Obsidian Leisure has massive ambitions for Grounde...

Obsidian Leisure has been an extremely versatile sport developer over time, even venturing outdoors its RPG consolation zone with the unique Grounded. As a survival journey sport the place you are shrunken down and discover the hidden, huge world of a yard, it turned a well-loved hit, and it developed even additional all through its early entry interval. However now, the builders have massive plans for Grounded 2, which has new options and a bigger scope that was too massive for the unique to include.

Shortly after the reveal through the latest Xbox Video games Showcase alongside Summer season Recreation Fest 2025, I obtained to play the opening of the sequel, which sees the acquainted crew of teenage scavengers, now somewhat older and wiser, shrunken down as soon as once more to outlive a brand new small world hidden within the city’s park. Whilst a brand new iteration of a well-known premise, which is basically the survival gameplay of Rust by the use of the whimsical Honey, I Shrunk the Youngsters, Grounded 2 is already displaying some promise as the larger and higher sequel.

Grounded 2, which may also launch in early entry, already seems like a much bigger sport, even from the confines of the tutorial zone. For starters, there is a bigger deal with build up the expertise of the 4 teenage scavengers and the way they match into the bigger story. It isn’t fairly Yellowjackets with regards to teen drama, however the crew exploring the small world of the park have colourful language and quips at their disposal. There is a usually stronger sense of persona in Grounded 2, which is bolstered by some extra character-driven writing and alternatives to soak up the lore of the corporate accountable for the experiments on the town.

The expertise of taking part in Grounded 2, very similar to the unique and different survival video games, is all about gathering sources from the land and buying data to remain alive. Together with accumulating supplies to construct weapons, armor and buildings, you may additionally must maintain your characters fed and hydrated. You may additionally have to defend your self in opposition to the assorted critters roaming about, such because the ants and the spiders. Additionally returning is the arachnophobia accessibility choice to make them seem much less disturbing for gamers. Fortunately, now you can use a dodge to keep away from assaults – a primary for the sequence – and fight is mostly extra responsive and truthful.

Grounded 2 seems like a extra well-rounded and refined tackle the unique, which is a strong sport in its personal proper. One welcome boost that I obtained to play with was the brand new ant mount, or buggy, because the devs name it. You can trip on prime of a pleasant ant that may assault enemies, transfer sooner all through the world, and even accumulate materials much more rapidly than the human scavengers.

Shortly after my hands-on expertise, I sat in on a roundtable dialogue with sport director Chris Parker and producer Miles Winzeler from Obsidian Leisure, who defined how early entry suggestions from gamers helped convey the sport to its present state. So as to absolutely implement their imaginative and prescient for Grounded, although, they would want a brand new sport.

“Nearly every thing in Grounded 2 comes from suggestions from the neighborhood that we had gathered from the primary sport,” Parker mentioned. “We had to have a look at what was necessary to work on with the sequel. Individuals at all times need extra stuff to do. They wished to have the buggies, which was an enormous one and our primary most requested function from out the gate on Grounded 1. We then needed to work on new creatures, armor and weapons, amongst different issues. How can we additional develop our development programs? So these have been all of the issues that we took on from the start for Grounded 2.”

Grounded 2 felt like a extra absolutely realized sport, which leveraged years of labor on the unique. Together with a extra developed story marketing campaign specializing in serving to the youngsters survive the portion of Brookhollow Park they must discover – which is greater than thrice the scale of the unique’s map – The sport may also launch with artistic mode, which was a well-liked function that allow gamers deal with exploring and build up buildings at their leisure.

“We’re at all times making an attempt to problem scale and the way we will create a way of awe and thriller by having one thing that is alleged to be regular however is now this gigantic factor,” Parker mentioned. “That is at all times the enjoyable when making this sport.”

I actually took to the added scope of Grounded 2. Not simply as a shrunken individual trapped on the grounds of a park but additionally for the brand new options and concepts at work for the sequel. With the sport popping out in July for early entry, Grounded 2 has already obtained me invested in making a return go to to this small world with massive ambitions.

Grounded 2 will launch in early entry on July 29 for Xbox Sequence X|S and PC, and might be obtainable for Recreation Go subscribers.