Obsidian Entertainment Unveils Grounded 2: A Bigger Adventure Awaits

Obsidian Entertainment has established itself as a versatile game developer over the years, even venturing outside its RPG comfort zone with the original Grounded. This survival adventure game, where players are shrunk down to explore the hidden, vast world of a backyard, became a well-loved hit and evolved significantly throughout its early access period. Now, the developers have ambitious plans for Grounded 2, which promises new features and a larger scope that was previously unattainable in the original.

Gameplay Overview

Shortly after the reveal during the recent Xbox Games Showcase alongside Summer Game Fest 2025, I had the opportunity to play the opening of the sequel. The game features the familiar crew of teenage scavengers, now a little older and wiser, who are once again shrunk down to survive in a new small world hidden within the town’s park. While it retains the core premise of survival gameplay reminiscent of Rust through the whimsical lens of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Grounded 2 is already showing promise as a bigger and better sequel.

Enhanced Character Development

Grounded 2, which will also launch in early access, feels like a more expansive game, even from the confines of the tutorial zone. There is a larger focus on building the experience of the four teenage scavengers and their roles within the overarching story. While it may not reach the dramatic heights of Yellowjackets, the crew exploring the small world of the park showcases colorful language and witty quips. This stronger sense of personality is bolstered by character-driven writing and opportunities to delve into the lore of the company responsible for the experiments in town.

Survival Mechanics

The gameplay experience in Grounded 2, much like its predecessor and other survival games, revolves around gathering resources from the environment and acquiring knowledge to stay alive. Players will collect materials to build weapons, armor, and structures while ensuring their characters remain fed and hydrated. Additionally, players must defend themselves against various critters, such as ants and spiders. The game retains the arachnophobia accessibility option, allowing players to adjust the appearance of spiders to make them less disturbing. A new dodge mechanic has been introduced to avoid attacks, marking a first for the series, and combat feels more responsive and fair.

New Features and Gameplay Enhancements

Grounded 2 presents a more well-rounded and refined take on the original, which was already a solid game. One notable addition is the new ant mount, referred to as a “buggy” by the developers. Players can ride atop a friendly ant, which can attack enemies, facilitate faster movement throughout the world, and collect materials more efficiently than the human scavengers.

Developer Insights

Following my hands-on experience, I participated in a roundtable discussion with game director Chris Parker and producer Miles Winzeler from Obsidian Entertainment. They explained how early access feedback from players has significantly influenced the game’s current state. To fully realize their vision for Grounded, they recognized the need for a new game.

“Almost everything in Grounded 2 comes from feedback from the community that we had gathered from the first game,” Parker stated. “We had to look at what was important to work on with the sequel. People always want more stuff to do. They wanted to have the buggies, which was a huge one and our number one most requested feature from out the gate on Grounded 1. We then had to work on new creatures, armor and weapons, among other things. How can we further develop our progression systems? So those were all the things that we took on from the beginning for Grounded 2.”

Expanded World and Creative Mode

Grounded 2 feels like a more fully realized game, leveraging years of development from the original. The sequel features a more developed story campaign that focuses on helping the kids survive in a portion of Brookhollow Park that is more than three times the size of the original’s map. The game will also launch with a creative mode, a popular feature that allows players to focus on exploring and building structures at their leisure.

Conclusion

Chris Parker emphasized the importance of scale in the game design, stating, “We’re always trying to challenge scale and how we can create a sense of awe and mystery by having something that’s supposed to be normal but is now this gigantic thing. That’s always the fun when making this game.”

I found the added scope of Grounded 2 to be particularly engaging. The new features and ideas at work for the sequel have already piqued my interest in revisiting this small world with big ambitions. Grounded 2 is set to release in early access on July 29 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and will be available for Game Pass subscribers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/obsidian-entertainment-has-big-ambitions-for-grounded-2s-small-world-173027415.html?src=rss

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