| Grounded 2 | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | DLC & Pre-order | Review |
Grounded 2 is the newest installment of the open-world survival adventure series Grounded. Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Everything We Know About Grounded 2
Grounded 2 Story Plot
Set two years after the events of the first game, a celebration ceremony in Brookhollow Park commemorating the trials and tribulations that the four teens endured was suddenly caught in the middle of a mysterious explosion. The dust and the ash settled, and once again, the group disappeared, seemingly out of thin air.
Oddly enough, they are set to face the same hardships once again, as they have been shrunk to the size of bugs—this time, not in the backyard of a mad scientist, but in a sprawling park, much larger than before. Will this ragtag team survive all the way to the end, faced with threats and perils…and something lurking in the shadows.
Grounded 2 Gameplay
Grounded 2 is a survival-adventure game where players will explore, build, and survive together. Shrunk to the size of a literal ant, players will need to use their wits and smarts to stay alive in the vast world—one that just got infinitely bigger.
Build a strong homebase, craft weapons and armor to keep the pesky hostile insects at bay, and traverse the park and playground on Buggies. It’s a bug eat bug world out there—especially with all the perils and threats of being a mere inch tall.
In Grounded 2, the world is larger, with richer biomes and more spaces to build, explore, and thrive in. Take in the scenery of snack bars and ice cream carts to even bolder, more challenging areas like the long-forgotten parts of the park miles away. There have also been some quality of life upgrades from the first game, such as the introduction of the Omni-Tool, which is a handy device that puts the hammer, axe, shovel, and wrench all in one, as well as the appearance of friendly Buggies to recruit.
Combat has also been refreshed with new mechanics such as dodging and smarter opponents, making every battle more satisfying and challenging to accomplish.
Grounded 2 Release Date
Released on July 29, 2025, Grounded 2 is now available to be purchased in Early Access on Steam for $29.99, or playable through Xbox Game Pass as a Game Preview title.
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Grounded 2 Review [Early Access]
It’s A Bug’s Life For Me
Grounded 2, the sequel to the open-world single-player or co-op survival game Grounded, is here, and it promises a bigger and better experience from its predecessor, improving upon what they have learned and putting it into an expanded world.
I have personally never played the first Grounded, but after my time with Grounded 2, I’m more than motivated to give the first one a spin just to understand more of its lore. Even if you’re a newbie to the whole "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"-esque plot going on, it doesn’t seem as if you’re locked out of the whole experience anyway.
Engaging, Immersive Gameplay
There’s a lot to do in Grounded 2, and it’s with no doubt that gamers of all types will find their own type of role here. You can be the resource management master with keeping track of supplies and foraging for them, or be the combat warrior that takes down all the hostile insects and pests, or you’re more of the crafty homebody that wants to make a lavish and flourishing base for your friends (or yourself…if you’re playing alone)—anything goes.
Combat is responsive, and controls are smooth. Animations can admittedly look a little funny, but nevertheless it works as intended and combat isn’t much of a chore—works much better in first-person mode as well (though I can’t, for the life of me—I’d rather not look at ants straight in the face, thank you). Controls for building are pretty intuitive as well, and the foundation objects like walls, stairs, and others snap easily to each other, so there’s little chance of having anything look awry.
A lot of things are locked behind research, progression, and quests, which requires you to really go out there and explore every nook and cranny of the huge park so that you don’t miss out on anything. You can’t just keep beating up Red Worker Ants forever—the game encourages players to improve by discovering new things to research, new recipes to master, and new upgrades to your tools for better chances of survival. It can be a bit of a chore sometimes, but that makes it all the more sweeter when you get rewarded for your hard work.
The new mechanics in place are great as well, and the one I’d like to highlight the most are the Buggies. The Buggies are a godsend, and I’m superbly glad that they decided to add it to the game. Not only do they help you travel around the park at twice or thrice the speed, they also function as expanded inventory and even attack hostile bugs in your stead! Normally, I hate any type of bug or insect but I may have a soft spot for my Soldier Ant Buggy. Efficient, strong, and gets me to places in no time at all. I highly recommend that you finish up the main quest to be able to get one—building your base and resource collecting is less of a chore with them.
Audio and Visuals Done Well
Graphics-wise, it’s stunning—in a cartoon-y way but also manages to be realistic and immersive enough to bring you into their world through the eyes of a shrunken, miniature human. There’s something amusing about having tiny grass blades breaking apart into Grass Planks when you cut them down, or chasing after dew drops in order to hydrate yourself.
The background music and the voice-acting is well done too, adding more to the lively experience. Although there are some lapses of silence, the sounds of nature that play do make for a great atmosphere as well—after all, you’re stuck in nature for the entirety of the game, so taking in the whole environment is a treat.
Also, because it falls under visuals, I’m grateful for the arachnophobia mode, which has differing levels depending on how…spider-y you’d want them to look in game. I turned it up to the max setting of 5, and the Spiderlings and Orb Weavers now look like round gummy bears with no legs, which make it much easier to deal with.
Really Is Survival Of The Fittest
Okay, given that it’s a survival game, there’s really a bit of difficulty already, even from the beginning after you get out of the initial tutorial stage. From the get-go, it challenges you to be more observant of your surroundings and use that noggin a little more. Survival isn’t handed to you on a silver platter, and the game will make sure you know that.
For instance, one of the things you need for your Omni-Shovel are Grass Seeds—which, by the name suggests, must come from…well, grass. Grass is absolutely everywhere in the game, so much so that you’ll probably get tired of seeing those giant green stalks. However, not all blades of grass are Grass Flowers, which is the grass type you’d need to get Grass Seeds. The game…doesn’t tell you that though. I spent over five hours or more without my shovel because I didn’t know Grass Seeds came from Grass Flowers—after felling so many darn blades of grass that I had more Grass Planks than I wanted to deal with. Skill issue, I know, but wow was I handicapped without a Shovel.
Dungeons are also rather unforgiving if you’re not prepared—or even if you are prepared. It’s good to take risks, but boy, was it hard (or was I just unfortunate?) Early on in the game, you’re tasked to retrieve a Red Soldier Ant Egg from an anthill hatching facility so that you can turn it into your trusty Buggy. However, at this point in the game, you probably don’t have Tier 2 armor (of course, unless you focused on crafting first, but I digress), so I’m not entirely sure if it was planned or what but when you head deeper into the anthill, there’s not one, but TWO high-level enemies inside.
One was a lightning-wielding Orb Weaver spider, and the other a high-level Northern Scorpion—thankfully not together, but all I could do was run away and try to find the exit—which was doubly hard considering how narrow and how much of a maze the anthill was at that point in the game and was still infested with weaker but still strong Red Soldier Ants, plus all the adrenaline and tension from being chased by a giant bug. It was worth the adventure to get the Egg for my future Buggy, but man, I felt like I was dragged through hell and back (I did pass out a few times…).
With that said, the game looks kiddy and hilarious on the outside especially with its premise, but it sure does give a proper survival challenge. It’s either a pro or a con depending on how you wanted to play the game.
A Few Snags Here and There
Grounded 2 is bigger than ever compared to its predecessor, and thus requires a pretty strong gaming rig to play to the best of its ability. And thus, I encountered some pretty random FPS drops and latency issues in the middle of playing. For reference, I can run the game on above minimum specs, just a little below the recommended—but its minimum requirements should still be able to run the game smoothly. Then again, the game’s still subject to changes throughout its Early Access or Game Preview period, so performance snags may be dealt with accordingly. With that said, be prepared to have a pretty heated CPU when playing—after all, it’s quite an open-world game with a lot to explore and render.
Aside from the FPS drops, several assets, whether objects or a creature, can sometimes get clipped underneath the ground as well. While standing outside the anthill, a Red Worker Ant was trying to clip through the dirt for some reason, and I tried to eliminate it to put it out of its misery—only to lose the loot to the ground after killing it. Oof. Luckily, Red Worker Ants are everywhere, but that means it could potentially also happen for other more important items.
Overall Conclusion
Grounded 2 at its current state is already a solid game, with tons of content to go through, smooth gameplay and controls, and an entire world (er, park) to conquer. Aside from some few FPS and performance issues, the game does deliver a fun and engaging experience that will sure to keep you in for hours. Whether you’re a veteran Grounded player or a newbie looking for a new experience like never before, Grounded 2 might just be your cup of tea.
Given that it’s still in Early Access at this point, there’s nowhere to go but up, and I’m excited to see how much more it will improve or add onto its already sprawling world.
Game8 Reviews
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Grounded 2 Product Information
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| Title | Grounded 2 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | July 29, 2025 (Early Access) |
| Developer | Obsidian Entertainment, Eidos-Montréal |
| Publisher | Xbox Game Studios |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Xbox |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, RPG, Survival |
| Number of Players | 1-4 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Grounded 2 Official Website |
