Summary
- Grounded has been a hit with fans, reaching 20 million players in its exclusivity period and expanding to more consoles recently.
- A sequel to Grounded could have potential, especially if it explores an Australian setting with deadly wildlife for an enhanced survival experience.
- An Australian-themed Grounded sequel could add suspense, realism, and education to the gameplay loop, appealing to players looking for a similar-but-evolved experience.
With positive reviews surrounding it as well as the adoration of many fans, Grounded can be seen as a success. This is in part due to its bold premise in which four children wake up in a backyard after being shrunken down with no idea as to how they got there. The truth to the situation is a hidden secret that fans need to uncover while exploring Grounded, dodging spiders and other creatures along the way.
Released in 2020 as an early access title, Grounded reached Xbox consoles and PC in 2022. In that time, Obsidian Entertainment's survival action-adventure game was quite a hit with plenty of fans, earning roughly 20 million players even during its exclusivity period. Now, Grounded is heading to the Nintendo Switch and Sony's PS4 and PS5. While it's great that the backyard survival game is reaching more audiences, Obsidian Entertainment hasn't spoken about any ideas for a sequel, and if one is made to answer fan demand, then it should look to Australia for inspiration.
2 Xbox Exclusives Are Officially Jumping Ship to the Nintendo Switch
After confirming four exclusive Xbox games are going multi-platform, Nintendo reveals two that are making the jump to the Switch.
Austraila's Exotic and Deadly Wildlife Would Be Great in a Setting Like Grounded
Australia is one of the most unique locations on the planet, being incredibly megadiverse in terms of biomes, flora, and fauna, with Australia known for its marsupials as well as its array of deadly insects and reptiles. Because of this, not only would many people would love to see Australia be the basis for a game like Pokemon, but the same idea most certainly applies to Grounded as well.
Grounded's Sequel Could Give Players An Up Close Look at Australia's Nature
The original Grounded was rather simplistic in terms of its setting, throwing gamers into a backyard from the '90s with hints that it was somewhere in North America. Yet, the direction Obsidian chose for the adventure ended up working incredibly well since there was a vast variety of locations and secrets. With this in mind, it begs the question as to what a follow-up could do with the playable environment, and with Australia, Obsidian Entertainment wouldn't need to focus on famous creatures like kangaroos to get its point across.
Instead, having someone be shrunken down in the Australian outback could serve as a great way to increase the difficulty from the first game, possibly leading to a more terrifying survival experience with high stakes through the smaller yet deadlier threats the country has. Having to tackle an already large huntsman spider while being the size of an ant could lead to some impressive strategizing, and saving the deadly eastern brown snake for a final boss could be an iconic encounter compared to similar games with shrunken-down heroes.
On the other hand, to go with how Grounded left itself rather cartoony and goofy despite its larger than life setting, this potential Australia-themed game could take a different approach by adding a bit of reality to its premise. As much as players may already know of Australia's deadly critters, more often than not, people will need to go looking for these creatures to ever encounter them, with some cities like Canberra being almost completely free of more dangerous bugs and reptiles.
There's a lot of suspense, but also wonder and maybe even some educative topics that could be captured with a microscopic game like Grounded being based in Australia. However, as interesting as this concept seems, there has been no word of a sequel to Grounded just yet. Those who want more to explore from Obsidian Entertainment will need to keep their eyes peeled for future announcements on the subject, though there is no telling if any will come, even if an Australian game feels like an opportunity that should not be passed up on.
Grounded
- Released
- September 27, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
The world is a vast, beautiful, and dangerous place – especially when you have been shrunken to the size of an ant. Explore, build, and survive together in this cooperative survival-adventure. Can you thrive alongside the hordes of giant insects, fighting to survive the perils of the backyard?
Uncover the mysteries while playing through the story!
How did you wind up so small? Who did this to you? How do you go home? These are all answers you will uncover as you play through the story.
Nowhere is safe – not even your base: Creatures can be found roaming the yard in a multitude of environments, such as the depths of the pond, the caverns of the termite den, and even the sweltering heat found in the sandbox. You can even attract them to different places in the yard by activating the MIX.R devices. However, the more you interfere with the creatures in the yard, the higher the chance that they come knocking at your own door, so you better prepare.
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Cross-play
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, RPG
- How Long To Beat
- 23 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 10 GB (December 2023)
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5
