Grounded Review – Epic Miniature Adventure

After being available in early access and improving every month through multiple updates, Grounded has finally been released in full on Xbox and PC.

A small group of Obsidian it took a little over two years to release the game in early access, polish everything through several updates, and finally release the full game on both Xbox as on PC, as well as Game Pass.

For those of you who don’t know what Grounded is, it’s a game where we get into the skin of a teenager, which has been shrunk by science and that it will be released in a huge garden. With the the basics of a survival game, Grounded offers the possibility to explore this garden in a group or alone. We will discover new objects and new resources, we will build with the raw materials available in the scenarios and we will find recipes to create weapons, tools, etc.

With all this, we must explore the environment at our own pace, but taking care of our vital needs such as drinking, eating, resting and staying alive. But, as mentioned, Grounded is not just a survival game. behind that a game with a strong adventure component is hidden. You’ll have to find out what happened to you, find the infamous mad scientist who shrunk you, and try to find a way back to your original size. The investigation will take you on a journey through different areas of the garden which are, in themselves, micro-universes. An adventure of epic dimensions in which each area offers a wide variety of mechanics and gameplay. A simple area near a sprinkler head that hasn’t dried up could, indeed, be a giant pond that attracts mosquitoes, while an area with wooden fences could harbor giant spiders that will attack you. on the spot.

Honestly, the more I play Grounded, the more inspiration I see here in this legendary film. “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”

. I would say it’s not so much because of how the game looks, but because of the whole culture of the time that surrounds the game. Some of the toys and objects we see are reminiscent of the ones we there was in the late 80s and early 90s.

Although here you are the protagonist of the adventure, in my opinion the real character is the whole garden. Lots of amazing areas full of life, colorful and with a very original mechanic that goes all the way to the morning dew hanging from a blade of grass. Everything is there to make you smile and make you want to continue the adventure. The garden is an ideal place to experience great adventures, whether you are alone or in a team. The storyline serves as the backdrop and comes to life in the game in various ways. Whichever way you decide to take on the challenge, you’ll have to live up to what’s presented to you. As in nature, every corner hides a danger or a reward. Drinking cloudy water will make you sick and eating raw aphids could be deadly. It forces you to think about every action you are going to take that your survival depends on.

One of the things that surprised me the most is how Grounded handles the whole issue of survival. Everything is done with great care and balances challenge and reward very well without making it too intense at the risk of becoming impossible and thus spoiling the experience. If you want to eat, pick mushrooms, aphids, berries and even seaweed. To quench your thirst, find soda cans, juice boxes, or spray bottles so you don’t risk getting sick. You’ll even have the option to transform your meal with a fire pit, smoothie bucket and more.

The construction system is extremely intuitive: Place the imaginary objects in the places where you want to build them then look for the necessary ingredients to complete them in the place you have decided. To improve your recipes or learn new ones, you will find in the garden several laboratories and cabins with workstations to analyze different objects. Additionally, you will be able to find purple orbs that will give you a stat boost called Raw Science. This transforms the search for new resources, something that becomes a great reward when you finally analyze an element that will allow you to upgrade your tools, weapons and equipment.

The best thing about this survival system is that leaves the player free to choose how to live his adventure. Yes, we have the main plot that we will have to follow to complete the game, but we don’t have to go there immediately. For players who prefer to build, Grounded may never end and allow you to build a real place to live for the rest of your life.

Thanks to the everyday life of its environment, Grounded works especially well when planning adventure. Here we have a traditional garden in which insects are both a source of resources and dangerous enemies. Here, the level of detail of this small universe is particularly important with its biomes and zones which include their own rules and change the gameplay from point to point on the vast map. Exploration Matters in the different levels of the game as much as the clashes. Your first victory against a giant spider will have you screaming with joy. Simple curiosity and the search for more powerful resources to build weapons and equipment allow Grounded to surpass the simple survival game and turn it into a gigantic outstanding gameeven for those looking for a great single-player adventure like Obsidian does so well.

Beyond the difference of each zone, the way Grounded lays out its garden makes it a pleasure to explore and makes everything beautiful at every sunrise. The retro inspiration is noticeable and will serve as a landmark or source of resources for adventure. A box of mints, a Battletoad doll, Oreo cookies… each new discovery is like a treasure in itself.

Although it is enough to explore the garden and analyze the resources to obtain recipes, the game will also help us to access new constructions and knowledge. On the one hand, we have Brute Science, as we have already mentioned. This science is used as a bargaining chip to obtain various recipes and the occasional mutation in Brasabot’s lab. On the other hand, we also have the strength of character of our character, measured by his intellect, which increases after each analysis of new resources and by completing certain missions. As we progress, we will unlock new recipes.

Beyond missions which serve more to encourage us to explore and kill insects

, the game includes a collectible item that will allow us to improve our character in a more traditional way: milk teeth. Scattered around the garden, collecting them will allow us to use them in the laboratory to unlock improvements such as more health points, more damage, more resistance, and even eliminate certain weak points of their mutations, etc.

mutations this was definitely the RPG aspect I liked the most about the game. As you progress through the garden, you will learn various related mutations, such as the ability to increase your stamina if you run until you can’t breathe, increased agility underwater if you spend a lot of time in the giant pond, etc.

All of this creates a huge catalog of possibilities when it comes to leveling up your character and team to have the best chance of surviving in this garden. Some equipment prevents certain insects from attacking you, while others will decrease your hunger or thirst. Of course, each equipment increases certain resistances and attributes. The same goes for weapons, since some deal blunt damage and others pierce the hardest shells, etc.

Insects and arachnids in the garden behave differently according to their very nature, depending on whether it is day or night, and your behavior towards them and your actions will have to be carefully calculated. For instance, ladybugs and red ants Workers will only attack you if you hit them first. On another side, bedbugs, dust mites, red soldier ants and spiders They will attack you at the first opportunity. What’s really cool, though, is that if you’re having fun killing baby spiders, your camp can literally be swept away by a horde of giant spiders that will see you as a predator. Likewise if you dare to steal the ants’ eggs.

I confess that I loved Grounded from the first minute I set foot in the garden. The story is fun, the setting of the game is amazing, the main missions and the challenges offered give a touch of depth to this game that makes it unique. Grounded is a special game, a quality adventure and survival game that will make you want to play it whenever and however you want.