In a delightful surprise for Grounded fans, Obsidian took to the stage at the Xbox Games Showcase last weekend to reveal an unexpected sequel simply dubbed Grounded 2.
Obsidian has shared that Grounded 2 will follow its predecessor’s path by launching into early access and evolving over time with community feedback. That early access launch is coming soon—next month, to be exact. I got a chance to play a small snippet of what players will be shrinking into next month at the Xbox Games Showcase in Los Angeles over the weekend. And my overall impression, which I say as a full-throated compliment, is that yup, that’s a little bit bigger Grounded all right!
It’s admittedly hard to say much about how Grounded 2 differs from the first game based on such a small, early snippet. I was given the option to jump into a later section, but I chose the tutorial to brush up on my Grounded skills, which had gotten a little rusty.Much of what I experienced in the tutorial was, pleasantly, more Grounded. It’s the same kids—now two years older—shrunk down to ant size thanks to the shady dealings of a company called Ominent. Once reduced, they suffer from mild amnesia, leaving them with little memory of what they were doing before shrinking. But luckily, our teens still remember the gist of their last tiny backyard adventure, even if they need to relearn many of the skills they built the first time around. Crafting, for instance—you’ll still analyze every object you find, unlock new recipes, and slowly build armor, weapons, tools, and other essentials to survive. Or you’ll scavenge the early zones for food (mushrooms, in my case) and drink (dewdrops) to avoid starvation. Or maybe you’ll nervously poke at bugs with a crude stick spear. All the core mechanics remain intact—familiar, comforting, and ready for anyone craving more of what the original delivered.
It’s wild that the first Grounded didn’t have a dodge button until now!
What’s new here was less obvious in this short, early-game demo, but I did catch glimpses. You’ll get a new Omni-tool that combines all your tools into one, saving inventory space. I didn’t get to explore its full potential, but I used it to chop through towering grass blades instead of carrying an axe. Another new addition is a dodge button in combat—so smoothly integrated that I momentarily forgot it wasn’t in the original. Both are small quality-of-life improvements, but they promise to smooth out friction in the long run. It’s wild that the first Grounded didn’t have a dodge button before now!
The biggest new feature I actually got to test was the Buggy system—essentially mounts. I rode a giant ant. It…kinda ruled? Riding a big bug is fun. Beyond the thrill of galloping on my ant steed, the Buggy comes with other clever features. You can sprint, or switch to a slow gathering mode that automatically collects resources as you pass them—no more tedious harvesting. Buggies can also fight for you, or chew through grass and other breakable objects. At one point, I zoomed through a mite nest, holding a glowing mushroom torch while my ant munched through every attacker.
I was told in a post-preview interview that these Buggy mounts were the primary driver behind Grounded 2, alongside other factors. The original Grounded wasn’t built for the speed mounts bring—its map was too small to make them meaningful. The only way to implement rideable bugs was to make the world much, much bigger.
And that’s exactly what’s happened. Grounded 2 takes place not in a backyard, but in Brookhollow Park—Obsidian says it’s roughly three times the size of the original’s setting. I think I saw just the tiniest, earliest corner of that park: a calm, welcoming space designed to ease both new and returning players into the world before sending them off on an ant-riding adventure into the unknown.I still have plenty of questions about what Grounded 2 brings to the table to justify a full sequel rather than just expanding the original. Mechanically, I’m not fully convinced rideable bugs alone will sell me. But Grounded has always been story-driven, and Grounded 2 opens the door to a fresh narrative. It lets Obsidian age up its protagonists, advance Ominent’s sinister schemes, and expand the world. And let’s be honest—the first Grounded was already pretty dang fun. So sure. I’ll take more of it, plus bug riding. Ride like the wind, bugs-eye.
