Grounded has been around in Early Access since 2020. Virtually anybody who has played it has fallen in love with the time-honored sci-fi tale of “kid gets shrunk and has to battle things that are suddenly giant” - like spiders and mosquitos.

Grounded is not however one of those games that a dev has just left wallowing in Early Access without giving it true care and attention. Developer Obsidian has continued to craft a perfect game world and in September 2022, moved the game from Early Access to version 1.0.

But what’s new? How much new stuff is there, and is it harder than the early version? Let’s take a look.

Grounded 1.0 Update¶

If you have never played Grounded before you are in for a treat. If you have played the Early Access version you will notice changes. There are definitely more bugs around in the very early game which seems to have had the difficulty tweaked upwards in some respects. Indeed, new players may well find it a little overwhelming until they can get to the point of crafting weapons and armor.

New Area - The Upper Yard¶

The Upper Yard is a brand new section to Grounded that was not available in Early Access and brings with it a host of new challenges. You will find (once you have worked out how to access it), new bugs and resources previously not in the game. You can find out how get there right here.

New Creatures in Grounded 1.0¶

The following new creatures can be found in the Upper Yard.

• Moth
• Spiky Water Flea
• Tiger Mosquito
• Tick
• Worker Fire Ant
• Soldier Fire Ant
• Black Widow
• Black Widow Spiderlings

How To Find The Orchid Mantis In Grounded¶

V1.0 has a new boss in the Upper Yard too - the Orchid Mantis but battling with her is not a simple task. Here is what you need to do.

Find the Orchid Mantis home in the flower planter in front of the Shed She must then be lured out with a craftable treat: the Orchid Mantis Kebab.

Labs¶

There are new Secret Labs hidden around the map to and if you were familiar with the ones that existed previously, these have been tweaked and adapted too to provide more of a challenge.

Tier 3 Crafting¶

For those of you already deep into the game, Tier 3 crafting recipes will now let you create Supreme Plating and Supreme Whetstone to help you get your armor and weapons to +9. This will be a game changer and necessary if you want to take on the new bosses of the Upper Yard.

Cinematic Cutscenes¶

The Grounded storyline gets a big boost with version 1.0 and we now get cutscenes to increase our understanding with what on earth is going on in the game. All lines are now voiced

Will My Progress In Grounded Early Access Get Wiped?¶

Not exactly, but you also aren’t quite going to be carrying on where you left off either. All your unlocked recipes and bases will be carried over and you can use and visit them as before. You will however be set back to the beginning of Story Mode and have to play through those sections again to ensure there are no later game problems - yes that does mean having to complete the Hedge Lab once again.

You will also get to keep your inventory items which is handy but all Milk Molar points will be refunded.