Obsidian Entertainment has teamed up with Eidos Montreal for Grounded 2, the follow-up to the studio’s miniature survival adventure, Grounded. The action moves from the first game’s backyard to Brookhollow Park, a larger space with landmarks, new creatures, and hazards. Pete, Max, Willow, and Hoops return, shrunken to insect size. A single patch of grass can feel like a forest.
Launching in Early Access, Grounded 2 already has more to do than Grounded. Brookhollow Park offers a larger map, new traversal options, and threats that make exploring risky and fun. While not all features are in place yet, there is already a surprising amount to do. You’ll find a more prominent story, streamlined tools, and rideable insect companions that change your approach to survival.
While the focus is still on gathering resources, crafting gear, and building a base, the sequel’s refinements quickly stand out. The new Omni-Tool simplifies harvesting. The expanded mutation system helps you tailor your loadout. Bug mounts enable faster, flexible travel. These changes help you jump in and start exploring, whether you are returning or starting fresh.
Shrunk Again in Brookhollow Park
Grounded 2 picks up two years after the first game. An Ominent ceremony in Brookhollow Park, held to honor Pete, Max, Willow, and Hoops for defeating Dalton Schmector, goes sideways when the teens are shrunk again. A short newsreel-style recap sets the scene, and a clear tutorial gets you moving without busywork.
You wake in an Ominent facility and start piecing together what happened. Early story missions send you across the park to restore key facilities, track resources, and learn core tools. Progress ties into these tasks. Some unlocks, including the Orbweaver buggy, come from completing specific objectives. The pace feels guided but not rigid, with markers that explain where to go next and why it matters.
You receive direction from Sloane, Ominent’s new director, while you search for BURG.L’s missing head. A figure known as the Masked Stranger steps in as an early antagonist, checking your progress and pushing the next objective. Tapes and labs still appear, but conversations with human characters carry more of the story than before.
I liked how the objectives nudged me into gameplay elements I might ignore, like mounts and mutations. The gating can cause backtracking if you scout ahead and find something early, yet it also kept me focused on clear goals. The result is a smoother path through the Early Access content without removing your freedom to explore between beats.
The main arc is not complete yet, and several threads pause for now. Even so, the opening hours set a firm hook and a consistent reason to head deeper into Brookhollow Park.
Buggies Blades and Bug Battles
Grounded 2 keeps the gameplay loop clear and satisfying. You gather, craft, fight, and build. You also start with useful gear, so early progress feels steady instead of stalled. The Omni-Tool handles chopping, digging, and smashing in one slot. Each function upgrades on its own path, so you still chase better tiers without juggling a bag of tools.
Combat is familiar but sharper. Light and heavy swings return, with a heavier hit that now feels weighty and useful. A dodge move helps you slip past attacks, which matters against scorpions and other fast threats. Armor leans into clear roles like fighter, rogue, archer, and mage. You can still mix pieces and play your way.
Buggies change how you move and gather. Early on, you hatch a Soldier Ant and gain a ride that plows through grass and speeds up travel. Ziplines are not available right now, so mounts matter a lot. Switch to Gather mode while riding, and your ant vacuums loose items and stacks grass for quick hauls. Some mounts hit harder in fights, while others shine as workhorses.
The park does not fence you in by difficulty. You might roll up to a Ranger Station and spot Orb Weavers nearby. On foot, that’s a problem. On a mount, you can skirt danger and reach your goal. It keeps you alert, and it rewards planning your route.
There was a run that perfectly captured how the new flow plays out. I teamed up to nab a guarded ant egg, using hammers for stun perks and the new dodge to slip past a patrol. My partner drew attention; I grabbed the egg and sprinted out. We rode back, swapped to Gather mode, and hauled stems to finish a base wall before nightfall.
One tradeoff is that mount speed can reduce those small, curious stops you might make on foot. The story trail, research at the analyser, and steady unlocks still pull you off the path, but quick travel can tempt you to beeline objectives.
Tiny World Big Picture
Brookhollow Park is full of detail yet easy to read at insect scale. Blades of grass tower over you, while picnic tables and swing sets loom like landmarks. The fallen ice cream truck creates a frozen zone with slick surfaces and new threats. Trash cans feel enormous, and spiders nest inside open cans like they are hollow towers. The variety keeps routes interesting without turning the map into visual noise.
The interface is cleaner than before. A slimmer HUD leaves more of the screen visible, and icons are easy to read. The map’s resource finder is built in, so you can mark what you need without a trip to a station. Objective markers point you toward the next step without clutter. You can switch between first and third person at any time. I often swapped to third person during fights to judge spacing, then returned to first person for gathering.
Character chatter helps sell the scale of each discovery. Pete drops scientific names. Max cracks quick jokes. Those short lines add context without slowing you down. If spiders are a problem for you, the arachnophobia setting can adjust how they look. It makes that first brush with an Orb Weaver less intimidating.
Early Access means some rough edges remain. I ran into clipping and collision issues, including items and critters falling through the ground. A few enemies popped in late or got stuck in plants. Thrown tools occasionally flew off at odd angles. None of this blocked progress, but it did interrupt a few stressful moments.
Even with the hiccups, the presentation supports the loop. Landmarks are easy to spot, UI elements stay out of the way, and the first or third person swap helps you read fights. It all makes Brookhollow Park feel manageable at a glance, even when a routine walk turns into a scramble.
Grounded 2 Makes Survival Easier Without Losing The Challenge
Grounded 2 is now available in Early Access, with practical upgrades that build on the foundation of the first game. Brookhollow Park gives the adventure a bigger canvas, and the familiar loop of gathering, crafting, fighting, and building still works. What changes is how quickly you get moving and how often the game points you toward useful tools.
The Omni-Tool trims busywork by covering chopping, digging, and smashing in one place. The new dodge helps against fast attacks and larger threats. Mutations surface their goals early, so you can shape your build with purpose. Armor leans into clear roles without locking you in, which keeps gear choices simple and flexible.
Buggies make the biggest difference. Riding a Soldier Ant turns a long haul into a short trip, and Gather mode lets you vacuum loose items and stack grass for building. That ant-egg run showed how travel, gathering, and combat fit together. The only tradeoff is speed can tempt you to sprint past small discoveries you might notice on foot.
The story is more direct. Early objectives from Sloane, the search for BURG.L’s head, and run-ins with the Masked Stranger give steady reasons to push deeper into the park. Presentation supports that pace. The slimmer HUD leaves more of the screen clear, the map’s resource finder saves extra trips, and you can switch between first and third person whenever you like.
There are still some bugs and glitches, which is expected in Early Access. I had items and critters fall through the ground, saw a few late spawns, and even had the occasional wild throw. None of it stopped me from making progress, but it did pull my attention away more than once.
If you enjoyed Grounded, this sequel feels like a smart next step. If you are new, the clearer goals and helpful tools make it easy to start. I kept coming back for evening runs, stacking grass on my ant and racing home before night hit.
Grounded 2 Early Access
Summary
Grounded 2 builds on the first game with a larger map, faster travel, and smarter tools that make survival more streamlined. Brookhollow Park feels alive with new creatures and biomes, while buggies and the Omni-Tool keep you moving and gathering without the grind. The story is clearer, and mutations give you more ways to play. Early Access bugs are there, but the improvements already make this a stronger, more focused sequel.
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