THEY’RE REALLY BUGGIN!

The follow up to the famous original Grounded. Developed by Obsidian in close collaboration with Eidos-Montréal, both studios have big titles under their belts. Obsidian offering us games like The Outer Worlds and Avowed,
and Eidos-Montréal, Deus Ex, Tomb Raider
and Guardians of the Galaxy, to name a few. These are game development studios with
lots of budget and experience.

So it is only natural to expect a well crafted product from their collab on Grounded 2.
Do they manage to provide a game that justifies its existence as a sequel as well
as meeting the anticipation of fans from
the original? And why are such big name
studios releasing a game in early access,
that is a sequel to a previous game
by Obsidian themselves?

GAME INFO

GENRE:

Survival, Adenture

DEVELOPER:

Obsidian, Eidos-Montréal

PLATFORM:

PC, XBOX X/S

RELEASE DATE:

July 30, 2025

RATING

WORLD

COMBAT

VISUALS

PERFORMANCE

Reviewed By

Sabber & Aziz

Published On

31 Jan 2026

Few changes with a big impact!

Since Grounded 2 is a sequel it comes naturally to expect improvements and some kind of evolution, over its predecessor. The first is
the Omni-Tool, being a shovel, axe, hammer, wrench all in one you can upgrade to gather higher tier material. But more importantly
is the scale of the game.

Grounded 2 has a map 3 times larger than its predecessor! With more areas coming down
the line, as well as having different biomes.
The story this time is seems more ‘integrated’, starting you with an introduction to Grounded lore and a large story focused area to
begin exploring in.

However, the most game changing element of Grounded 2 is “Buggys”! An ant, or later on spider, that you can tame via incubation
used as a mount. A buggy is very fast,
coming with an inventory too!

Survival crafting Survival crafting

Grounded 2 plays a lot like other survival crafting games. Eat, drink, gather lots
of resources, build, unlock new things.
But the Grounded games are the only
ones to have the unique setting they
do. It really manages to distinguish
itself from other survivals
by its atmosphere.

The conventional survival crafting games systems in here are also well fleshed out. Building, crafting and upgrading systems seem like they go deep, at least from
where I reached in the game.

The game does of course get grindy so
getting something done gives a strong
sense of satisfaction. The story can also
be easily ignored if you just wanna do
your own thing. Combat is okay.

Enemy variety is good and they each have unique attacks, as well as being able to block. So parrying actually matters, but it all feels kind of squishy. Feedback is just not
there in comabt.

Both well and badly made

Grounded 2 looks stunning, with its own 90’s era-focused artstyle. But performance is
not good. The game is obviously polished
it runs and it plays well, systems are well fleshed out. They also made the prequel,
giving them experience. However it feels needlessly unoptimized. The early access
label really feels like an excuse to sell the game in this current state.

Its very frustrating how it performs badly even on high-end hardware. Otherwise it is vibrant, with a very alive world. You can come across so many insects, that exist in different growth stages. The world in the game moves as well as behaves a lot like how you expect it to in real life, and that makes playing in it a very enjoyable experience where exploration
comes with lots of thrill.

Maybe now is not the best time

Grounded 2 has the makings of being one
of the best survival crafting games of its generation. Really vibrant world that feels alive. Well fleshed systems with lots of crafting options. Building is also extensive with lots of structure and furniture pieces
to choose from. Story is good enough for when you want something extra to do.

Yeah combat lacks feedback, but it is not bad either. It has a lot going well for it!
But, it is better to wait until a full release.
The game still has much more content to
be added into it, and issues to
be ironed out.

And for that I recommend waiting. Do try it
if its available on a subscription service
you are subscribed to.

Otherwise if you have not played the original, then I would recommend getting it for
a more complete experience at
the same price.