Grounded meets Quest VR in this upcoming shrunken down survival game

May 2024 · 3 minute read
If you’ve played Obsidian Entertainment’s Grounded, you’ve probably had a good few scares running away from giant spiders. And the upcoming Smalland: Survive the Wilds VR promises to bring you that experience in Virtual Reality.

Smalland: Survive the Wilds is a game that came out in March, 2023 and left Early Access very recently in February of this year. Now it’s getting a VR port with a new story for the Meta Quest 3, Quest 2 and Quest Pro.

The game is about a species of tiny people – dubbed Smallfolk – who have emerged after having spent centuries underground.

Before the time of the giants, we lived freely under the Sun and Moon. Centuries have passed, but those stories of the surface world have been passed down through the generations. Now the giants are gone, and you, Vanguard, must venture out into the wilds once more.

The player plays as one of these Smallfolk: crafting, foraging, exploring and fighting for their lives against giant foes. Much like Grounded, Smalland features stunning vistas of everyday places from a different perspective. Trees are taller than skyscrapers, sparrows are like pterodactyls and massive spiders lurk in the shadows.

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People with arachnophobia should probably give this a pass.

To my dismay, the Meta Horizon Store page for the game claims the game is single-player only. The standard version of the game does have multiplayer so I’m hopeful that Smalland: Survive the Wilds VR will get it soon too.

One really cool feature the game has is taming insects. Once tamed, these pets can be ridden across the map in various fun ways. The grasshopper, for example, can jump long distances. Geckos on the other hand can climb walls. Everyone’s favorite is probably the Blue Tit bird, however. Because it can fly indefinitely.

Base building, resource gathering and hunting for food. All the hallmarks of a survival game can be experienced in Smalland: Survive the Wilds VR. Understandably, the title is going to be a lot more immersive now that it’s in Virtual Reality.

Combat in particular looks quite fun in my opinion. I’m glad to see dual-wielding is an option so we can hold both a weapon and a shield in one hand each. Resource gathering also seems to be much more hands-on: the trailer shows the player swinging a pickaxe to mine a rock. And the great detail you can go into with base building in the game is sure to be a treat to see in VR.

Smalland: Survive the Wilds VR is coming out on May 2, 2024. There is a 16% pre-order discount, bringing the game down to $24.99 from $29.99. And while you wait to fight giant spiders, check out our list of the best VR games for something to keep you occupied.

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