This seems like the most dreary and predictable way to start a Grounded review, but let’s talk about the 1989 film “Honey, I Shrink the Kids.” On a very simple premise, a half-witted scientist has unexpectedly managed to shrink a group of children to microscopic dimensions, so that they are challenged to become small in their normally safe and familiar environment.
This is exactly (minus Rick Moranis as a scientist) also grounded settings. Without further explanation, you – and some friends, if you want – have grown small and found yourself in a rather cozy backyard, equally picturesque house. The only problem is that everything we normally don’t care about is now suddenly deadly. Grass stalks have been turned into almost alien forests, small holes have turned into exciting caves, and creepy creepers needless to say.
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Sure, we’ve been small in a lot of games before, but never in this well-designed way. Here, every aspect of the title relies on your supermini, so the world feels big. How are you going to deal with this, especially since you don’t really know why this is happening?
In fact, I’ve been following Obsidian’s development since it released into Early Access and Game Preview in the summer of 2020. Even so, it’s a fun game, albeit buggy, a little hard to get into, and feels a little bare-bones. But now, just over two years later, it’s officially released, and it’s been a very gripping journey, with Obsidian Entertainment adding content and having an amazingly good conversation with their community.
So when you press “Start” to wake up and give the word “tiny” a new meaning, a very complete and refined gaming experience awaits you. You see the house in the distance, but how will you get there? Most importantly, how do you find food and water and make sure you have enough health and stamina? Down to Earth is generally a game of what is now commonly referred to as a survival genre, and how you deal with the challenges you face is really up to you. There is a good chance to change your gameplay.
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As I wrote above, Grounded was a bit tricky during early testing, but while there have been great improvements in this area, there’s still too much initially when the various systems and how they relate to each other are presented to you force feed. I want to state here and now that it’s well worth the effort because it’s one of the most interesting game worlds I’ve visited in a long time.
The great thing is that the garden you live in is free to explore – but incredibly uninhabitable. Clearly, insect-sized humans have no business here. This is in stark contrast to the fact that I am actually venturing into the back of a house I want to live in. It’s very comfortable and pretty, with bright, bold colors and a fancy design. The world also really lives and breathes, with many animals moving around in a believable ecosystem. It also feels polished, something we’re not used to in the survival genre, and runs smoothly at 4K and 60 frames per second on the Xbox Series X.
However, most things are very dangerous, no matter how pretty they are, and I’m often forced to rethink when giving up or trying something very different. As well as making better equipment so you can do it in any setting (like killing bed bugs to make gas masks). There’s also the unexpected thrill of exploring mysterious ant tunnels, battling insects, dodging carp in fish ponds, and building nighttime shelters. What’s more, there’s actually a story in the finished game that carries very little product, but it turns out to be a lot more interesting than I expected and worth exploring thoroughly. Of course, it’s basically about you getting back to normal size, but there’s actually more here.
Down to Earth is completely solo playable, and I’ve probably spent half my time doing it in-game. But it really shines when you’re playing with others online. Being able to do things together as a team makes everything a lot more fun and I find myself feeling that many of the hardest challenges are designed for multiplayer and are better balanced that way with so many different elements , as a team it is really possible to do something. The latter especially includes base buildings, where you can create some really creative giant forts, rather than just a few stacked walls with all-important stuff in them as cover for the night.
Grounded really matures like a fine wine, and spent two years in Early Access and Game Preview has paid off. Thanks to this, we have a great product today, a survival adventure that beat the competition in content and technology right from the start. Granted, the difficulty levels are a little uneven at times, and I still find the intro a little too steep, but in the end it’s a game that once again turns a 45-year-old into a carefree teenager in a wonderful sandbox A mid-adventure, can and should, explore as many times as you like, either alone or with a happy group of friends.