Variety truly is the spice of life, at least when it comes to video games. A developer could create a game with the most satisfying mechanics ever witnessed, but if all players are doing is just running around the same environment, fighting the same enemies, then that game will get dull pretty quick regardless. When thinking back on the most well-received games of all time, it’s their variety that often lands them a top spot.The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildlets players approach its open-world any way they see fit,Half-Life 2is constantly changing its setting, andMass Effect 2is always offering up new characters and scenarios to become invested in. Obsidian’sGroundedneeds to take a leaf out of their book, and add some more variety to its future enemy additions.
Releasing in early access in July 2020,Groundedis a survival game that shrinks the player down to the size of an insect, and throws them into a backyard setting. Over the last two years,Groundedhas received a plethora of updates, adding more weapons, structures, and enemies to the game. But asGroundedhits its full 1.0 release, fans are starting to ask for a little more variety when it comes to the game’s enemy types.
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Grounded Should Add More Enemy Types
WithGroundedcentering around shrunken characters in a backyard environment, it’s only natural that the game’s main enemies are a range of creepy crawlies. There are three different categories of creatures inGrounded, the first of which is Harmless Creatures, then Neutral Creatures, and finally Angry Creatures. For the most part,Grounded’s current creature line-up is dominated by insects, such as different species of ants, beetles, weevils, mites, gnats, and termites. While these insects are obviously the most prominent creatures in this type of environment, and their inclusion makes complete sense within the context, their prominence doesn’t make for a very varied gameplay experience.
AfterGroundedfirst hit early access, Obsidian did begin to add new creatures to the game, and while many of these were more types of insects, a few other species made the cut. For instance, a few water-based enemies came toGroundedin the Koi Pond Update, including the titular koi fish, the water flea, and the tadpole. Obsidian has also updated the game to include a range of spiders, some of which pose a significant threat to the player.
In the recentDoom and Shroom update, the Broodmother spider boss was introduced, which looms over the player and is truly terrifying. ThoughGrounded’s spider AI does function fairly similarly to the other insects in the game, they offer a decent amount of visual variety, and that’s a good first step for the game moving forward.
Obsidian has already confirmed that both moths and mantises are heading toGroundedin a future update, and that’s a great place to start. There’s a whole slew of other backyard creatures that couldcome toGroundedin future updates. Reptiles and amphibians are one of the biggest animal groups currently left out ofGrounded. Frogs, toads, and lizards could all provide different challenges for the player, and add a great deal of both visual and gameplay variety. Snakes also seem like a no-brainer, though Obsidian may need to include a phobia setting as it did for the spiders. For some larger enemies, rodents would be a good call, with different species of mice and rats being good candidates to use.
Groundedis out now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
