Games Like Grounded
Quick Answer
The closest games to Grounded are Grounded 2, Subnautica, Valheim, Smalland: Survive the Wilds and Raft. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Grounded, and what does not.
What Made Grounded Work
Grounded is survival crafting at insect scale — the whole game is one back garden, and the shrinking is what makes exploration and combat feel new. It is co-op, it has a real ending, and it is far kinder than most survival games. That combination is what people are looking for.
Grounded is Obsidian Entertainment's survival game, released in early access in 2020 and fully in 2022 for Xbox and PC, later on PlayStation and Switch. Four teenagers are shrunk to the size of ants and must survive in a suburban backyard, crafting tools from grass and pebbles while avoiding spiders. It supports up to four players in co-op and has a story with an ending. Fans usually want another co-op survival game with a clear goal.
9 Games Like Grounded
1.Grounded 2
The follow-up, same premise, larger garden.
Why it fits: Obsidian Entertainment and Eidos-Montréal's sequel, launched in early access in 2025, moves the shrunken teens to a larger park and adds rideable bugs.
What is different: Still in early access, so it is less complete, but the park is bigger and you can ride bugs.
Where to play it: Xbox Series X|S and PC.
More about this game →2.Subnautica
The other survival game with a real story and an ending.
Why it fits: Unknown Worlds' 2018 survival game is set on an alien ocean planet, with a story that leads to a clear ending.
What is different: Solo only and set underwater, with a story that ends; it is lonelier and more unsettling.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch.
More about this game →3.Valheim
The best co-op survival building game, and generous with progress.
Why it fits: Iron Gate's Viking survival game, launched in early access in 2021, supports up to ten players in co-op, with building and boss fights.
What is different: Normal-sized Vikings and a procedurally generated world; bosses gate progress rather than a story.
Where to play it: PC and Xbox.
More about this game →4.Smalland: Survive the Wilds
The closest premise match — tiny character, huge world.
Why it fits: Merge Games' survival game, launched in early access in 2023, shrinks you to insect size in a forest, the closest premise to Grounded.
What is different: Fantasy rather than a science accident, and less polished, but you are tiny among giant bugs just the same.
More about this game →5.Raft
Small-scale co-op survival with a clear direction to progress in.
Why it fits: Redbeet Interactive's 2022 co-op survival game has you build a raft into a floating base while exploring islands and following a story.
What is different: You live on an ocean raft rather than in a backyard, and sharks replace spiders as the main threat.
Where to play it: PC.
More about this game →6.Sons of the Forest
If you want survival with real horror pressure.
Why it fits: Endnight Games' survival horror game, fully released in 2024, has you build shelter and fight cannibals and mutants on an island.
What is different: Horror, with gore and cannibals; far darker than Grounded's Saturday-morning tone.
Where to play it: PC.
More about this game →7.Palworld
Survival crafting with creature collecting on top.
Why it fits: Pocketpair's survival game, launched in early access in 2024, combines crafting and base building with catching creatures called Pals.
What is different: You catch creatures and put them to work, and there are guns; the tone is stranger and less focused.
Where to play it: PC, Xbox and PS5.
Games like this →8.Enshrouded
Survival building with proper action combat.
Why it fits: Keen Games' survival RPG, launched in early access in 2024, has building, crafting and melee and magic combat for up to sixteen players.
What is different: Fantasy RPG classes and skill trees, with a bigger world and less emphasis on scavenging.
Games like this →9.Astroneer
Gentle co-op survival with no combat pressure at all.
Why it fits: System Era Softworks' game, fully released in 2018, is a gentle co-op survival sandbox about exploring planets and reshaping the terrain.
What is different: No combat to speak of: you dig and build across planets, so it is calmer than Grounded.
Where to play it: PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch.
More about this game →
Where to Start
Grounded 2 is the obvious next step. If you want a strong story, Subnautica is the best choice. For a larger co-op building game, Valheim is the pick.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick is a survival or crafting game, with extra weight for co-op, a story or goal to work toward, and an approachable tone. We included the direct follow-up and a range of alternatives from gentle to intense.
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How These Picks Match Grounded
Grounded is catalogued here as an action-adventure and survival horror game on the Xbox Series X|S. All nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — nine simulation games, eight adventures and four action games among them.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, seven can be played on PC, three can be played on a PlayStation, two can be played on a Nintendo system and five can be played on an Xbox. Subnautica, Valheim, Smalland: Survive the Wilds, Raft and Astroneer are from small or self-published studios.
| Game | Genre | Shares with Grounded | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grounded 2 | Simulation, Adventure, Action | Simulation, Adventure, Action | Xbox Series X|S and PC. |
| Subnautica | Simulation, Adventure, Indie | Simulation, Adventure | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch. |
| Valheim | Simulation, Adventure, Indie | Simulation, Adventure | PC and Xbox. |
| Smalland: Survive the Wilds | Simulation, Adventure, Indie | Simulation, Adventure | — |
| Raft | Simulation, Adventure, Indie | Simulation, Adventure | PC. |
| Sons of the Forest | Simulation, Adventure, Action | Simulation, Adventure, Action | PC. |
| Palworld | Simulation, Adventure, Action | Simulation, Adventure, Action | PC, Xbox and PS5. |
| Enshrouded | Simulation, RPG, Action | Simulation, Action | — |
| Astroneer | Simulation, Adventure, Indie | Simulation, Adventure | PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch. |
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