Press Start may receive a commission when you buy from links on our site at no extra cost to you.
Grounded’s original early access release in 2020 felt like more than just another game from Obsidian Entertainment. It marked a successful venture outside the RPG powerhouse’s comfort zone, occupying a genre that shares some crossover with Obsidian’s bread and butter, but is wildly different in its core gameplay loop and setting. To follow that up with the extremely solid launch of Grounded’s full release, shortly succeeded by the excellent Pentiment, and it felt like Obsidian Entertainment could execute on any idea that came to mind.
These smaller-scale double A projects have all succeeded critically and commercially, so it’s no surprise that Obsidian is going back to where it all started with Grounded 2. This is a bigger, more ambitious sequel that already feels massive despite also launching in early access. Most notable of all is just how confident Grounded 2 feels. This genre is no longer unfamiliar territory for Obsidian Entertainment, and that shines through clearly in this early access portion of the game.
Set a few years after the events of the first game, Grounded 2 follows the original cast of teens as Ominent attempts to mend their public image after the discovery of their shady experiments. Things quickly go awry, though, as a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the original shrinking Ominent holds in Brookhollow Park is sabotaged. The kids and Dr. Tully have disappeared from the scene, once again shrunken down to miniature size as they are thrust into Ominent’s web of conspiracy.
While the current early access portion of Grounded 2 only covers the first act of the story, it lays out an engrossing core mystery that develops the world of Grounded. Ominent takes centre stage here in Grounded 2, with Brookhollow Park serving as a base of operations for their research and experiments. You’ll trek across a larger-than-life version of Brookhollow Park as you try to uncover the truth behind what happened at the ceremony while you contend with a mysterious figure working against Ominent.
The decision to follow the same protagonists from the original game also feels like a natural one. It’s great to be back with this cast of characters, and there’s a good chunk of motivation that comes from the story revolving around familiar faces and names. It’s also so well presented in the opening hours, luring you into its world with some fantastic voice work and arresting environmental storytelling. It’s far too early to comment on how it’ll all shake out when 1.0 releases, but this is an engaging start that returning players are sure to enjoy.
With a map three times larger than that of the original’s, Grounded 2 feels bigger in practically every sense. The core gameplay loop remains unchanged, revolving around resource collection, crafting, and managing things like thirst and hunger. It’s combined with some simple yet robust RPG elements that allow you to build your character as you see fit. Four-player cooperative play is once again present, but it’s also a great time when playing solo.
Grounded 2’s most touted new addition comes in the form of Buggies. These are effectively insect mounts, allowing you to quickly traverse Brookhollow Park while gathering materials and even participating in mounted combat. It’s a great idea that can only be fully realised in a setting like Grounded’s. It’s rewarding to find Buggy eggs to take back to your hatchery, with each one offering support in exploration, combat, or crafting. They’re so fun and feel like a natural addition to the sandbox that fundamentally changes how you engage with it.
My only gripe with Buggies this early on is that they do feel quite overpowered. Whether you elect to stay mounted in tough combat encounters or jump off to wail on enemies while they’re distracted, it does feel as though they make the early game a little too forgiving. Between their speed and health pools, it’s far too easy to test the waters of an engagement without any real repercussions. A swift getaway is always possible when your Buggy is close, and their regenerating health means you never need to maintain or heal them after combat.
Another element that I’m sure will be decisive is the Omni-tool. As the name suggests, it’s a tool that consolidates the shovel, wrench, hammer, and axe into one convenient tool. You need to craft each initial function, which can then be upgraded further to harvest and interact with higher-tier materials in the world. For some, this will be an indispensable quality of life addition that saves time, for others, it’ll take out some of the complexity inherent in the survival genre that comes with smart decision-making and inventory management.
I would normally be down with this kind of idea, but I do think other elements in Grounded 2 already alleviate some of the inventory management aspects. Buggies, for example, have their own inventory space to carry additional resources, tools, weapons, and ammo. This, coupled with the Omni-tool, means you so rarely make decisions about how to prepare for an expedition. You can bring everything you could need while still having space to bring goodies back to your camp.
Despite things feeling all around easier this time, it’s still a blast to explore Brookhollow Park. Part of this is because of the sheer size of the map, but also because it’s filled with different biomes, both new and old. There’s a frozen zone which is the result of a tipped-over ice cream truck, a toxic wasteland around a rubbish bin, a swampy pond area, and much more. Obsidian once again leans into these biomes that have unique environmental effects, requiring specific gear in order to withstand their hazards.
It creates that trademark survival loop of gradually exploring areas that escalate in challenge as you craft new gear and weapons, allowing you to collect new materials to further boost your power and venture into more dangerous zones. All of Grounded’s weapon types make a return here, with an all-new one in the form of claws. These dual gauntlets a lightning quick with a dash move you can use on a fully charged attack. What they lack in range, they make up for in speed and their ability to overwhelm hostile bugs.
With the jump to Unreal Engine 5, Obsidian has elected to keep Grounded 2 exclusive to current-generation consoles, which pays off in spades when it comes to production values. This game looks fantastic, maintaining Grounded’s unique visual identity and combining it with powerful hardware that yields a crisp image and solid performance. Whether it’s the way sun ripples through enormous blades of grass or how environmental detail is taken to the next level, Grounded 2 looks and feels current-gen in a way few games do.
It’s also extremely well polished for an early access release. Aside from one crash and a couple of harmless UI bugs, this portion of Grounded 2 is technically sound on PC. A rare occurrence for a game built on Unreal Engine 5, but a welcome one to be sure. If stability only continues to improve with the release of future updates, Grounded 2 is sure to release into 1.0 with an impeccable level of polish.
Grounded 2 is another example of early access done right. Obsidian has taken so much of what they learnt from the first game and combined it with new elements and systems that you can only find in Grounded’s world. This portion of the game lays a solid foundation for Grounded 2’s roadmap, and I do not doubt that Obsidian will continue to deliver as they build Grounded 2 into the incredible sequel it has the potential to be.
