Grounded is an open-world survival game where you play as a tiny teen- literally.
In a “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” situation, you play as the aforementioned shrunken kids. You can climb, build and explore a seemingly never-ending garden, littered with thousands of ants, gnats, mosquitos, spiders, and way more. A bright colour scene with an eye-catching visual style, as well as some of the most traumatic gameplay I’ve ever experienced.
Grounded quickly became a game I could not put down with there always being something that could be collected, built or explored. I have never known such fear when playing a game but, and I’ve double-checked, Grounded is apparently just a crafting survival game.
I’m sure it’s a mistake, because the moment the sun sets in that endless, sprawling, ant-infested, mosquito-roaming spider nest, I have never felt so small. Red piercing eyes glare at you from the endless darkness, and hisses and screeches fill your ears as you venture through the grass and the exposed roots of the garden. The garden became a fearful place for me, but I could not keep myself away.
Survival games usually follow the pattern of having to slowly build up both your resources and your arsenal, and Grounded is no different. It pops you in the centre of a small back garden, and seeing that the teen protagonists have been shrunken down to the size of a pea, it’s pretty massive.
Hunger and thirst are resources you need to manage for your trusted teen, which is nothing new, but I’d love to draw attention to one particular aspect of this. Whilst wandering around the garden, you’ll frequently notice dew drops hanging from some of the blades of grass. The simple process of chopping or bashing the blade of grass will cause the droplet to fall, allowing you to collect it. I understand it doesn’t sound crazy impressive, but this little feature is something that all four of my party were impressed by. These awesome little details are what help set this game apart from the others.
Chopping down huge blades of grass and watching them tumble to the ground was incredibly satisfying, at least the first 30 times. There are some elements of this game that are still quite grind-y. Grounded is a pretty gargantuan task to be tackled alone and bringing a couple of friends along to help does even the numbers, but even then-not by too much.
Weeds, dandelion heads, and mushrooms are just some of the useful materials you can use to build fortifications and structures. The huge variety of bugs and insects are ripe for hunting, precious limbs, fangs, and carapaces are just some of the resources you need to build and upgrade your weapons and armour, if you’re brave enough to take them on that is.
Axes, hammers, and swords are only a few examples of the multitude of weapons you’ll be using to hack away at monstrous bugs. Interesting armour sets and customisable skills, or rather ‘Mutations’, mean that you can fine-tune your tiny teen however you want. You can switch up your mutations to help fight against gas and poison or prepare yourself for a dive into the pitch-black pond. Or you could look as cool as hell and just be as deadly as a can of bug spray- a really small can of bug spray.
The garden does not seem to end as you continue to find new areas and objects of interest all the time. Secret cave systems and elusive dungeons are hidden just about everywhere. In dark corners, buried deep in hedges, under old pots and pans, or behind bags of rubbish. The garden is chock full of secrets.
Grounded is great for anyone who loves base-building games, (some) cute insects, or anyone who likes the idea of fighting desperately for your life in an overgrown nightmare garden. It does have the potential to be a huge time-sink with the almost endless list of things you can do. Grounded is best enjoyed with friends, but still doable alone. So gather your party, some pointy sticks, and pebbles to start playing.
Oh, and don’t forget to ask Max about his spider elimination strategy.
