Grounded 2 preview: sequel that dares not speak its name, or real evolution? We combed the park to decide

We didn't see it coming. The first Grounded was already a dazzling success, a miniature survival packed with love for detail that some finished in two hundred hours without tiring of it. So a sequel, this soon, inevitably raises the question with a hint of wariness: will Obsidian really do better, or simply expand the existing? In other words, is Grounded 2 a DLC that dares not speak its name, or a real new game? We spent time in its park to decide, and the answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no.

The context

Grounded 2 is the sequel to Obsidian's miniature survival, available in early access. You find the principle that made the first a success: shrunk to insect size, you explore, gather, build and survive in a giant world where the slightest blade of grass becomes an obstacle and the slightest ant a threat. But this time, the action leaves the suburban backyard for Brookhollow Community Park, an urban park already vaster on its own than the entirety of the first Grounded in its 1.0 version. The game follows a roadmap spread over more than a year of updates before the final version, with substantial but far from complete launch content. The real question is therefore: beyond the change of scenery, what does this sequel bring?

What we know: genuinely new mechanics

Let's say it right away, because it's what tips the scale: Grounded 2 isn't just an enlarged copy-paste. It introduces genuinely new mechanics, and the most striking is the arrival of mounts, the buggies. You can now tame insects to ride them, and each type has its personality: the soldier ant is fast, holds its own in combat, regenerates its health and has its own inventory to carry building materials, while the orb weaver spider is a formidable offensive beast. Obsidian pushes the concept far, with a dedicated progression system, buggy mutations for varied abilities and deep customization. It was one of the players' most recurring requests, and it genuinely transforms exploration and your relationship to the world.

The other big evolution touches combat, entirely rethought. No more just enduring insect assaults: you can now dodge and parry, with a parry system that rewards timing with a total absence of damage, in a generous and fair window. Stamina management has been reworked, snappier, which makes fights far more dynamic than before. On top of that comes a class system, Fighter, Mage, Ranger or Rogue, shaped through your equipment and mutations, and the omni-tool, a versatile tool that replaces several instruments and frees inventory slots. So many systems that, taken together, go well beyond a mere DLC.

What worries us: a sequel a bit too safe

You still have to stay lucid, because not everything is rosy, and part of the community isn't fooled. The most recurring criticism is that of a sequel too safe, too similar to the first. The art direction is rigorously identical, the fundamental survival loop hasn't budged, and some players hoped for a truly fresh setting rather than a park that remains, in spirit, a big backyard. Exploration was the first game's strength, and seeing the sequel reuse such a close atmosphere leaves part of the fanbase wanting. The little time elapsed between the end of the first game's support and this release feeds that fear of a cautious evolution rather than a reinvention.

The omni-tool, precisely, crystallizes the debates. Where some praise the space saved and the fluidity of harvesting anything without switching tools, others see an overdone simplification that removes whole upgrade trees and strips tools of their status as viable weapons, a game with training wheels according to the harshest. Add to that the early-access state, with its usual batch of optimization issues: several players report crashes and framerate drops that still need polishing. The launch content, while generous, represents only a fraction of the planned game, and it'll take more than a year of updates, including a big aquatic update, to reach the 1.0 version. Patience remains in order.

What we think so far

So, disguised DLC or real new game? Our provisional verdict clearly leans toward the real sequel, but a sequel that plays it safe. Grounded 2 brings enough concrete novelty, the buggy mounts with their full progression, a combat system rethought around dodge and parry, classes, an omni-tool and a massive urban map, not to deserve the reductive label of DLC that dares not speak its name. These are real mechanics, not filler, and on that ground, we salute the performance: riding an ant that regenerates its health and carries your materials, or dancing around a creature thanks to a finally satisfying parry, genuinely changes the experience.

Still, the overall caution tempers the enthusiasm. By keeping the art direction, the core loop and an atmosphere very close to the first identical, Grounded 2 expands the existing more than it reinvents it, and that safeness will leave wanting those who hoped for a real leap forward. The omni-tool divides, optimization needs work, and the full content will keep you waiting more than a year. It's therefore a solid, sincere sequel, carried by fine new ideas, but one that advances on marked rails rather than daring the unknown. For fans of the first, there's already plenty to enjoy; for those who dreamed of a revolution, better to follow the roadmap closely and judge for themselves at the 1.0 version.

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Preview based on the PC early-access version.