Grounded is a new first-person survival game from The Outer Worlds dev [Video]

After the successful launch of The Outer Worlds, Obsidian is ready to completely move away from the Fallout formula with its new game, Grounded. After essentially writing the book on open-world Fallout style games and then moving that expertise over to The Outer Worlds IP with great success, Obsidian is going in a completely new direction. It appears to be Fortnite mixed with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and first person combat thrown in, but it is more of a survival/combat game than a battle royale experience, by the looks of it. You’ll find more details and the debut trailer below the fold.

Obsidian Entertainment has had a storied tenure in game development to say the least. From Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic to Neverwinter Nights 2, followed by the incredible Fallout: New Vegas and South Park: Stick of Truth, these folks know what they are doing. Since then the company has successfully launched its own IP known as The Outer Worlds – an almost Fallout like experience, just in a more compact package and without all the bugs — and is now ready to unveil its next project, Grounded.

Grounded

Grounded is a first-person survival experience that takes place in a suburban backyard. But, as you may have guessed, you are shrunk down to the size of a tiny insect, making every blade of grass seem like a giant tree swaying in the wind.

Players can go it alone or in co-operative teams of 4 while working alongside your usual cast of backyard bugs and creatures. Although you will have to shore up defenses, build your own base and take on some of the more ferocious creatures in first-person combat. We get to see very little of the combat is today’s Grounded announcement trailer, but the base building appears to be extremely reminiscent of Fortnite and other games like that. Obsidian has clearly implemented a vibrant Fortnite like visual approach to the game’s graphics as well. There are 4 starter classes, loads of crafting and players will have to forage for food (like mushrooms) and water from dew drops to stay alive.

Go Big or Never Go Home

Obsidian says Grounded is actually a more of a sandbox game, but it will have some story elements by the sounds of it. You can expect some environmental and narrative-driven story here, but it seems like it might be fairly basic. The general idea is to find a way to return to your normal size and escape the dangers of the backyard.

Grounded is a Xbox Game Preview title that will be included with Game Pass, but it will also be available on the Microsoft Store and Steam come Spring 2020, early access programs included.

9to5Toys’ Take:

We have been wondering what Obsidian will move on to next after launching The Outer Worlds. While a part of us was just hoping for a much larger version of that game in sequel form, the thought of Obsidian moving completely away from the Fallout formula is an intriguing one. Although this Fortnite-looking, story-light survival game was not what we had in mind. Having said that, the overall premise of being shrunk down in a typical backyard is an interesting one so we’ll have to see more of this one action before we decide for sure.

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