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Posted: Oct 03, 2022
SDHQ BUILD SCORE:
Disclaimer:This is an initial impression of the game. Our review and recommended settings will be updated when we've completed a full and thorough analysis of how it performs on Steam Deck. Check back soon for our full analysis!
Review
Honey I Shrunk the Kids is finally here in video game format! Grounded is an open-world survival game where you and multiple friends can embark on a tiny-sized adventure in the backyard of your home. With no idea how you got this small, you must chop down some grass and fight off those ants while building a base and figuring out how to get back to normal height. Grounded is a wonderful survival game and one that I thoroughly enjoyed, so getting it running and optimizing on the Deck felt essential. But unfortunately, it doesn't hold up as I had hoped it would. With lower settings, I was able to get a TDP of 9 for a 17W battery drain max and 2.5 - 3 hours. I tried to push the graphics a bit harder, but it quickly became quite unstable. Even at lowest settings, it would fluctuate from time to time, but at 30, this wasn't as bad. The game is definitely playable like this, with some pretty decent compromises, but the biggest issues were getting it to run. I encountered 2 issues specifically. One was the infinite starting loading screen, while the other was online multiplayer. The first issue was actually fixed by Twitter user @GavinRirie, who showed us that changing the "SpeechSynthWrapper.dll" name to "SpeechSynthWrapper.dll.old" fixed this. The file can be found in your Grounded files in the file path "Maine/Binaries/Win64". You can get to your game files by going into properties in Desktop mode, hit "Local Files", then click "Browse Local Files". Next is playing online. For whatever reason, the Xbox windows don't actually show anything in them. Luckily, this was actually given a walkthrough over on YouTube by -kevundead.mov- where he takes you through where the text boxes and steps are to input what is needed to sign in and play online. A mouse and keyboard is recommended for this. Hopefully we will see some more optimizations for the Deck soon from Proton or dev side, but if you REALLY want to play, be ready to hit some compromises. Luckily, the game does supper Cloud Saves so you can continue on your desktop PC! Our review is based on the PC version of this game. If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content onSteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking fornews,tips and tutorials,game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back!Getting Grounded to Run
Screenshots:
Comparisons:
Stills:
SDHQ's Build Score Breakdown
Grounded has a bit too many compromises to recommend fully, but it is playable and can be quite enjoyable if this is your only way to play!
Build Score
Performance:
VISUALS:
Stability:
Controls:
Battery:
Noah Kupetsky
A lover of gaming since 4, Noah has grown up with a love and passion for the industry. From there, he started to travel a lot and develop a joy for handheld and PC gaming. When the Steam Deck released, it just all clicked.
Steam Profile
SteamOS
30FPS
Limit
60
Refresh Rate
HRS
No
TDP Limit
9
Scaling Filter
FSR Sharpness 0
GPU Clock
Disabled
Proton Version
No Forced Compatibility
Game Settings
Window Mode: Fullscreen Resolution: 1152x720 Quality: Low Render Scale: 85
Projected Battery Usage and Temp
14W - 17W
65c - 70c
2.5 - 3 hours
Community Rating
Let us know what level of playability you consider Grounded to be. Help our community determine the viability of playing this game on Steam Deck!
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7 comments on “Grounded”
When will the review be updated? The game has received a lot of bug fixes and performance improvements.
Reply
This page needs an update after the 1.2 update that finally got the game verified. Runs much better now just at default settings.
Reply
Agreed! I am on it.
Reply
This game just updated with official steam deck support!
Reply
Yes it has! Going through the game again now to update the review.
Reply
This is sad news unfortunaly. Will keep tabs on this game if it ever improves on the steamdeck!
(Love the site btw!)Reply
Absolutely! We will keep trying whenever we see an update or find something that could optimize the game a bit better. Who knows, maybe a new Proton update could do something! Thank you as well!!
Reply
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