Grounded ▶ Trailer
Grounded screenshot 1Grounded screenshot 2
ActionAdventureSurvivalMultiplayerCo-opOpen World Survival CraftBase Building

928 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 2,019

Peak in the last 7 days: 2,944

Grounded Steam store

Game description

The world is a vast, beautiful and dangerous place – especially when you have been shrunk to the size of an ant. Can you thrive alongside the hordes of giant insects, fighting to survive the perils of the backyard?

Basic info

DeveloperObsidian Entertainment
PublisherXbox Game Studios
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateSep 27, 2022
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10 64bit
ProcessorIntel Core i3-3225
Memory4 GB
GraphicsNvidia GTX 650 Ti
Storage8 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 440 reviews from the past 1 year

86.4/ 100
Top 30%

Steam rating: Very Positive (90%)

Metacritic: 83 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

A survival game where you are shrunk to insect size, Grounded scores 86.4, top 30% of games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

145 reviews find it fun, and some call the loop of building, crafting and fighting bugs so addictive that hours slip by. 67 enjoy playing together, and some describe fond memories made with a parent, child or partner. Multiplayer ranks 135th of 642. 45 praise the world and atmosphere, and some call the tiny backyard both terrifying and beautiful, with a dense map worth exploring. Content Volume ranks 146th of 1351, and Gameplay ranks 219th of 1396.

👎 Where it falls short

25 reviews find it too hard at times, with some saying parrying is nearly required, base raids are punishing and the final boss is brutal even with a full team. 24 dislike the grind, and some point to repeated trips for resources, slow farming and costly upgrades in the late game. 19 report bugs and crashes, with a few losing items or saves and others thrown around by odd physics. Pricing & Fairness ranks 649th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“112 hours, beat NG+ and all achievements, would recommend” · 145 reviews
“playing together with dad created countless fond memories” · 67 reviews
“world and atmosphere design is one of the saving graces, well done” · 45 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 67% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Freedom +3.51 · Room to explore, build, and play your own way
Positive “exploration with hidden areas and unique locations” · 29 reviews
Negative “building system completely broken, structures collapse unpredictably” · 5 reviews

Progression 31% · Difficulty 27% · Onboarding 12% · Strategy 16% · Controls & feel 14%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 47% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.80 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “world and atmosphere design is one of the saving graces, well done” · 45 reviews
Negative “insects and spiders cause genuine fear and discomfort” · 4 reviews

Story 22% · Characters 3%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 41% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +3.64 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “100+ hours plus NG+ 1, 2, 3 editions with additional content” · 11 reviews
Negative “limited to 4 players and no true modding support” · 5 reviews

Variety 17% · Replayability 10%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 25% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +3.87 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “art style, graphics, lighting all excellently done” · 35 reviews
Negative “그래픽 부분에서 좀 떨어지는게 느껴짐” · 1 review

Audio 7%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 47% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +3.15 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “playing together with dad created countless fond memories” · 67 reviews
Negative “removed dedicated servers, unable to play together with friends” · 15 reviews

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 5%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 11% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.11 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “final battles unbalanced, 2-3 black beetles 3 mosquitos 10-12 red ants 3-4 bombadier beetles at once” · 6 reviews
Positive “good balance, great entertainment from exploring” · 2 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 4% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 18% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.17 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “still in active development and occasionally buggy” · 19 reviews
Positive “everything feels super polished” · 1 review

Performance 6% · Developer support 7%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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🎲 Fans of this game often get the title Curious Explorer. Which one is yours?