Obsidian Entertainment's backyard survival title Grounded has received its first update that includes a ton of new content, along with a new airborne element. The developers have stated that Grounded will update monthly while the game is still in early access, and while this one was previously scheduled for August 28 it was bumped up to August 26, as seen in a video that hinted at the update.
The first update to Grounded adds lots of features, but there's one huge feature that moves players down in the pecking order, as a crow has been added to Grounded in the first update. The bird looks extremely large compared to the teens trapped in the backyard, and makes the spiders look less intimidating even without arachnophobia mode. The bird also drops feathers, which can be used for crafting items and brand new outfits.
Players can't actually attack the crow, and it doesn't appear to be hostile, so the crafting resources appear the main reason for its addition. Nevertheless, it still looks cool, and adds a little bit more life to the game's backyard, which should help make the game a bit more immersive.
Along with the addition of the bird, Grounded has added and updated other creatures too. Players can now find water flea bugs in the flooded area within the water and to some players dismay, spiders have been updated as well. Spiders have learned from player techniques and now have new, terrifying attacks different from their basic bite.
New missions have also been added that can be accepted by the robot BURG.L in the Oak tech lab. BURG.L can now give players Chipsleuth quests, which are completed by bringing back BURG.L chips, and Artificer quests, which tasks players to craft specific items. These quests also reward players with raw science, which can be used in BURG.L's updated shop. BURG.L's shop now contains a perk for sale, which is newly added with the update.
Many items have also been added to the crafting list. Two different fences, tables, chairs, a new bed, and the marksman cap are pieces players can now craft, however, both the bed and cap require the newly added feathers to build. The update also contains even more improvements to gameplay functions and bug fixes than the first patch to Grounded. Players will most likely feel a notable improvement in how Grounded runs as well as many new things to discover in the backyard.
Full patch notes for the 0.2.0 update can be found here.
Grounded is available on PC and Xbox One, and will release on Xbox Series X later.