Forget eight inches of Shadow the Hedgehog; forget 22 inches of Solid Snake (until you’re alone at least), and behold the terrifying majesty of Grounded 2’s 10-foot ant plushie/gaming chair hybrid, which Microsoft is currently giving away to promote its upcoming sequel.
Grounded 2 is, of course, the follow-up to Obsidian Entertainment’s well-received 2022 co-op garden survival game, which cast players as inadvertently miniaturised children – very much in the style of 80s movie favourite Honey, I shrunk the Kids – then set them loose in a backyard now transformed into a perilous landscape of towering blades of grass and truck-sized spiders.
Obsidian’s sequel doesn’t do much to shake up the fundamental premise – you’re small again, but this time in a park – but that new location should hopefully spice things up, and then there are mounts. Yup, this time you can saddle up on insects and barrel around the place, bringing us back to that giant ant. Xbox’s giveaway features a monstrous plushie version of that aforementioned mount, sprawling threateningly across your gaming room floor and equipped with a little saddle you can pop your botty on, spread-eagled and ready for more survival.
All you need do to be in with a chance of winning (as per Microsoft’s T&Cs) is repost one official Xbox promotional Grounded 2 post featuring the hashtag #Grounded2Sweepstakes on X, or, if your preferred social media hellscape is Instagram, comment on an official Xbox Grounded 2 promotional post with the phrase #Grounded2Sweepstakes. One winner will walk away with (well, awkwardly shuffle away with) that 10ft gaming ant, which Microsoft officially refers to as “gaming furniture”, if you were wondering.
As for Grounded 2 itself, it launches into PC early access and Xbox Series X/S “game preview” on 29th July, and our Bertie Purchase has been having a natter with Obsidian ahead of its release. So far, Bertie’s managed to glean Grounded 2 won’t have LAN multiplayer, that it might be the second part of a trilogy, and even got some not entirely subtle hints we can probably expect it on Switch 2 and PS5. So thanks ants. Thants.