Grounded: Exploring the Backyard at Insect Scale

The yard’s distinct regions

At ant scale, a suburban backyard stops reading as one lawn. The pond, termite den caverns, and hot sandbox are distinct environments, each changing what an expedition means. The giant koi and bird make the scale shift especially clear: familiar yard wildlife becomes part of the landscape’s presence. Official Steam description Developer launch feature

The hedge adds another vertical dimension. Obsidian’s Shroom and Doom announcement places the Broodmother among its branches, while the Haze Lab appears as part of crafting progression. These named places connect exploration to the backyard’s layered terrain and to the story’s central investigation of how the characters became small and might return home. Official Steam description Obsidian: mushroom building and wildlife

Materials gathered, homes built

Construction turns gathered resources into a way to inhabit the yard. Harvested mushrooms can be processed with a grinder and oven into mushroom bricks; crow-feather roofs, curved doors, half walls, and pillars extend the building vocabulary. These materials make a base a deliberate construction project rather than a generic shelter. Obsidian: mushroom building and wildlife

A constructed base remains exposed to insects and other creatures. MIX.R devices attract creatures to locations, so the backyard’s wildlife can become a direct pressure on what has been built. Pet aphids and weevils offer a different relation with small creatures, showing how the same scale that makes wildlife a threat can also make it part of everyday life. Official Steam description Obsidian: mushroom building and wildlife

Capabilities for changing terrain

Mutations and Milk Molars, along with crafted and upgraded armor and weapons, change character capabilities. The implication is practical: moving between the pond, caverns, sandbox, and hedge is not simply a matter of crossing ground. Preparation and equipment affect how a character meets the different conditions and creatures of each area. Official Steam description

The full release presents the complete story rather than the earlier preview period. Its wider collection of areas, creatures, building materials, weapons, and armor gives the yard a more finished exploratory structure, while leaving the central mystery focused on the characters’ shrinking and the attempt to get home. Developer launch feature

A world that can be shared

Grounded supports solo play or a group of up to three friends. Shared Worlds allow the group’s world to continue when its original host is absent, making the backyard a persistent shared setting. Exploration, building, and the care of a base can therefore belong to a continuing group effort rather than a single session with one host. Official Steam description