Grounded: Great Playgrounds To Try (& Their ID Codes)

Grounded

By Andrew McLarney

Published May 14, 2024

Thread 1

Grounded

Highlights

Grounded offers players a unique open-world RPG experience as a shrunken child exploring a hostile backyard.
Playgrounds mode allows players to get creative, offering arenas and horror challenges.
Popular Grounded playgrounds like "Bug vs Bug" and "Cage Wars" offer diverse gameplay experiences outside the main story.

Obsidian Interactive's Grounded is a unique open-world RPG in which players take on the role of a child shrunken down to the size of an ant. In this setting, players must explore, craft, and fight their way through a now hostile backyard, all the while uncovering the secrets of the science experiment that led them to this scenario in the first place. In addition to a solid base game, players now have the option to get creative with Grounded's "playgrounds" mode.

All four shields in Grounded in front of the game's Grasslands biome

Grounded: Every Shield, Ranked

Shields in Obsidian's survival game Grounded can absorb a ton of damage, but of the four shields in the game, some are more reliable than others.

Playgrounds are separate gameworlds crafted by players in the community and can vary from basic puzzles to entirely new and creative concepts in themselves. Within the game engine, players have been able to create all kinds of interesting playgrounds, from battle arenas and horror adventures to spin-offs from other popular titles and games. The following playgrounds are among the most popular and interesting available, though there are hundreds in total for players to enjoy.

7 Bug Vs Bug

An Entertaining Arena Where Players Can Watch The Game's Toughest Creatures Do Battle

Download Code: XE4-QZT-N5V

"Bug vs Bug" is an interesting arena-style playground that enables players to pit the various creatures of the yard against one another in gladiatorial combat. With a variety of buttons and pulleys, players can spawn their chosen combatant into a ring walled with giant electronic conductors, which can be activated at any time to terminate all lifeforms and "reset" the arena.

From basic ants to the colossal Infected Broodmother, players can truly measure and observe some of the game's toughest enemies in order to learn more about them, all the while from the comfort of an armchair that overlooks the fighting pit.

6 Lemonade Tycoon

A Very Peaceful Mode In Which Players Focus Solely On Producing And Selling Lemonade

Download Code: TGG-NZQ-2XQ

"Lemonade Tycoon" is a very unique playground that truly showcases the potential of Grounded's game world and mechanics. Players are tasked with operating a lemonade shop and must mash lemons, assemble ingredients, and serve customers when they arrive.

Grounded: 6 Best Ranged Builds

Ranged builds can be very powerful in Grounded, allowing players to put some distance between them and any attacking bugs.

While the process largely involves pressing buttons rather than a complex development procedure, it is incredibly fun to do, and an Achievements Board keeps players incentivized to hit higher numbers when it comes to both production and sales.

5 Only Down

A Complex Puzzle/Platform World In Which Players Must Avoid Falling

Download Code: D4Y-Y7E-4QZ

"Only Down" is a platform-style playground based on the 2023 hit Only Up. In it, players must descend a large and challenging obstacle course without falling to their deaths. Once again, this is a very creative spin on the playgrounds function, bringing an entirely fresh gameplay experience to Grounded's game world.

With everything from paper plates and milk cartons to flower pots and banana skins, every item has been made use of here to provide a fun and challenging puzzle, which feels extremely rewarding when conquered. It may take a decent amount of time to complete, but it is certainly worth attempting it at the very least.

4 Cage Wars

A Relentless Battle Arena Challenge That Is Especially Fun In Co-op

Download Code: AJ2-7LH-GQK

"Cage Wars" is a popular arena playground in which players must face off against progressively more challenging waves of enemies. Either alone or in co-op, players will have to fend off various enemies and gradually upgrade their gear as harder enemies spawn.

Character holding a pickaxe and a character base-building

Grounded: Best Base Material, Ranked

Players have a few options when it comes to base-building material in Grounded. That said, not all of them are equally good.

New weapons and gear will be unlocked automatically as players progress through the levels, and a remarkable amount of effort has gone into making the game mode feel authentic and immersive. "Cage Wars" is a perfect example of why the playgrounds feature was introduced to begin with, offering a unique and memorable experience outside of Grounded's main story.

3 Five Nights

A FNAF-Inspired Horror Challenge Showcasing The Versatility Of Playgrounds

Download Code: G8Y-M4Q-C9D

"Five Nights" is a Five Nights At Freddy's-inspired horror puzzle/escape room playground. The atmosphere has been carefully crafted to feel creepy and supernatural, which is a remarkable feat in a game as light-hearted as Grounded. Players will have to overlook a scientific facility and guard it against incoming enemies.

A detailed tutorial is provided for players to understand what is required of them, but essentially, it revolves around managing different doors and hatches and ensuring they are closed at the right times. Players will be able to monitor incoming threats and respond to them, with the objective being to simply survive as long as possible.

2 Grounded: The Tower

A Popular Combat Playground With Progressive Difficulty As Players Ascend

Download Code: RAA-CGF-7C2

"Grounded: The Tower" is another popular and challenging combat playground in which players must progress through a series of rooms with increasingly difficult enemies. What makes this playground so special is the atmosphere created by each of the carefully curated rooms, as well as the fair incremental challenge of each floor.

Rusty Spear, Salt Morning Star, and a Tiger Mosquito Rapier are amongst the 14 Best Weapons & Tools from Grounded

Grounded: 16 Best Weapons & Tools, Ranked

Here are the weapons and tools that stand out the most in Grounded.

A series of instructions can be found outside the front of the tower, and it is relatively easy to learn the process. Players will have to defeat all the enemies in a room before being able to unlock the gear chest within, as well as the door to the next room. Completing the tower in its entirety will prove to be a challenge for even the most hardcore Grounded players.

1 Grounded: RPG Edition

A Complex Overhaul Introducing A Range of RPG Tropes And A New Game World

Download Code: W8Z-227-EAS

"Grounded: RPG Edition" is one of the most popular playgrounds for good reason. An immense amount of detail has gone into providing players with a unique setting to explore, as well as lots of side quests and additional content in what is almost a DLC-sized playground.

Players can do all the usual things they can do in Grounded's base game, only with interactive insect NPCs who will dish out side quests. It offers players a new garden to explore with its own set of unique locations and alters gameplay slightly so that it feels more like a traditional RPG.