With Grounded 2 crawling out to a release in the near future, I was reminded of a piece I wrote several years ago about the original Grounded being a masterclass in horror. Even if you're not an arachnophobe, it was a game that could go a long way to making you rethink that position. The spiders that loomed in Grounded were so monstrous that they immediately traumatized players in early access, forcing developer Obsidian to put out a special patch to make them less terrifying.
Grounded 2 isn't out yet and I have no idea if it'll still have the same terrifying power that the first one did, but what I've seen so far largely seems to bode somewhat poorly for the collective underpants of the fanbase. And oddly enough, my hopes were solidified in one single image from the trailer:
Creepy-crawlies
The first Grounded seemed oblivious about the fact that it had any horror elements at all, but that picture above has a definite edge and self-awareness to it. Those kids look traumatized, and in some cases downright feral. Hey, I ain't judging! If I'd spent weeks fighting off robots and black widow spiders with toothpick spears, or savaging aphids with my bare teeth just to fend off hunger cramps, I'd probably look the same way. Meanwhile, the warped body horror of the poor professor having been turned into a shriveled raisin and abandoned to go insane is still one of those things that's only funny if you refuse to think about it.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but to me, that picture says that Obsidian is willing to take the gloves off. I hope that's true. It almost felt at times as though Grounded was scary by accident, or certainly far more unnerving that it was initially intending to be. If Obsidian has recognized the potential that this series has for the uncanny, it could end up being one of the most masterfully dread-inducing games this year. The simple fact alone that the Steam page references "a shadow that follows you(,) watching, learning, waiting," suggests that there's something in the park with the mindset of a fucking xenomorph.
A big part of Grounded's power comes from unpredictability, from the fact that it isn't always scary. You can go for hours without seeing anything other than the cuddliest of critters, only to turn a corner and be staring down the barrel of a slathering arachnid nightmare, eyes glinting with delighted hunger. Plus, the more procedural systems mean that nothing is ever certain. Looking out through the window of my base and seeing a wolf spider stalk through the easiest tutorial zone was the stomach-dropping moment I knew I would never be safe again.
Grounded was genuinely unnerving in a similar way that Subnautica managed, because it felt unpredictable, organic. When I walk into a dark basement or ruined laboratory in a Resident Evil game, I know that things aren't going to go well. As a result, I can brace myself accordingly. But Obsidian's less cinematic approach to peril means nothing is certain, and you can never really know anything. I just hope nobody's told them about trapdoor spiders.
If you want to get in the zone, try out our list of the best survival games! Or to see what else is coming out on the same platform, check out all the upcoming Xbox Series X games.
