Is Grounded 2 Worth Playing? Early Access Impressions in 2025

Obsidian Entertainment has launched Grounded 2 in early access on Steam, Xbox, and PC Game Pass. I’ve spent a hefty amount of time with the game to see what’s new, what’s improved, and whether this sequel is worth jumping into during its early access phase.

What’s in the Grounded 2 Early Access?

Act 1 Story and Playtime

Grounded 2 takes place a few years after the events of the first game. The same group of kids is shrunk yet again, but this time, instead of being stuck in a small garden, they now have to explore a full city park. This is a new story with a mystery to solve and an antagonist to face in the first act.

Just following the main questline can take around 18 hours, and with players likely spending extra time building bases, gathering materials, or exploring, the game already offers 20+ hours of content in early access.

Why a Sequel Instead of Expanding Grounded 1?

At first, I wondered why Obsidian decided to make a sequel instead of continuing to update the original game. The answer is technical: Grounded 1 ran on Unreal Engine 4, and they had reached the limits of what was possible. Grounded 2 is being built in Unreal Engine 5, to create a game three times as big as the first. This clearly tells me there’s a future for this IP, and they want to future proof it and give it the space to grow for years to come.

From Garden to Park: The New Map

When launching Grounded 2 in early access, the scale was immediately clear. The starting map is already close to the size of the entire first game. Booting both games and comparing maps side by side gave me the impression that players are getting a generous starting point, especially those familiar with the original.

This ambitious scope is made possible with help from Eidos Montreal, best known for the Deus Ex series and the modern Tomb Raider trilogy. Their support is invaluable for Obsidian, which is already busy since having shipped Avowed last year and is still working on The Outer Worlds 2, due in late 2025.

Buggies: Grounded 2’s Game-Changing Mounts

One of the community’s most requested features has finally arrived: mounts. In Grounded 2, they’re called Buggies, and they completely change the way you explore.

The Red Ant Buggy makes traversal easier and safer. You can cross areas in seconds while avoiding many of the dangers that would normally slow you down. It’s also an excellent building partner, capable of chopping stems and carrying heavy materials. In combat, it can distract or even damage enemies, making it more than just a travel companion.

The Spider Buggy is more combat-focused, with a larger health pool and a shout ability that scares smaller enemies. Its web attacks make it especially useful against tougher encounters, and it excels at navigating web bridges, which are punishingly slow on foot. Like the Red Ant, it also expands your inventory space, letting you haul back more resources.

Quality of Life Improvements that Return

Beyond the new mounts and story, much of the core gameplay is unchanged from the first game, and that’s a good thing. Base building, progression tiers, and blueprint unlocking all work the same way, offering a user-friendly loop even for players who aren’t usually into survival games.

The ability to blueprint entire structures before committing resources is still here, making base building intuitive and less time consuming. The fan-favorite “Hot Deposit” system also returns, automatically sending items from your inventory to their proper storage boxes. It’s a small feature that saves a ton of time, and I’d miss it in any other survival game.

Expanded Gear System and Roles

New to Grounded 2 is a more robust gear system. Players can take on roles like tank (fighter gear to soak up damage), rogue (fast, critical hits), ranger, or even caster. There’s no restriction as you can swap roles just by changing gear.

Weapon mastery adds another layer, rewarding you with passive skills as you specialize. For example, spears gain extra throwing damage, while swords eventually weaken enemies with each strike. While harder to appreciate solo, this system shines in co-op play. You can only activate a limited amount of these passive skill at a time, forcing players to being an expertise on certain weapons at a given time.

What’s Missing in Grounded 2’s Early Access?

It’s clearly a work in progress as there’s a clear boundary in the map with a ‘Under Construction’ tape blocking your path once you reach the endpoint of the current map. But there’s a lot planned for the game as Obsidian and Eidos plan to slowly open the park more, improve/add features, and add more content that will eventually dwarf the first game. The game’s current roadmap is available, and it covers the team’s plan for up to next Summer and beyond.

Planned Updates for Fall 2025

• New recipes

• An arena

• Quality of life improvements

• A building grid system

• Buggy hotpouch feature

• A new park boss

• New weapons and armor

• New furniture

• Localization for Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese

Winter 2025 Roadmap Highlights

• Steam Deck verification

• New insects, including crickets

• Ladybug Buggy mount

• Improvements to the Sour feature and PEEP.R tool

• Updates to the coziness system

• Use of PEEP.R on buggies

So far, Obsidian and Eidos haven’t confirmed whether Act 2 quests will be added during early access. It seems likely that early updates will focus on features, content, and map expansion rather than progressing the main story. It’s likely possible that all we get during Early Access is Act 1 of the story, and I’m okay with that direction as i’d like to keep a good chunk of the game hidden for it’s eventual release.

Grounded 1 was in early access for roughly two years, so expect the sequel to have a similar timetable.

Should You Play Grounded 2 in 2025?

I’m usually hesitant to recommend early access titles since players often pay to test incomplete games. But Grounded 2 feels surprisingly stable and generous with content. With over 20 hours of gameplay available already, it doesn’t come across as a bare-bones release.

What makes it unique is that it doesn’t strip away the features that worked in the first game. It looks sharper thanks to Unreal Engine 5, but the core gameplay loop remains intact. The main omissions are ziplines (confirmed for a summer update) and certain insects from the first game, though it’s unclear if they’ll return by 1.0.

There are still bugs, literally and figuratively. I ran into clipping issues and odd AI behavior, such as every nearby red ant attacking me while I was hunting a Ladybug. But these problems feel minor compared to many early access launches.

If you’re on the fence, the safest option is to try it through Game Pass before deciding whether to buy it long-term to support the developers. Either way, Grounded 2 already feels like a worthy sequel, and it’s shaping up to become even bigger as development continues.

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