The pace of progression is great, making you quickly feel like you're getting a handle on this survival malarkey, but I'd prefer fewer systems with less overlap. You can only select two at a time, however, though that number can eventually be increased to five. ![]() Kill a lot of bugs with your spear, for instance, and your spear attacks will start to lower your foe's defences. Traits, too, are handled separately, by a mutation system that gives you significant advantages for completing challenges. And that's all you get when you gain a new level things like health and stamina upgrades are connected to an entirely different system. More than a few times I've earned nothing at all upon levelling up because I've already unlocked the recipes by using the analyser, taking the wind out of my sails just a little bit. It's handy to have multiple ways to unlock these recipes, but the level system can sometimes feel superfluous as a result. Analysing resources and bug parts at field stations also unlocks related crafting recipes and gives you yet more Raw Science. It can be found out in the wild in finite quantities, but you can earn more by completing simple quests for BURG.L, a friendly, bumbling robot. Raw Science is effectively experience, filling a meter until you level up and unlock new crafting recipes. Even if escape isn't on your mind, the labs are a great source of Raw Science, which makes life in the garden a lot easier-if you want to survive, you need to get smarter. These lab excursions can be pretty tricky, and even the easiest one sends you into a spider-infested hedge. You need to unravel the mystery of your kidnapping and find a way to get big again, exploring labs that were built by the scientist who made the monumental breakthrough that led to your unfortunate situation. I woke up one morning to find one of them just hanging out on my roof-a harrowing encounter that's got nothing on the time one of them smashed through my wall.Įscape is the premise that drives Grounded forward. And whenever I've felt safe, that's when the spiders have attacked. The horror is so effective, especially once night falls, that I've caught myself whispering several times, even though these spiders aren't yet able to hear conversations over Discord. It reared up, red eyes glowing, evil fangs at the ready, and let out an unearthly shriek. I rushed towards the demon with my pitiful club and a half-hearted battle cry. I was ready to leap into the water, where I knew the wolf spider couldn't follow, but I wanted vengeance. And then a leg appeared, coming around the corner. Too late, during a break in the conversation, I heard an alien noise: something akin to footsteps, but with more implied menace. We were hanging out in our base next to a building-sized juice box (which I've since turned into a watchtower) discussing how safe we felt, and how we were hidden from any spiders that may have followed him back. Just the other night I was chatting away with a friend after they narrowly escaped a spider. At least until I get distracted and something nasty sneaks up on me. I feel like a tiny wilderness expert, all thanks to the incredible sound design. Visibility is low when you're surrounded by tree-sized grass, but after living in the garden for so long, now I can paint a picture of it using my ears. The garden is never at rest, and every step you take is accompanied by a cacophony of bug noises-at first seemingly discordant, but eventually reassuring and familiar. There are few sandboxes that feel this alive. Rather than an issue that needs to be fixed, however, the ability to win fights through cheesy tactics just feels like another legitimate survival strategy, and even in a state of befuddlement the garden's biggest predators are still intimidating menaces. So while the critter AI seems troublingly effective at times, it's also easily baffled or broken. ![]() Or maybe you'll be even more cunning, drawing them towards a place where you know they'll get stuck. ![]() Maybe you'll climb up somewhere you can't be reached, peppering your enemies with arrows. Sometimes the best path to victory is cheating a little bit. The bugs have all the physical advantages, but you've got that clever human brain. I killed my first stinkbug-a poison-spewing devil-beast-by creating a three-way brawl between it, a ladybug and a group of ants. The world is just so tantalisingly reactive, and it's a reactivity you're encouraged to exploit.
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