The newest update to co-op survival crafting game Grounded brings with a new mode, dubbed Playgrounds mode, which essentially allows players to craft their own levels from the ground up. The update, dubbed the Make it and Break it update, is out on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Playgrounds mode gives players a full suite of design tools, and allows the use of either the pre-existing backyard, or an empty sandbox from which players can start creating their own levels. Players can create buildings, put down furniture, obstacles, and even creature spawners.
According to game director Adam Brennecke, the update was inspired by the modding community, and was essentially a way by the studio to give players tools to create their own unique experiences in Grounded.
“This feature has been on the backlog for a very long time,” Brennecke says. “Giving people the opportunity to extend the lifetime of the games they enjoy is always really cool, which was very important to us. We’ve always wanted to see what the community can make with these tools.”
The creation suite in Playgrounds mode gives players access to just about every object that can be found in the game’s regular backyard setting. This includes laboratory pieces, small and large creatures, and all of the foliage. Players can further get down into the weeds with the use of the Gadgets and Gizmos suite, which allows for further customisation of the level.
Alongside including buttons and various other objects, the Gizmos and Gadgets suite also allows players to essentially add simple scripting to the game by giving them access to a few logic-based objects to put down.
