Grounded 2

About

Grounded 2 is a single player and multiplayer open world role playing game with a horror theme. It was developed by Eidos-Montréal and was released on July 29, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Shrunk again, but the world is much larger. In this open-world, single-player or co-op survival adventure, craft weapons and armor, build your base, and traverse the playground on your buggy. But something else is out there—and it hasn’t forgotten you.

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 11,596 reviews

story322 positive mentions

optimization388 negative mentions

The game offers a deeper and more engaging story with intriguing characters and meaningful development that builds upon the first installment.
Gameplay improvements include smoother combat mechanics, innovative buggy system, a large vibrant map, and satisfying crafting and building with quality-of-life enhancements.
The atmosphere is immersive and well-crafted, blending whimsical adventure with real danger, supported by stunning visuals and a catchy, atmospheric soundtrack that enhances the experience.

The game suffers from severe optimization and performance issues, including frequent crashes, bugs, glitches, and poor multiplayer stability, which significantly impact playability.
Grinding and resource management are often tedious and repetitive, compounded by an inefficient crafting system and mission-gated progression, which can frustrate players.
Monetization is seen as aggressive and reflects an unfinished product state, leading to perceptions of a cash grab and concerns about value for money.

optimization
1,520 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
62%
26%
The game’s optimization is widely criticized for poor performance, with many users experiencing low frame rates, frequent stuttering, crashes, and lag even on high-end PCs. Despite running on Unreal Engine 5, it suffers from inadequate graphical settings, lack of DLSS/FSR support, and heavy resource demands that make it nearly unplayable on mid- to low-tier hardware. While some improvements have been noted over time, the consensus urges waiting for significant optimization patches before recommending the game for most players.
- “Performance seems to have improved since launch, also it's still early access; knowing the path from Grounded 1, it'll be quite a full experience in a year or two.”
- “With the December update the performance has been massively improved and the game is playable.”
- “Performance has already been taking a turn for the better which is great, and I hope optimization continues to improve.”
- “Out of all the games I have ever played, Grounded 2 easily has the worst optimization I have ever seen.”
- “This game runs terribly, even on extremely high-end machines, with genuinely awful performance.”
- “[b]Final verdict:[/b] [b]Not recommended (for now)[/b].. a gorgeous, content-rich survival game crippled by one of the worst optimization jobs I've seen in years.”
stability
1,174 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
Grounded 2, currently in early access, features a promising buggy system that enhances exploration and combat, but the game is plagued by numerous bugs, glitches, frequent crashes, and poor optimization, especially affecting multiplayer stability. Many players report issues such as disappearing buggies, lost inventory, freezes, and performance drops, making the game occasionally frustrating or nearly unplayable despite its fun core mechanics. However, the developers actively address these problems, and most agree it has great potential once the bugs are resolved.
- “Other than some bugs (pun intended), the game looks and runs great even on low settings.”
- “It runs great overall.”
- “Honestly, it runs great and I am having so much fun!”
- “The game is riddled with session-ending bugs like losing all your equipment and all your buggies, even losing all your character stats.”
- “Buggy mess, constant UI issues, repeated crashing, items disappearing randomly.”
- “Massive buggy mess, very hard to play co-op with friends without it crashing or freezing up.”
story
1,042 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
66%
3%
The story in this sequel is a significant continuation of the first game, featuring more depth, intriguing characters, and plot twists that keep players engaged despite its current early access state. While some find the story less polished or shorter than expected, many appreciate the richer narrative integration and look forward to further expansions and improvements. Overall, the storyline complements the gameplay well, though players are advised to play the first game for full context and patience for ongoing development.
- “The story is deeper and more engaging this time around, with characters who feel meaningful and memorable.”
- “The story also directly continues the plot of the first game, which is great in its own right, so I would definitely recommend turning right back around and getting that first if you haven't already played it.”
- “Every step they've taken to up the ante of Grounded 1 has been a giant leap in quality regarding QoL features, story (especially story I love the direction they're taking it's so juicy raaaah), new classes, mutations, combat, building, mounts — I could go on and on, I'm honestly giddy just thinking about it.”
- “The story is so rushed and quick, you are basically forced to do the story missions instead of anything else, because blueprints and materials are mission blocked.”
- “I am so uninvested in this game's story compared to Grounded 1; it is a huge disappointment.”
- “Plus the story makes next to no sense and all the new characters are forgettable at best.”
gameplay
708 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
63%
5%
Grounded 2 builds upon the original game's core gameplay with significant improvements such as smoother combat mechanics featuring dodge and parry, the innovative buggy system for easier traversal and carrying capacity, and a large, vibrant map offering more exploration and new enemies. While many find the gameplay familiar yet fresh and engaging, with depth in crafting, building, and survival mechanics, the experience is somewhat marred by bugs, stability issues, and optimization problems typical of early access. Overall, it offers a fun, cooperative survival adventure that improves on its predecessor but still has room to polish technical and mechanical rough edges.
- “The gameplay is a mix of new mechanics like dodging with the familiar mechanics like three-hit combo and perfect block. Crafting and building are mostly the same with some quality-of-life tweaks. The tools being condensed into one single omni-tool helps save inventory space and prevents you from going anywhere without your harvesting equipment, while also requiring a mix of raw science and bug parts to upgrade each aspect.”
- “Buggies, recipe tree balances and additions, new bugs, new combat mechanics, and an absolutely massive (and growing) map have made Grounded 2 far supersede the first game.”
- “The combat has also seen a big upgrade, delivering smoother mechanics and a real sense of progression as you master new tools and strategies.”
- “Very bad optimization, boring gameplay and bad concept.”
- “Every annoying, uninspired gameplay choice that bogged down the previous title is evident here.”
- “Tldr: I got frustrated with game breaking glitches and uninspired gameplay that is both outdated and lazy.”
graphics
677 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
62%
6%
The graphics in this early access game are visually impressive, featuring vibrant, detailed environments and improved art style compared to its predecessor. However, many users report severe performance and optimization issues, including frequent frame drops, lag, crashes, and limited graphics customization options, even on high-end PCs. While the visuals are praised, the lack of fine-tuned settings and poor optimization hinder smooth gameplay, with hopes that updates will address these problems over time.
- “Despite running on lowest graphical settings and horrid rendering %, the game is still very very beautiful.”
- “The graphics quality is phenomenal and the detail of the creatures is fantastic.”
- “Absolutely stunning visuals, terrifying enemies & incredibly fun building, it is the greatest survival games I have ever played!”
- “Optimization is abysmal, even on a good quality gaming rig; I had to play on the lowest graphics settings and still experienced frequent lag.”
- “I have a high end PC and yet I can barely run this game at playable FPS on medium graphics.”
- “The game is so unoptimized that it won’t run properly even on low graphics settings, causing frequent crashes and lag.”
grinding
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
8%
89%
Grinding in the game is widely seen as tedious, repetitive, and sometimes frustrating due to inefficient crafting systems, scarce resources, and technical issues like crashes and inventory problems. While some players find exploration, combat, and farming enjoyable and addictive, the significant time investment required for material farming and resource management often overshadows the experience. Quality-of-life improvements, mounts, and bug fixes are helping reduce the grind, but many still caution that grinding remains a major, sometimes burdensome, aspect of gameplay.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Depends on how much you like grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “Not fun, runs poorly and the game is more frustrating than anything. Resource management is a pain/annoyance and I have never seen a more inefficient, tedious crafting system in all of my 24 years of gaming.”
- “Unfortunately, there's a catch: the whole process is very time-consuming, so while the main story is relatively short, we'll spend most of our time grinding for resources.”
- “Monotonous, grindy, repetitive gameplay with zero new ideas or really anything that would make it stand out among its many peers.”
humor
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated for its quirky, charming, and often unintentionally funny moments, especially stemming from numerous glitches and bugs that players find more amusing than frustrating. The game's light-hearted and humorous tone, combined with funny character interactions and unexpected events during gameplay, enhances the immersive experience and camaraderie in multiplayer sessions. Although some bugs can annoy, many players consider these humorous quirks part of the game's charm, adding to its overall entertainment value.
- “I absolutely love the quirky, slightly weird sense of humor – it adds so much charm and personality to the experience.”
- “There are a lot of unexpected funny moments that were born while we played this game together and I am looking forward to the full release.”
- “If you’ve ever wanted to be tiny, terrified, and fighting spiders the size of SUVs (from your perspective at least), Grounded 2 delivers in the most hilariously horrifying way possible.”
music
67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
57%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy, atmospheric, and retro-inspired soundtracks that enhance the overall immersive experience. Players especially appreciate the intro and combat music for their intensity and nostalgia, though some find certain in-game tracks less fitting or intrusive. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong, integral part of the game's engaging environment.
- “The combat music in this game got so much better.”
- “The soundtrack alone is a lullaby for the soul.”
- “Oh and let's not forget to mention the music, it's off the charts from just exploring above ground to spelunking, the audio and visuals pop.”
- “Music leaves a little to be desired, but that's a minor gripe compared to my main complaint.”
- “The only thing (aside from the usual shortcomings of an early access game) that is somewhat annoying is the background music during the day - it's too epic and intrusive for my taste.”
- “The music is annoying, not soothing.”
emotional
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
95%
5%
The game delivers a unique emotional experience by immersing players in tiny-scale yet intense encounters with bugs, blending humor, tension, and vulnerability. While its narrative and character moments are surprisingly heartfelt and complex, technical issues and bugs sometimes detract from emotional engagement. Overall, players find it a chaotic but creatively emotional adventure that can be both charming and unsettling.
- “The emotional rollercoaster of saying 'aww look a ladybug!' and then immediately getting body-checked into next week.”
- “Character development has never been so literally small-scale yet emotionally massive.”
- “But to refer to it solely in genre terms is to undersell the emergent complexity of what it achieves on both a systemic and emotional level.”
- “Boring story, story has no integration into gameplay, it's just a story to listen to randomly.”
replayability
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
67%
14%
Replayability is praised for its potential and existing fun, especially as ongoing updates improve playability and content, drawing favorable comparisons to titles like Subnautica and the original Grounded. While early access content and bugs slightly hinder the experience, features like progression, multiplayer, and proposed additions (e.g., more characters, server rentals) hint at high replay value and long-term enjoyment.
- “It's getting close to Subnautica's excitement of replayability.”
- “Only downside is the game's story is coming out in phases but allows for space to grow and adds replay value.”
- “While early access limits some content, the systems in place already provide substantial replay value.”
- “Will repurchase when I see that the game is in a much more playable state.”
- “There’s not really any reason that a game like this shouldn’t be more playable on Deck.”
- “The multiplayer is a bit buggy; it would be nice to have an option similar to The Forest or 7 Days to Die to rent servers to further boost replayability and hopefully fix the multiplayer disconnections.”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
26%
16%
The atmosphere of Grounded 2 is widely praised for its immersive blend of whimsical adventure and real danger, enhanced by vibrant visuals, detailed environments, and ambient music that together create a captivating and sometimes unsettling world. Players appreciate the creativity in scaling everyday objects, refined world-building, and the balance of cozy yet thrilling tones, though some note that lighting adjustments affect the mood. Overall, the game's atmosphere is seen as a standout element that enriches exploration, storytelling, and cooperative play.
- “What makes Grounded 2 truly shine is its atmosphere—a perfect balance of whimsical adventure and real danger.”
- “The way the environment reacts to you, the detail in the insects, and the ambient atmosphere all feel more refined and carefully crafted.”
- “It's so much fun and silly like the first one, nice story and cozy atmosphere.”
- “Of course, the nighttime adds its own challenge and atmosphere too, but a slightly longer day would really help with pacing and exploration.”
- “*Edit*: After the August patch update, a gamma slider appeared in my settings which helps with the overly dark atmospheres but also makes the daytime unrealistically bright. Still playable and better than seeing nothing at all.”
- “For me, she really breaks the atmosphere of the game too, as she is constantly telling you you are a disappointment to her and how she wants you gone.”
monetization
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
73%
The monetization of the game is widely criticized, with many users feeling it is a cash grab due to heavy microtransactions and an unfinished, glitchy state. The game is seen by some as an incomplete rehash of its predecessor, leading to frustration over its pricing and perceived lack of value.
- “The first Grounded conquered almost the entire world, but is Grounded 2 anything more than a cash grab?”
- “Unfortunately, this is a massive cash grab. Wait for at least a year before buying this game.”
- “This game just feels unfinished and leaves us on a cliffhanger for Grounded 3. Absolute cash grab and terrible game either way.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Character development in the game is praised for its depth and emotional impact, enhanced by vibrant designs and significant improvements in storyline and gameplay. Players appreciate the blend of fun mechanics and meaningful character growth that enriches the overall experience.
- “There have also been significant improvements in aspects like the storyline, character development and gameplay rhythm.”
- “Character development has never been so literally small-scale yet emotionally massive.”
- “Vibrant, fun, exploration, base building, character development, etc. from game mechanics, features, crossplay, and save game world sharing; this game plays like an actual game.”