Good News, Arachnophobes: You Can Still Ride the Blob
Grounded 2 is swinging into Early Access on July 29, 2025, and Obsidian just dropped a big W for accessibility fans: yes, the iconic arachnophobia mode is coming back — and it now applies to the game’s rideable spiders.
Yup, you read that right. Even the spiders you ride into battle like a Lord of the Rings character with a bug fetish will get the blob treatment. No fangs, no legs, no nightmare fuel. Just a ball of cute, squishy weirdness you can saddle up and scurry off on.
From Nightmare Fuel to Noodle-Free Fun
Game director Chris Parker spilled the details during a recent Summer Game Fest segment. The devs didn’t just slap on a texture filter. They went in and rewired the skeletons to turn the multi-eyed creeps into harmless orbs. Parker explained:
“We go onto the skeleton and put cute-looking spheres where claws and eyeballs and abdomens used to be. It’s not all that tricky.”
So yeah, not only is it not hard to implement, it’s become a part of Grounded’s DNA. The team knows their players, and some of them want to stomp bugs without sobbing into their RGB keyboards.
🚀 Why It Matters
- Inclusivity FTW: Arachnophobia affects up to 6% of the population. That’s a lot of gamers who don’t want their skin crawling just because they want to harvest spider silk.
- No Compromise on Gameplay: The arachnophobia mode is visual only. Your mount still jumps, bites, and climbs walls. It just does so while looking like a balloon animal designed by Pixar.
- Trendsetting: Grounded was one of the first games to do this right, and the sequel is doubling down.
📚 A Bit of History (Because Lore Matters)
Back in 2020, Grounded 1 introduced one of the smartest accessibility toggles ever: the Arachnophobia Safe Mode. Players could adjust a slider to change how spidery the spiders looked — from full eight-legged terror to minimalist blobs.
The feature was a hit. Not just a gimmick, but a thoughtful piece of game design that let more people play. Now, with spider mounts entering the scene in Grounded 2, Obsidian had a choice: keep it simple or double down. They went full tilt. And honestly? Props.
🔧 How It Works
- Toggle it anytime in the settings menu
- Spider enemies and mounts become abstract blobs with floating spheres
- Visual only — no gameplay impact
- Highly adjustable — just like the first game, players may be able to control how much “blobification” they want (TBD if the slider’s back)
🌟 What Else to Expect in Grounded 2
Obsidian is calling this more of an evolution than a sequel. Here’s what we know so far:
- New biomes including a front yard jungle and maybe even inside the house
- Rideable bugs, starting with spiders (and hopefully beetles or dragonflies next)
- More robust crafting and base-building
- Early Access launches July 29, 2025 on Xbox Series X|S and PC via Game Pass
🤔 Final Thoughts
There’s a fine line between scary fun and just plain nope. Obsidian nails the balance with a feature that says: Hey, you can still slay (or ride) your fears without staring into eight soulless eyes.
Whether you’re a fearless bug slayer or someone who nopes out at even cartoon spiders, Grounded 2’s got your back. And your legs. And maybe your fuzzy abdomen. But only if you want it.
Will you be playing with blob mode on, or embracing the eight-legged horror? Drop your take in the comments or tag us with your spookiest mount moment.
Until then, happy bug riding. 🐿
