In a true act of treachery, I turned my back on the Playstation for its seductive allure Xbox Series S. I’ve always believed that the weapon that moves generations forward is no longer exclusives, but a veritable feast of games that can be downloaded and played instantly – and now, Xbox Game Pass is a powerful tool in Microsoft’s belt.There are classic collections like the Gears and Halo series, and a wide variety of library titles, but there’s one game I’ve been dying to play since it was announced, and it’s Obsidian grounding.
I’m a big fan of survival games – I grew up on Minecraft (who didn’t, really?) and Endnight Games’ The Forest is easily one of my favorite games from the last generation. What initially appears to be a simple survival game quickly unravels this complex web of intelligent AI, Lovecraftian storytelling, and environmental mysteries. I haven’t found another game that keeps me glued to the couch until the wee hours in a long time. so far.
Much like The Forest, Grounded’s initial opening takes you to believe You learn about your environment, then pull the rug from underneath to reveal a vast cornucopia of mysteries, questions, and challenges. The Garden is a massive landscape that takes hours to even begin to reach its outer edges, suggesting that next-gen processing power can meet the survival game’s lofty ambitions better than ever. Even after three months, I’m still discovering new dungeon areas to loot and mine, which is surprising considering how many hours I’ve already put into the game.
One of the problems I’ve found with many survival games in Rust, DayZ, Ark: Survival Evolved, etc. is that they’re limited in time of enjoyment until you’ve reached the peak of your potential in the game, and go nowhere but down. Their mission statement is simple: “Build, Survive, Rule”. Judging by Rust’s large community, this is a successful and profitable model for some, but for many others it leads to stagnation.
TBy comprison, the ground feels more innovative. Its mantra for players feeds back into its own core narrative: “Discover, investigate, analyze”. Your investigation into the disappearance of scientist Dr. Tully leads you and your friends to become scientists themselves – chopping strange logs, harvesting flowers, and bringing them back to your research station for analysis; out of this desire to understand rather than conquer Positive desire, you will naturally immerse yourself in the world of Grounded.
It rounds out the formula developed by Subnautica and Subnautica: below zero — albeit in a more suburban macro environment. Some of your greatest and longest expeditions aren’t even crafting armor or weapons, but finding the last crow feather on the edge of the map so you can finally craft those cool looking beds. It is the best player-oriented burst game.
Initially, Grounded’s battles were tough.Actually it is real hard. You can’t just slash-slash-slash and overwhelm your enemies until they fall. Every element of Obsidian’s game design feeds back thoughtfully into its core concept; the dynamic of man and nature has been reversed, with bugs on top and you below. You can craft the most powerful weapon in the game, but even a ladybug will kick your ass if you don’t know how to tango with it. You can’t just run in a hot axe – trust me, I’ve tried.
Instead, Obsidian pushes you to learn the combat tactics and movement patterns of each enemy, from the tiniest mite to behemoths like tarantulas and black widows. It’s all about encouraging a deeper understanding of the intricacies of each bug’s AI, figuring out how they interact, and seeing how Grounded’s combat system and mechanics lead to some very rewarding moments. I remember the adrenaline rush of my first spider after training my blocks and my parry on the small fry. Even just sitting and watching a colony of ants fight a tarantula can be mesmerizing. It’s a field experiment where you take mental notes and extrapolate who will win the battle, and why.
While it’s far from a perfect game, Obsidian’s continued support of the Grounded community is impressive. Perhaps the biggest sign that the developer is listening to fan feedback is the consideration of arachnophobia: the studio implemented arachno-like sliding scale, allowing them to be reduced to blocky sprites rather than creepy, eight-eyed monsters .
However, Obsidian’s recent winter update proves that the studio is taking player concerns into account and implementing their suggestions. In addition to the typical holiday decorations like snazzy Christmas lights and other winter clothing, there are small quality-of-life tweaks like the ability to climb ziplines that completely change the way players traverse this maze of grass and dirt.
We’re often drawn to survival games because they’re ambitious. Whether it’s the scope of their environments, or the alluring allure of epic base-building, you’ll feel something pulling at you, tempting you to give it a go. But they combine so many mechanisms that often lead to a multitude of bugs, glitches, and bugs that take a long time to fix.
That’s why Grounded feels like the new benchmark for survival games.Its multi-layered design feels thoughtful and feeds back to its narrative core — creating this virtual ecosystem where everything works together not just to inform, but to encourage Players thrive.
It takes the unfettered creativity Mojang captured in Minecraft and combines it with the environmental mysteries of the forest and sophisticated AI mechanics to deliver something befitting of its next-gen status. You’ll be inspired to try and interact with everything you find, challenging by subverting typical survival mechanics and goals. Grounded creates an adventure that will make you want to stay up too late to see how the next mission plays out. There is a very special kind of magic in games that makes this possible.
