Grounded is a new open-world game in which you have been shrunk to the size of an ant and find yourself stranded in the backyard. Along with building a base, getting gear and fending off monsters, you'll need to help a robot named BURG.L recover his memories to help you find out what happened. It's either that or never going home...
Gameplay and first impressions
To kickstart your adventure in Grounded you start in a case in a small ravine. Once you leave the ravine you are surrounded by grass, which is the size of a tree to you! After collecting pebblets and plant fiber, you can make tools and chop down the grass. After that, you find a mysterious machine which after some fixing leads you to a lab. Crafting a workbench allows you to make some walls and set up a camp. The further you progress you can access more materials and animals - friends and foes - which can grant you more loot to make armour and weapons.
Progression: The wildlife
After your first few nights, you will most likely have encountered some animals. Weavels and aphids give you food and are completely passive. Red worker ants give you red ant parts and will only attack when provoked. But beware! Don't confuse the red worker ant with the red soldier ant, as the latter is highly hostile and will attack you upon sight! There are other animals such as mites which are hostile but have very low health and spiders which will attack instantly.
Progression: Camp
Storage is essential in Grounded as your expeditions will leave you with a large number of rewards! Storage baskets can be crafted to store up to twenty stacks of items as can storage chests holding 40 stacks. Unfortunately, the backyard is brimming with thieves such as red ants so you better build some sturdy walls!
Final words
As Grounded is a game of mystery and progression I couldn't list everything about it here. But I will say that it is one of the best games I've ever played! From the storyline down to the item graphics it has truly been an amazing experience playing Grounded, the SUN Random game of 2022.
10/10
Grounded by Obisidian Entertainment
Available on:
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Microsoft Windows
Xbox Game Pass
Written by Tom Conmy
Great overview of this game. Thanks Tom.