Grounded - Preview, four boys and a thousand dangers lurking

If there is something that division Xbox managed to propose at the end of this videogame generation, it is undoubtedly the variety of titles developed by her studies, which all end up in the convenient Xbox Game Pass, for PC and console. This is the case with Grounded, title patented by Obsidian Entertainment, a well-known software house that after joining the large Microsoft family has successfully released The Outer Worlds (even if published by Private Division, as per agreements made previously). However, remaining with our feet on the ground, and taking a look at the catalog of the software house already available, it is easy to notice the presence of the new work, a cooperative survival currently available in early access on Xbox One and PC (in the latter case through the platforms of Steam and Xbox App).

A title that certainly embraces the development style of the current Obsidian, but which aims to offer a distinctly different experience compared to the previous ones of the studio. Over the last few days we have been able to thoroughly test the available version of Grounded, which, being in early access, obviously lacks content and presents several problems that will be fixed in the coming months. However, the skeleton of the work is present and accessible to all, and has been able to show us the potential of this new experience, so let's see what it is!

Survive in Grounded

Like a bolt from the blue, the player wakes up in what looks like a cave, accompanied by up to 3 friends, all in the same condition. However, it is not a huge dark ravine, but of a tiny piece of land, which for the protagonists seems as big as an entire city. They remember nothing of what happened - or when - but they only know that they have shrunk beyond belief, to the size of an ant, or even less. The whole harmless world, which would not even be fundamentally visible to the naked eye, it has become a giant park of horrors, full of insects of normal size, but which in perspective are disproportionate and frightening.

This is no time to break down as the time has come to fill the backpacks with resources and to build a makeshift shelter in order to survive, using the developer's patented complex crafting system. Tools, objects to be placed and work tables, in a short time it is necessary to set up a functional team that knows how to defend itself from tasks and is able to recover a sufficient number of resources. The ultimate goal is to return to the classic stature of the boys, but it is not even said that you can get through the night. Hunger, thirst and giant spiders quickly peep out, forcing players to get used to the prospect of this great little garden, full of secrets to uncover in order to upgrade your gear and face increasingly fearsome enemies.

Embracing the optics of the early versions of Minecraft a little, the game doesn't bother explaining in detail what needs to be done. However, some actions are intuitive, while others are explained by the crafting system, but it will always be necessary to pay attention in understanding every single detail that can avoid the death of the members of the unusual group. The variety of situations, however, runs out almost immediately, like the possibilities offered by the game map, which is still expanding and decidedly not very understandable, which in fact leads to confusion. The contents are what Obsidian Entertainment will have to focus on without a doubt, in fact, given the development prospects that the Grounded concept guarantees, given that it can be expanded in all its features.

Flamboyant, but lethal

On the technical front, the title has several gaps, starting with the many disabling bugs, which we hope will be fixed over the next few months. The graphics sector is really impactful, and offers a colorful and pleasant world, in stark contrast to the pitfalls and dangers it hides. Every object, plant and insect in our perspective has been manically adapted to the right size, in order to create an ecosystem where a spider we wouldn't even notice is a gigantic creature, capable of ending the player's life with a single swipe. . There first person view it is precisely for this reason that it is interesting and functional, thanks also to the combat system that can be thoroughly investigated by grinding a few hours of play.

Currently, the contents are reduced to the bone, and the problems often burden the merits of this title, however original and pleasant, which in company undoubtedly manages to make the often distressing survival formula fun, exploding it thanks to the characteristics of the funny adventure that the boys find themselves living. The developer still has a lot to work on, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to clarify some features of the work, fixing the ton of crippling bugs in the process. We hope that in the coming months Grounded will be expanded and curated, as well as localized in our language. This is currently absent, which is a big problem, given the technicality of some of the terms and names present. However, we may soon see a crackling final release, after which we will tell you about the title again through our Grounded review.