first game, and it doesn’t delay in shrinking a slightly older Pete, Max, Willow, and Hoops again. The circumstances behind their shrinking are more mysterious this time. Confounding things even more is with what appears to be a deranged Dr. Tully beheading BURG.L, the friendly robot, and Ominent trying to help the teenagers out of their predicament. The latter find themselves in the unfamiliar territory of Brookhollow Park and with lingering mysteries. Will they be able to solve these and get back to their usual selves?
This question will remain unanswered in Grounded 2’s Early Access, as it only includes Act 1 of the story. That said, this alone can take dozens of hours with a significant amount of content available to experience and more to be made available as the game moves towards a full 1.0 release.
You can play Grounded 2 in solo or online co-op with up to 3 other friends to explore some areas of Brookhollow Park in a welcome range of difficulty presets. This sequel introduces an official archetype system, enabling you to play in different playstyles and equip your character with thematic and creative items.
The focus is on survival mechanics, with resource gathering and crafting one of the main elements, again with a creative flair apt for the miniaturised setting. However, some quirks of this process from the first game have been ironed out. You no longer require separate, destructible tools such as a shovel or axe, as you now have access to the omni-tool. The latter adapts itself to the tool required for specific tasks and does not degrade over time. You still have to upgrade the omni-tool in order to access the individual tools, but its addition makes resource gathering more streamlined.
One of Grounded 2’s highlights is the buggies. These are insects that you can raise and bring on your adventure to assist you in exploration as well as combat. In Early Access, two buggies - the red soldier ant and the orb weaver spider - with their own abilities are available. The inclusion of buggies add another fun gameplay layer to the Grounded experience that fits well in the universe.
Speaking of the universe, Grounded 2 is laden with Obsidian humour and the narrative is engaging for the most part, especially considering this is a survival base-builder where the plot isn’t always the focus. The whimsical nature also sets it apart from other titles in the genre, such as Dune: Awakening, which can often be set in a bleak or post-apocalyptic backdrop. The nostalgic, child-like spirit of the game is one of its biggest personal draw, making me looking forward to the full release and experience the full story of Pete, Max, Willow, and Hoops’s new adventure.
Rendered in Unreal Engine 5, Grounded 2’s larger area benefits from it. The environment look detailed and vibrant, inviting exploration. Even seemingly uninteresting locations, such as a tree trunk, are made interesting from a miniaturised human perspective.
However, the game could still do with some further refinements. Combat can occasionally feel janky and I’ve encountered unstable framerates while exploring on PC. This sequel reuses bugs and enemies from the first game, with only a few new additions. Base building also feels more akin to the first game and is occasionally buggy. As a sequel, Grounded 2 would benefit from new additions to the enemy variety and base building aspect. These are indications of its Early Access state, and its gameplay and technical kinks should hopefully be ironed out as the game progresses through its development roadmap.
With Obsidian actively releasing new updates and including new elements to the game, such as the upcoming tarantula boss AXL, it’s a positive indication that the developer could address feedback from the Early Access.
From what Grounded 2 offers so far in Early Access, it seems to keep the creative, whimsical spirit of the first game with improvements and new additions that make the sequel feel larger and shinier (when it’s not lagging or buggy). Currently priced at €30/$30 on Steam and Xbox Series X|S, it’s not at all a bad deal, despite its rough edges, and is worth keeping an eye on as it progresses to 1.0 release.
