Grounded 2 is a follow-up to its 2020 predecessor Grounded. And for those who played that earlier game, this sequel’s vibe is very similar … only more. It’s an adventure/survival game with lots of crafting, bug-battling and building in the mix, as well as a sizable dallop of, well, horror on top.
Gamers play as one of four kids who have been forcibly reduced to bug-size in a campy, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids kind of science experiment. But this time around, instead of attempting to survive the dangers of a bug-infested backyard, our protagonist must venture out into the vast landscape of a local park.
Early on, we get the sense that the evil corporation behind everything might have wanted to use their shrinking tech to set up Jurassic Park-like adventures. But, of course, nature and technology don’t always cooperate.
This game’s large map is comprised of separate-but-interconnected zones that represent a variety of biomes. And each area must be traversed in order to craft the tools, weapons, armor, buildings, machines and other items needed to survive.
The north side of the map, for instance, is a dense woodland area with grass, sprigs and pine needles for building. The South sports a more autumn-like space of fallen leaves and acorns, the stuff of early armor sets. A knocked-over ice cream truck offers frozen climes to slog through. There’s a picnic table, a fire pit, an overflowing trash can, underground bug burrows, all with their own environments, resources and challenges.
Along the way players will encounter broken ice chests, magazines, cameras, a lunch box and other bits to explore and gather from. There are also shrunken science outposts scattered about that help you analyze items and research crafting recipes. Originally these posts were populated by lilliputian techs and scientists, but those researchers are all long gone or dead now.
Why? Well, the bugs of course.
At its chlorophyll-drenched and multilegged heart, this is a survival game. And the skittering little (or in some cases very large) critters are everywhere. Ants and cockroaches may seem harmless from a huge human perspective. But in their domain, they pack a punch. And they don’t even come close to the fast-moving terror of full-sized Wolf spiders. Battles are constant. Some, you learn to survive.
Grounded 2 can be played offline in solo mode, or in online multiplayer mode with up to three other players.
Learning how to survive in a very hostile environment is the biggest reward here. (There’s a mystery of sorts to solve as well, but you can play without paying much attention to it.) And the general explore-scavenge-craft aspects of this king-sized tiny world are quite enjoyable, too. Gamers can also raise an insect from a hatchling, then ride it to explore the world and depend on it as an attack-absorbing friend.
Grounded 2 is visually pleasing and its sound envelopment is impressive.
All of the above-listed positives can also, however, become negatives for some players. This game doesn’t give you much in the way of a tutorial; you tend to learn as you go. And wherever you go is a threatening place at first.
The rustling and skittering and clicking sounds around you telegraph constant threat. Some insects are very aggressive and deadly. (Those with arachnophobia should beware.) Combat is a necessary combination of attacks, parries and blocks. And the crafted spear, hammer, axe and club weapons are hard to come by and almost pointless against higher-tier predators such as bees, spiders, mosquitos and scorpions.
In fact, much of the early gameplay is focused on the scary aspect of creeping through undergrowth and running for your life from terrifying creatures of one stripe or another. Combat (seen from a first- or third-person perspective) is frenetic. It includes cries of pain, frightening sounds, jump scares and spurting bodily fluids (red for humans, yellow for insects).
Grounded 2 has a nice balance of light humor, enjoyable exploration and intense battling. But younger survival fans and those with a hatred for not-so-little creepy crawlies might find it hard to burrow into.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
