Obsidian has released the biggest expansion yet for the survival game. Game Director Chris Parker explains the brand-new underwater features.
“Into the Abyss,” the next major update for the Early Access version of Obsidian Entertainment’s Grounded 2, was released yesterday—marking the survival game’s debut on the PlayStation 5.
It isone of the game’s biggest expansions to dateand introduces the new Pond biome, with which the development studio aims to deliver yet another unique section.
The Evolution of Biomes and New Content in Brookhollow Park
“We want to offer something special with every new area in Grounded 2,” explains Game Director Chris Parker in an interview with Eurogamer.de.
“The original EA Picnic Area was meant to lay the foundation for the game. That’s where we introduced the buggies and new combat mechanics. At the same time, we wanted to stay true to the classic Grounded feel from the first game. With AXL, the focus was on creating an absolutely massive boss. The Toxic Tangle threw us into new biomes full of in-depth quest content. In ‘Beat the Heat,’ everything revolved around another massive park boss—King Dozer—and deepening our game systems.”
“With the ‘Into the Abyss’ update, we aim to deliver a ton of new content and expand on existing mechanics,” he adds. “At the same time, we’re bringing brand-new underwater experiences to the game. To that end, we’ve added five biomes, countless new creatures and gear, various features, and even the new amphibious Toe-biter buggy. This centrally located area in Brookhollow Park isn’t just huge and diverse—it also sets the stage for completing the Grounded 2 experience. So the area had a lot to live up to. We think you’re really going to love it.“
More Dynamic Underwater Combat and Expanded Survival Features
All of this builds on the underwater exploration from the previous game, which Parker believes already worked relatively well: “We didn’t feel there were any major issues with the original pond in Grounded,” he says.
“But as with any game, we identified a few areas where we wanted to take the experience to the next level. Specifically, that meant changes to the combat system. We added a dash and ranged weapons to make underwater combat more dynamic.“
”Of course, we also integrated the full buggy feature and tested whether things like base building work underwater. Finally, we wanted the survival elements to be even more challenging and meaningful. Throw in a few cool underwater objects and effects, and you basically have our entire plan for Skunk Pond and the surrounding biomes.”
Grounded 2 is currently available as an Early Access title on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.
