Being the tiniest of creatures seems like a neat concept, but can you hack it in this new game Grounded? Obsidian Entertainment has transformed the regular world into a tiny miniature environment where you must survive. If you are afraid of bugs then this game might not be for you. Grounded however, is a fun game that the whole family can play.
In Grounded, survival is your top priority. As a tiny person somewhere in a backyard, you must make sure your food, water and health are taken care of. As a group, you must find a way to try and restore yourselves back to normal. Use what you can to try and get back to your normal size by fixing a laser and fighting massive backyard enemies of spiders, lady bugs and more.
Each enemy provides some sort of resource for players. Spiders are the exception, because they’re terrifying and a perfect enemy in this scenario. The game has a mode which makes the spiders less spider like for people who have arachnophobia (I didn’t use it, what are you talking about?) Aphids can be eaten and lady bugs can be tracked to a food source, and grass gives water. As a first-person survival game, your game relies on your team, if you don’t end up playing solo. Everyone will be responsible for doing their part in order to get big again.
The environment is captivating and creepy all at the same time. Enemies can show up at any time and some will hunt you. Seeing the world from a “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” kind of way is fascinating however because the world seems just that much bigger. The colors are bright and creates a different type of respect for Earth. Of course, the movie was made by Disney and this time, Rick Moranis is not coming to save the day.
As you make your way through the backyard, new areas will open and new resources become available. Tools can be crafted for the aggressive enemies. With this, new enemies will appear making your journey even harder. Stamina will come more to the forefront as the game progresses, making the game even harder to manage. You start to find strange buildings, suggesting a bigger story of how this all happened.
Grounded is suitable for both kids and adults with the somewhat soft features and bright colors. The concept is creative and unique and is a really good small scale game unlike others I have seen. You can get over 20 hours of gameplay and that’s another good reason to give Grounded a try. The game is in Early Access, so things will be added when the full release comes out next year. Just please, not more spiders.
9/10
Available on PC and Xbox.