Assessing Grounded 2 in a world in which the original exists is tricky. Grounded went 1.0 in 2022 and enjoyed many updates both before and after that milestone. Because of the sequel’s changes to some of the game’s foundational elements, I won’t be at all surprised if Grounded 2 is eventually a much better game. Some of those changes already make it difficult to return to the first game. However, the sequel is also without some of the original’s essential features for now, too, meaning this game about shrunken heroes needs more time to grow bigger and better than the original.
Grounded 2 wastes no time getting its band of adolescent heroes shrunk back down to the size of insects, opening with a hurried, “Oops, I did it again” kind of story beat. Max, Willow, Hoops, and Pete are slightly older and a little more vulgar in their teen years, but once more find themselves fighting to survive in the wilderness of a world where bugs don’t just sting or bite; they aim to kill.
Though Grounded 2 does occasionally play like a horror game, such as when you’re traveling at night without a torch and the glowing eyes of a scorpion or wolf spider suddenly stalk your path ahead, its best trait is one it naturally carries over from the first game: its childlike spirit. Whereas so many survival-crafting games are bleak, sometimes grueling affairs telling thematically dark tales with muted color palettes, Grounded’s world is vibrant and silly, colorful and whimsical, and that’s a difference I truly adore. The sun-soaked Brookhaven Park gives you a whole new world to explore, decorated with a familiar sense of exploration.
