Obsidian returns to the micro-verse with a bigger playground, rideable “Buggies,” and a punchy early‑access foundation that’s already worth your time.
If the original Grounded made you feel small, Grounded 2 makes you feel microscopic and strangely heroic. Obsidian’s shrunken‑survival sequel trades the backyard for Brookhollow Park, a sprawling, overgrown world where a juice box is a cliff face and a dropped camera is an alien ruin. What’s new? A lot: rideable insects called Buggies, a streamlined Omni‑Tool, class‑like archetypes, and a story hook that isn’t shy about stalking you. What’s old? The same delightful “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” sense of scale—now amplified—and the cooperative chaos that turns simple errands into sagas. Grounded 2 launched into Early Access on July 29, 2025 for Windows and Xbox Series X|S (Game Preview/Steam Early Access), with Obsidian joined by Eidos‑Montréal and published by Xbox Game Studios; it’s also a Day‑One Game Pass title. The base version is $29.99, or $39.99 for the Founder’s Edition.
The elevator pitch (from the top of the grass blade)
This is still Grounded—you’re tiny, the world is enormous, and everything wants to (politely) ruin your day. But the sequel quickly distinguishes itself with a sharper loop and smart quality‑of‑life fixes. The Omni‑Tool condenses your shovel/axe/hammer kit into one upgradable gadget tied to the main story, trimming inventory friction without dumbing down progression. Early access impressions consistently call out how this single change makes the sequel flow better. Add in archetypes (builds that nudge you toward specific playstyles) and you’ve got a survival game with more personality in your perks.
Brookhollow Park is the new backyard—and it’s huge
Brookhollow Park isn’t just a new map; it’s a manifesto about scale. The first explorable zone is roughly as large as the entire map of the original game at 1.0, according to hands‑on previews. That extra elbow room matters because you can move much faster this time, and Obsidian peppers the landscape with handcrafted landmarks that make exploration feel like a treasure hunt rather than a commute. You’ll crane your neck at shafts of sunlight riddling the grass, sprint past “ancient” picnic detritus, and swear an oath against mosquitoes that could moonlight as boss fights.
“Walking is bogus”: Meet the Buggies
The star feature—by miles of ant tunnel—is Buggies, rideable insect companions that double as traversal tools and battle buddies. You hatch them, you name them, you pet them, and then you charge an anthill like a knight on a six‑legged steed. In the current Early Access build you can unlock two: the Red Soldier Ant (a speedy workhorse that hauls materials) and the Orb Weaver Spider (leaning more into combat support). They don’t permanently die, and their utility reframes everything from base building to daring heists. It’s the kind of system that makes you grin the first time your mount helps carry a forest of grass planks back to your burgeoning fort.
Survival, simplified (the smart way)
Streamlining tools via the Omni‑Tool is only part of the sequel’s spring‑cleaning. The new tutorial area on‑ramps newcomers without sandpapering away the survival grit. You still need dew, food, better gear, and—let’s be honest—therapy after a close encounter with a wolf spider, but the path to “I get it” is faster and less fiddly. Coupled with those archetypes, Grounded 2 finds a sweet spot: fewer chores, more choices, and a build system that lets you decide if you’re the nimble critter assassin, the base‑builder tank, or the daring Buggy rider who keeps yelling “On me!” while everyone else screams.
Co‑op still slaps (and now it rides)
Like its predecessor, Grounded 2 is best with friends. Co‑op turns routine fetch quests into war stories—“remember the Great Egg Heist?” will become a phrase you say. The new mounts make group play sing: one player kites a scorpion while the other slam‑dunks egg sacks onto an ant’s cargo slots and legs it back to base. Online co‑op is there from day one, and Obsidian is actively improving the cross‑play flow between Steam and Xbox/Microsoft Store players in Early Access updates.
The vibe: wonder with a shadow
Obsidian’s art direction was already stellar; here, it glows. Lighting filters through the grass like stained glass, surfaces pop with texture, and the park reads as a living diorama—gorgeous but not gentle. That beauty is undercut (in a good way) by the sequel’s narrative hook: “a shadow that follows you,” an unseen threat that watches, adapts, and tightens its grip as you nose around the park’s secrets. It’s a neat tonal trick: cozy survival punctured by dread, and it keeps you curious about where the story’s going next.
Combat and progression: better, but not immaculate
Early previews split on combat. Some hands‑on reports found low‑tier melee a bit janky—spears that feel pokey in the wrong way, impact that lacks oomph until you climb the tech tree. Others, after more time, praise a more robust action layer with dodges, charged attacks, improved enemy behaviors, and class‑like builds via gear and mutations. The truth feels like a blend: the first hour’s stick‑poking gives way to meatier fights once you’ve built a kit and learned when to block vs. bash. Either way, the mounts materially change the tempo—fights feel more like tactical skirmishes when your “horse” can haul, charge, and assist.
Performance & polish: the Early Access reality
Let’s address the ladybug in the room. At launch, Grounded 2 had performance wobbles—frame drops, limited graphics options, and occasional progress‑halting bugs. Obsidian has been iterating fast: Patch 0.1.2 delivered a hefty stability uplift (estimated 40–60%) alongside a bevy of fixes to combat, multiplayer desyncs, UI foibles, and (yes) Buggy behavior. The team has been candid that optimization is ongoing, so if you’re allergic to rough edges, you may want to wait a patch or three. For everyone else, the current build is already perfectly playable—and frequently spectacular.
The roadmap: aquatic mounts, more buggies, bigger toys
Obsidian’s Early Access roadmap is refreshingly concrete. Near‑term updates include Steam Deck verification, ROG Ally improvements, cross‑play polish, new Tier III gear, and a Ladybug Buggy. Later beats tease Smoothies 2.0, Swimming 2.0, Ziplines, watery buggies & creatures, Tier IV Omni‑Tool unlocks, new park bosses, mutations 2.0, more building options (even base moving), and expanded language support (Arabic, Korean, Polish, Russian, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish). It’s a buffet that reads like a studio that learned exactly how to run a living survival game the first time around.
Value check: platforms, price, and who should play now
The price is right. At $29.99, Grounded 2 undercuts most big‑ticket survival games, and the Founder’s Edition bundles cosmetics plus a digital artbook and soundtrack for ten bucks more. If you’re already in the Xbox ecosystem, it’s included with Game Pass on console and PC, and supports Xbox Play Anywhere and cloud gaming. Steam players can jump in via Early Access with the same feature set (and a lively review page currently trending Very Positive). For a co‑op time sink you can ride like a chitinous Vespa, that’s a strong value proposition.
How it feels to build in Brookhollow
Base building still rules. The ability to haul resources with a Red Ant Buggy alone speeds up early construction dramatically, and the new QoL tweaks (hot‑deposit to Buggy storage, saner placement rules, sturdier snap points) reduce the friction that made some of Grounded 1’s early hours feel like carpentry class without the safety goggles. You’ll still want to plan carefully—night raids are a thing, scorpions are not impressed by flimsy walls, and resource loops can lure you deeper than your gear can handle—but the arc from lean‑to to elaborate outpost is more satisfying, faster.
A word on scope (and expectations)
A sequel this soon might make you blink. According to Obsidian, part of the impetus was technical: the team needed to step beyond Xbox One constraints to keep expanding Grounded’s systems and world. Building fresh for Series X|S and PC unlocked the space for mounts, bigger zones, and a more scalable engine. And it shows—lighting, textures, and density all take a visible leap, even if the sliders need more time in the oven.
The bottom line
Grounded 2 doesn’t reinvent the tiny wheel, it straps that wheel to an ant and lets you ride it. The Omni‑Tool trims busywork; archetypes nudge you toward expressive builds; Brookhollow Park sprawls like a handcrafted toybox; and Buggies are pure serotonin. It’s Early Access, with the usual caveats—performance is improving but not perfect, systems will shift, and content will expand. But the core is already generous and gloriously playable, especially with friends, and the roadmap suggests a studio confident about where this is heading. If you loved Grounded, you’ll feel right at home (micro‑home, but still). If you bounced off the first game’s friction, this sequel’s smarter systems just might pull you back in.
Verdict: A bigger, brighter Grounded with a meaningful spin on mobility and progression. If you’re EA‑averse, circle back at 1.0; for everyone else, saddle up—Brookhollow awaits.
Key facts at a glance (for your wallet and your party chat)
• Platforms: Windows (Steam/Xbox PC), Xbox Series X|S; Early Access via Steam & Xbox Game Preview; Day‑One Game Pass.
• Price: $29.99 base / $39.99 Founder’s Edition.
• Co‑op: Online co‑op at launch; cross‑play flows improving; roadmap promises more.
• New standouts: Omni‑Tool, archetypes, Buggies (Red Soldier Ant & Orb Weaver to start), “shadow that follows you” story thread.
• Roadmap: Steam Deck/ROG Ally support, Ladybug Buggy, new gear, aquatic updates, ziplines, bosses, mutations 2.0, building expansions.
Note: This review reflects the game’s Early Access state at the time of writing; features, performance, and balance will evolve.
