Grounded's next update adds an ant-filled dungeon and a literal sandbox
It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere
Obsidian's Honey I Shrunk The Kids 'em up survival sandbox Grounded is adding an actual sandbox this month, along with its first dungeon, and a big old pile of trash. This all arrives in the Hot and Hazy update on October 20th, which will give players new places to explore and new creepy crawlies to fight. It's also revamping an existing biome, and you can try it all out right now on a test branch if you fancy.
In the test server patch notes, the devs say we'll be able to dig for treasure in The Crab Sandbox, a big, toasty desert area. If you explore during the day you'll need to find ways to fend off the heat, though if you're there at night, you might have to fend off nasty beasties.
Next, there's the new dungeon, The Black Ant Hill. According to Eurogamer, you'll need to venture into a giant tunnel in the sand to get to it, and once you're in you can fight some ants, take on a mini-boss, and look for special materials to make new gear. Whatever you do, just don't tell Sin you attacked her beloved ants.
If you do kill an ant, you can go ahead and take yourself to the new Trash Heap. You might be able to find some useful rubbish there, or simply sit where you belong for invading the nest of some lovely non-hostile creatures. Players will also be able to find similar food scraps and leftovers at the Picnic Table.
Last but not least, Obsidian are revamping the Haze biome, the place where the air is full of nasty weed killer. Here you'll find exploding fungi and infected bugs roaming around. Other new insect additions include sickly roly polys, antlions, and "meaty gnats" (which I can only assume is a fatter gnat).
I've gone back to Grounded a few times over the last year, but I struggle to stick with it because it's easy to run out of stuff to do. It's a shame, because it's great fun! That's just the way it is sometimes with early access survival games though, I've had a similar experience with Raft.
Regardless, I'll absolutely be jumping back in to explore that dungeon. The Hot and Hazy update launches properly on October 20th, but you can try it out right now on the game's public test branch (which you can access on Steam, or through the Xbox Insider program).