Backyard survival game Grounded now has mosquitoes and bees

The latest Grounded update adds flying insects to the backyard and changes how gear works in your inventory.

Grounded 0.6.0 went live this week, and you can check out the full update notes on Obsidian's site - but you only need to look up in the sky to see the patch's biggest additions: mosquitoes, fireflies, and bees (specifically bumblebees, judging by how chonky and fuzzy they look). You can find mosquitoes at aphid honey holes, while fireflies emerge in the evening and congregate around dew drops. Bees just sort of bumble around, and if you're hard up for pollen you can whack them to knock it off their chubby lil' legs. They don't like it when you do that, though.

The other biggest change is that your worn weapons and armor now go into dedicated equipment slots rather than taking up room in your inventory. Worn gear will also remain on your character even after you die and respawn, which should make it easier to retrieve the rest of the stuff that's waiting in your old backpack.

The new creatures also come with new loot to harvest, opening up some new equipment options: turn a mosquito's proboscis into an HP-stealing Mosquito Needle, and equip yourself for nighttime exploration with a Firefly Headlamp, among other new options. You can also use mosquito blood sacks to make Healbasa, a throwable item which will restore HP for you and any allies in its burst area. On top of the health benefits it is utterly disgusting, but that's just life among the bugs I guess.

Grounded is available free on Xbox Game Pass, so make sure you grab a deal if you aren't already a subscriber.