Grounded

Obsidian has done a good job at all levels - universe, exploration, combat, construction, survival - for this beautiful and original survival title, a little more balancing and it will be perfect.

Grounded doesn't revolutionize its genre, but it does imbue it with the endearing heart of a child.

Grounded's charming, Honey I Shrunk the Kids premise is elevated by its uniquely welcoming approach to wonder.

Grounded is a delightfully creative and occasionally terrifying survival sandbox.

Grounded has always been a solid idea on paper, but Obsidian brings that potential to full fruition for launch, delivering on the thrills and fun of its brilliantly Spielbergian conceit.

Grounded is an incredibly rewarding survival experience that constantly pushes you into new areas of its reactive world, filled with insect inhabitants that are some of the best baddies in gaming.

Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

Grounded is the perfect survival game to jump into with friends. It tests you constantly, but isn't too hard to the point that you want to turn it off. Now that the game has come to PlayStation in addition to other platforms, it's more approachable than ever and a high recommendation for anyone looking for a different kind of experience than the usual.

Grounded is a fantastic survival game, a colourful, unique, and original slice of joyful adventuring that everyone should play if they have the opportunity. It nails the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids vibe, its core gameplay loops are moreish, and its setting and enemies are often breathtaking in how they reframe the mundane. However, and as usual for these big efforts on Switch, this port has plenty of issues. They've had to tank the visuals, the all-important online co-op is flaky, the frame rate is fine until you start going big on bases - just all the stuff we've come to expect at this stage, really. If you can handle the issues, or if Switch is your only way to play, this game can still deliver the goods and the quality shines through. However, if you have another way to play it, we'd definitely recommend you do that instead.

Of all the survival games I’ve played, Grounded is easily one of the coolest. The very theme of it is fun and the execution is pretty on target too. Playing as micro-sized kids in a vast yard full of pests and threats is really interesting, the story keeps exploration intriguing, and the progression, whether alone or with friends, feels satisfying. I’m not fond of how hard it is on normal difficulty alone, or the lack of variety among nearly required gear, but it really gets all the more delightful with friends helping. Even then, there’s plenty of ways to enjoy Grounded solo, too. Between Creative Modes, multiple difficulties, and a nice set of accessibility options, Grounded feels like one of the strongest entries to the survival genre in a long time.