Game profile
Grounded
Four teenagers are shrunk to insect size and must survive in their own backyard, which has become a vast, dangerous wilderness. Base building, exploration and battles against giant bugs are part of daily life.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Survival / Adventure, set in a science fiction world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The world is open, so wandering off and ignoring the main path is part of the deal. It rewards long uninterrupted stretches more than quick check-ins.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. The story matters and gives the mechanics a frame, without taking over. Co-op is supported, so you can bring someone along. It is available broadly, on 4 platforms. It sits in the mid price bracket.
What stands out
- Shrunk in the backyard
- Base building
- Giant bug battles
This fits you if
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- you would rather build something than be told what to do
- you can sit down for a proper long stretch without interruptions
- you like getting lost and ignoring the main objective for hours
- you have someone to play with
- you want something light that leaves you in a good mood
Look elsewhere if
- you only ever get short bursts of play time
- you want something with real weight to it
- you want either a pure challenge or pure relaxation, not the middle
How long is Grounded?
About 45 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 8 weeks, or 23 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 78 out of 100, which puts it above 20 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 974 overall. That is the lower end of this database, critics were more reserved here than with most titles. The number does not tell you whether a game is exactly right for the right evening, though.
For comparison, Survival averages 80 points across the database, so this one sits 2 points below its own genre. The figure rests on 127 collected ratings.
Released in 2022 and 4 years old. Recent enough to look and run modern, old enough to be patched and often discounted.
The facts
- Release year
- 2022
- Genres
- Survival, Adventure
- Playtime
- approx. 45 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Present and relevant
- Play with
- Solo, Co-op
- Setting
- Sci-fi
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Mid price
- Platforms
- PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
- Critic rating
- 78 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grounded | 2022 | approx. 45 hrs. | 78 | Mid price |
| No Man's Sky | 2016 | approx. 60 hrs. | 74 | Mid price |
| Starbound | 2016 | approx. 45 hrs. | 87 | Budget |
| Astroneer | 2019 | approx. 30 hrs. | 81 | Mid price |
If you liked this, try these
- 74/100 No Man's Sky Shared: Survival, Adventure, Sci-fi
- 87/100 Starbound Shared: Survival, Adventure, Sci-fi, rated higher
- 81/100 Astroneer Shared: Survival, Adventure, Sci-fi, shorter
- 81/100 Raft Shared: Survival, Adventure, rated higher
- n/a Voidtrain Shared: Survival, Adventure, Sci-fi, longer
- 81/100 Terraria Shared: Survival, Adventure, longer, rated higher