Grounded 2 is still worth playing, even in early access

Grounded 2 made me do something I’ve never done before: keep up with a survival-crafting game. Normally I get tired of it after a few hours, and the allure of building fantastical bases or whatever is nowhere near enough to offset how bored I get gathering materials. Someone at deeveloper Obsidian Entertainment must’ve felt the same way. The sequel chucks all the genre’s dullest parts out the window — and it’s about to get even better soon.

“Grounded 2 is just more Grounded,” you might be thinking. That’s true, at least in the initial Picnic Table zone. But it’s also better Grounded. One of the most influential changes, one whose importance only becomes apparent after your crafting repertoire expands, is the Omni-Tool. This nifty little gadget is a shovel, axe, hammer, and wrench all in one — and it never breaks. The first Grounded makes you craft axes and everything else, and they break. Frequently. So you’re crafting tools to get materials for crafting other necessities and, in the early hours, you’ll spend more time grinding for goods to make tools than making measurable progress. Nothing engenders deep loathing in me like feeling as if I’m wasting time, and Grounded, despite its considerable charm, did not make me a happy shrunken child.

Beyond that, Grounded 2 is just a really good game. The Picnic area has some delightfully designed traversal challenges, where you clamber up plastic utensils and scraps of stuff to reach the top of a table or trash can, hoping the bees don’t attack before you reach someplace safe. And there are some unexpectedly lovely views, too. (I still never get tired of watching the sun rise over the conveniently placed water pump whose contents mean I get to live for another day.) Bug companions who help in combat make solo play viable, where in the past it almost felt like Obsidian punished you for daring to play the first Grounded alone.

You also get access to more varied and interesting weapons earlier in the game. Maybe it was a skill issue — or perhaps the incessant grinding for other materials — but it felt like it took ages to unlock and craft anything decent. Fighting bugs of any variety devolved into endless left-clicking to smack it with a club or stab with a spear. Before making it even halfway through the Picnic area in Grounded 2, though, I’d crafted poison weapons, a staff that launched fireballs, a high-powered bow, and a big-ass club that stunned basically anything if I hit it enough times. It’s not so much overpowered — a run-in with a Wolf Spider is proof you very much aren’t overpowered — as having enough tools to keep things fun for longer.

Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

So the first area is just “Grounded but better,” but if you’re keen on something fresh and new, Obsidian’s gearing up to add a new zone to the map in the big, free winter update. The team called it the “real” start of Grounded 2, and if early impressions from the update’s time in public beta testing are anything to go by, it sounds like they weren’t exaggerating. It leans more heavily into traversal challenges — already a strong point from the first zone — and shakes up combat by giving enemies a fighting style that matches their species. Crickets kick, for example, instead of just pouncing like every other bug, and they can even use their legs to block projectiles.

If you’re looking for a charming little escape or a survival-crafting game that respects your time, Grounded 2 should definitely be on your radar. It’s the perfect mix of challenge and approachability, with options to make it harder or easier if you want. All the fiddly, dull obstacles to enjoyment from the first game are gone. And it’s only set to get better.