GARDEN STATE
ENTER A WORLD OF SPIDERS, INSECTS AND MUCH MORE IN THIS ADVENTURE INSPIRED BY THE LIKES OF HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS
Grounded
(PEGI 12) PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Switch, PC
HHHHI
IF YOU’RE not a fan of creepy crawlies and longleggedy beasties, you might want to turn the page now.
Just from the box art you can tell where developer Obsidian drew its inspiration for this survival game, which has finally landed on the Playstation and Switch.
Grounded was in early access for more than two years before it was released in 2022, getting off to a slow but steady start with PC and Xbox players.
Set in 1990, it will surprise no one to learn it has been heavily influenced by films like Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and A Bug’s Life.
Unlike the 1989 classic movie though, part of this game involves you trying to discover how you ended up as a pocket-sized version of yourself, and – more importantly – how you can return to your normal-sized self.
The setting is utterly stunning, shafts of sunlight striking down between giant blades of grass, leaves and flower petals richly textured so it feels like you can reach out and touch them.
A synthwave, retro soundtrack gives off a Stranger Things vibe as the scene is set and you find yourself in a back garden that looks and feels more like a jungle.
As you’d expect from a survival game, there’s lots and lots of scavenging needed.
Right from the off, prompts highlight items you need to start hoarding from sprigs and pebblets to various plant fibres and sap.
All of these supplies can be used to craft bigger and better items that help you on your quest for normal
ity, clues to which can be found in tiny labs scattered haphazardly around the garden.
You also need to make sure you eat and drink enough, finding water that looks infinitely more inviting than the murky puddles of brown sludge which seem to be everywhere.
It’s not just oversized baseballs and dandelions you’ll find inhabiting the garden, there’s also myriad creepy creatures which now have a sizable advantage over you.
The small development team at Obsidian Entertainment spent hours researching the movements and characteristics of dozens of different insects to create realistic bugs that live in the garden wilderness.
While it’s an incredible achievement, for anyone with a phobia – especially of spiders – I can imagine it could be incredibly triggering.
The result is that this feels like a living, breathing ecosystem.
Fuzzy bees buzz through the air on pollen gathering missions, while ants – who ignore you unless you encroach on their habitat – wander around hunting smaller creatures like weevils to feed their hungry hordes.
As beautiful as it looks, it would be impossible to take this game too seriously – and luckily the developers haven’t.
Grounded’s script is dripping in humour, with moments of glorious absurdity that had me literally crying with laughter. I had an enormous amount of fun here.
Challenges feel rewarding, and there’s a childlike joy to exploring a world that is both familiar and utterly alien.
Obsidian issued a final update for the game to coincide with its release onto the new consoles.
Grounded 1.4 – the Fully Yoked Update – brings a wealth of new features to the game, including new ant types, new mutations, weapon variants, new achievements and a whole lot more.
There’s also a physical release of the game coming in July, with a special collector’s edition expected to be out in December in time for Christmas.
Buy it: £32.99 on Playstation from store.playstation.com/, and £27.99 on Switch from nintendo.com