Grounded is a survival video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. It was released for Windows and Xbox One this week as an early access game. The game is very reminiscent of the classic movie, Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Grounded is pretty much the Honey I Shrunk the Kids video game. I’m not really too sure about the game’s premise because I had to stop playing in order to calm my anxiety. Don’t let the childlike trailer fool you!
If you are afraid of any type of insects, I wouldn’t recommend this game. Apparently this game helped me discover that I have arachnophobia. I was fine fighting the little ants and dirt mites but once it became dark, the world changed. I found myself fleeing for my life hiding within any tiny crevice or electronic that I could find. I saw the shadow of an 8 legged creature behind me and I was too scared to look back to see what I was running from. Once I found my way into a small doorway, I had one of the most scary video game experiences I’ve had in years since Resident Evil first came out on Playstation. This is the moment that my brand new 4k TV became a bad investment. I turned to see what was chasing me and my heart stopped. It was the largest spider I have ever seen in my life! I could not move and the thing would not stop pacing outside the door opening waiting for me to come out.
Apparently, the developers are aware of the fright factor of these large spiders because they created an arachnophobia mode that can be enabled in the options. At the time of writing this, I have not tried that mode yet but I may need to enable it in order to truly review this game in its entirety. Either that or play on a smaller television.
Definitely check out Arachnophobia safe mode in the accessibility options!
— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) July 28, 2020
I am going to give Grounded another try, I would really like to try out the multiplayer gameplay. Despite the traumatic spider experiences, I really think that Grounded is a cool game. What drew me to it was the fact that it looks like “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” the video game.
If you have an XBOX or PC, give grounded a try and let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Play at your own risk if you don’t like bugs.