Grounded 2
My favorite thing about the original Grounded when it first debuted was how it took a genre that is normally very dire and made it a much lighter, sillier affair. Grounded imbued the survival-crafting genre with the heart of a child, and Grounded 2 succeeds in doubling down on that strength. In Obsidian’s sequel, you move from the backyard to the park, which greatly alters the locations, sights, and sounds you’ll experience on your adventure as a suddenly shrunken teen fighting through a world of dangerous insects.
Picnic tables become mountains to climb; water fountains become dangerous ponds; an overturned ice cream stand becomes an unforgiving tundra. Simply surviving a trek that would take a normal-sized human a few unremarkable seconds is a much harsher, deadlier affair, as bugs new and old–including the terrifying praying mantis–populate the park’s regions. Still, through it all, there’s a child-like spirit at its heart. Vibrant colors pop off the screen, the characters themselves express funny, sometimes slightly edgy things, as they’re now at an age where they’re testing what curse words they can get away with as pre-teens. It feels like they’ve grown up before the players’ eyes, still silly, but more equipped to get messy and muddy as they scrap with the bugs.
The best of these new features is the buggy vehicle, which can be made from one of several different bugs. This both cuts down on travel time immensely and improves your survivability. Some of them, like the Red Ant Buggy, even help with crafting and item collection. It’s the sort of major change a sequel is expected to offer, and in this case, it leaves the early-access sequel seeming destined to surpass its predecessor by the time 1.0 arrives. — Mark Delaney
