We got invited to watch a special hands-off preview for Obsidian’s upcoming Grounded 2: Into the Abyss, the next big installment in the popular open-world survival crafting game, Grounded 2. Obsidian has really been going at it with these updates considering we just got the Grounded 2: Beat the Heat update not too long ago. The showing was hosted by one of Obsidian’s co-founders and Game Director, Chris Parker, and Senior Producer Miles Winzeler. They spent an hour showing us some of the new features that will be present in the game, as well as updates to existing mechanics based off player feedback. So what can we expect in this next adventure? Let’s find out!

Welcome to the Mountain with Hot Wheels race tracks and all sorts of nostalgic toys!

As is to be expected, much of what made Grounded so popular has returned in Grounded 2, but there are a whole host of new features we can look forward to in Grounded 2: Into the Abyss. For example, in Grounded 2 verticality has been a big focus. Because of this, they’re introducing ziplines in Grounded 2: Into the Abyss. This means players can venture from a hotdog stand, to an old pergola, to a massive tree with ease. This massive tree, known as the Gnarly Bark region, is located between the snack bar area and the community garden region. Gnarly Bark is right along the edge of a large pond, one of several ponds that will be found throughout the maps.

The Zipline is going to make getting around places so much faster.

This is another aspect that has been expanded upon in Grounded 2: Into the Abyss: underwater exploration. Yes, both Grounded  and Grounded 2 had the large koi pond you could explore, but there are even more ponds and sunken treasures to explore in Grounded 2: Into the Abyss. Some are called sour ponds and are filled with toxic sludge, but most have regular water. During the demonstration, we got to see a toy boat that had capsized and sunken to the bottom of the pond. It was filled some incredible loot, but also a full grown Toe Biter who had made the boat its home. You never know what surprises await you in Brookhollow Park!

Naturally, the koi are making a return (still huge and deadly, so be cautious), as are the Diving Bell Spiders, but there are several other new threats as well. New underwater creatures include Tadpoles, Spiny Water Fleas, Pond Jockeys, and the Toe Biters, as I’ve already mentioned. Toe Biters are unique in that they are amphibious, so they’re a threat in both the water and on land. Hooray! Just be warned that if you’re fully adorned in your koi-scale armor, you’ll be too heavy for them to carry you, so plan accordingly. Thankfully, you can build bases underwater using specific building sets, so you can hopefully find safety if you’re too heavy for your Toe Biter Buggy and need to escape a threat.

The Toe Biters have unique properties where they will poison you and freeze you, mimicking their real life deadly bites to smaller prey.

When on land you’ll have some of the usual insect foes to watch out for, such as Spiders (of varying degrees of terrifying) and Ants from the first game, but now you’ll be on the look out for Wasps, Weevils, Ticks, Green Shield Bugs, Tiger Mosquitoes, Scorpions (which can burrow underground to surprise attack you because apparently scorpions weren’t terrifying enough already), and the aforementioned Toe Biter Nymphs. Spiderwebs are now more available to use, but the downside is that now placing a web can sometimes spawn a spider. Yay.

It’s not all bad in the insect world though, as Grounded 2: Into the Abyss now features the inclusion of the Toe Biter Buggies: bugs that you can tame and use for travel, combat, and storage. As of right now there are three types of Buggies: a Red Soldier Ant, and Orb Weaver, and now the amphibious Toe Biter. Buggies will help your tiny selves traverse the land (or water) much quicker and even help fight off some of the other bugs. Alright, I guess I can try to make peace with a spider as long as it helps me stave off all the pesky mosquitoes.

The Toe Biter Buggies will be crucial in moving through the water faster and fending off the new underwater enemies.

In addition to Buggies and ziplines making traversing quicker and easier, the Pneumatic Transit System (PTS) has been updated for Grounded 2: Into the Abyss. You can upgrade the PTS using science skills and components to act as Fast Travel. I’m sure many of us will make this an early focus to cut down on lengthy traveling across the considerably large map. 

Also, O.R.C. Waves (essentially Factional Raids) have been fully revamped. Now, they will appear based off of your level of Animosity. Once you gain enough Animosity by killing creatures, a Masked Stranger will appear and the O.R.C. Wave will spawn. These waves involve enemies with higher aggression, special abilities, and rare loot, but are also about 50% weaker to the Sour Augment than normal enemies. These waves are no joke and can easily wipe out lower level player if they’re not careful. Keep that in mind when you’re annihilating foes during your regular playthrough.

A small tease of the underwater bases coming in the update.

That’s just about everything that was covered during the demonstration. I’ve loved my time with Grounded and Grounded 2, and Grounded 2: Into the Abyss seems to be taking all the things that made these games special and enhanced it even more. The sheer scale of this game is staggering! Grounded 2: Into the Abyss will have all of these upgrades and updates ready to go on August 11th for PC and Xbox Series X|S, the same that day that it launches on PlayStation 5. With so many ways to play, now’s the best time to grab some friends and go on an adventure!