Obsidian Entertainment’s survival game and ‘Honey I Shrunk The Kids’ tributeGroundedhas been a roaring success, and it’s easy to see why. Aside from the nostalgic premise, the developer’s trademark snappy writing, and engaging building mechanics, the game is perfect for cooperative play.
InGrounded, players take the role of kids who have been shrunk to miniature size, and must survive their backyard’s wildlife while searching for parts to repair their shrinking machine. They have to balance combat, gathering resources, building bases, crafting equipment, and exploring the map. While it’spossible to play solo, the game becomes much more manageable in co-op mode. Many hands make quick work, after all.And when they’re face to face with one ofGrounded’s spiders, players will need some moral support.
RELATED:Grounded: How to Get Bird Feathers
But if co-op is a core feature, it begs the question: How easily can players connect with each other? Is it as easy as pick-up-and-play couch co-op? What about players without a good internet connection?
Does Grounded Have Split-Screen?
Unfortunately,Groundeddoes not have local split-screen co-op right now. In order to play together, each player needs a copy of the game on their own machine and all players have to connect online. The game supports cross-play between consoles and PC, so there’s no need to get everyone on the same version, but fans still may find this disappointing.
It may not stay this way forever.Groundedis still in early access, and Obsidian Entertainment has promised thateach ofGrounded’supdates will have meaningful changes. It’s possible that players will see local co-op added in the future. But right now, Obsidian’s priorities seem elsewhere.
The latest updates have been focused on adding more areas, enemies, tools, and building features. Obsidian did throwGrounded’s solo players a bone with trainable petsin the Shroom and Doom update. People who can’t play online can still get a helping hand.
It’s understandable why there’s no local co-op yet. Split-screen can be resource-intensive. The game has to render everything twice, after all. If it does arrive, it’ll be when the game is closer to feature complete, and the developers can focus more on optimization. In the meantime,Groundedhas a very active online player-base. It shouldn’t be too hard to find someone else to play with. Butthe game is still a perfect fit for split-screen co-op, and it should be made an eventual priority.
Groundedis out now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
