![]() All that was required was attentive care – something Obsidian was clearly given ample time to provide. From a small acorn of an idea, something mighty has emerged. For Microsoft, this is a valuable addition to the Xbox library and one that they can be truly proud of. Sounds like your jam? Grounded is well worth investing time into, especially if you can find online friends to play with. You may even need to scout ahead and see what dangers lurk in the next mission area, just to see if you’re prepared enough. It’s about resource management and planning ahead, setting up temporary bases next to main mission objectives and accumulating stockpiles. It has some RPG elements, this much is true, but this isn’t about dusting off and trying again straight away. If you try to play Grounded like an RPG, chances are you’ll become flummoxed before long. The camera can be set to third-person and first-person too, automatically switching to third-person when caught in a web. Controls aren’t wholly intuitive – it takes time to learn the shortcut menu, mapped to the d-pad – but it is at least possible to completely rebind controls. It’s clear Obsidian wanted this to appeal to a wide audience, and so they’ve taken the time and effort to implement a colourblind mode, ‘read to me’ text options, subtitles and larger text. Discarded items, such as juice boxes and cans, feature a lot of intricate detailing.Īccessibility options are well-considered too. We found ourselves stopping to take in the sights often – this is a surprisingly good-looking game, with alluring lighting – including a gorgeous sunset – realistically murky underwater effects, and incredibly detailed textures. Even though the visuals rely heavily on distance blurring, it’s still possible to make out far-away landmarks. Strolling around the game world is vastly compelling – the backyard is larger than you may expect, featuring different sights, objects, and terrane. The presentation is quite similar to Fallout, and it’s also possible to ‘discover’ new locations which are duly added to the map. Attempting to retrieve lost backpacks can be a time-consuming process, especially if dropped in an area that required daring feats to reach initially.Ĭonsidering Obsidian worked on the Fallout franchise, it isn’t a huge surprise to notice similarities. Upon death, your backpack is dropped – only on-hand items remain. Lean-tos (read: beds) act as respawn points, and in the absence of checkpoints, it’s down to you to learn the importance of setting up a bed for the night while on a quest. It’s even possible to decorate your grass-covered homestead. It’s no less vital to spend time creating shelters – HQs with workbenches, stash chests, dew collectors, and lots more. It’s vital to improve armour and weapons to increase chances of survival. These can then be carted off to the nearest research centre and examined – requiring a cooldown after three uses – which in turn unlocks new blueprints. The vast majority of the experience entails chopping grass and weeds, crushing acorns, destroying rocks, and collecting the remains of insects after near-death battles. See, Grounded is centred upon self-improvement. Taking down your first large enemy feels quite satisfying as there’s a long build-up to that point. Or two-way struggles – not every insect is hostile, and there’s something pleasing about seeing a ladybird going about its day. They do play a part in the food chain, however – other enemies can become tangled in their webs, resulting in three-way battles. Regardless, spiders are a real menace, and even when starting out, appearances from a colossal Wolf Spider are common. Fear not, arachnophobia sufferers – the option is there to tone down detail. If you don’t have a strong dislike for these eight-legged freaks prior to playing, you surely will after spending an hour or two in Grounded. This, mostly, comes in the form of spiders. Then there’s the constant threat of danger. Poor visibility at night is perhaps the biggest irritant – especially when in the final stages of a quest and there’s no torch at hand. The gauges drain fairly slowly every morning sees clean drinking water appear via dew drops, while mushrooms and other foodstuffs are common. There are thirst and hunger gauges, a day-to-night cycle – with limited visibility and more enemy encounters at night – and all manner of resources to gather. On your lonesome, progress can be slow and cumbersome.Īs a survival game, Grounded bears familiar trappings. Playing in a team lightens the load, this being best experienced with a friend or three in tow. Finding and retrieving each is a significant undertaking, requiring preparation, research, and some outside-of-the-box thinking. They’re located in precarious places, with one wedged in a tree’s branches and another submerged in an oriental-themed pond. ![]()
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