Aground Demo

If survival is your go-to genre, one thing it’s difficult to complain about nowadays is variety. Besides the hundreds of games available on platforms like Steam or GOG, there’s also the indie market to consider, with even more projects published on Itch and Gamejolt. Hence, you can satiate your hunger for survival games whenever you get bored of classics like Minecraft, Terraria or Don’t Starve.

Aground is a 2D adventure game with survival and sandbox elements, in which you play the role of one of the last human survivors on the planet. While the project is still in its infancy at this point, it certainly delivers more than enough interesting features to make you want more. Crafting, mining, fighting and character growth are all part of the package at this point, even if some of the components require further tuning.

Gameplay-wise, the 2D perspective is more akin to Terraria than Minecraft, which makes it easier to orientate yourself and explore the world without the fear of getting lost. You start by receiving a couple of simple quests from other survivors on the island, such as gathering wood and berries, all of which are required in order to build your first structures. Each one of these buildings has a purpose as well, such as a shelter where you can rest and save your progress.

Speaking of which, mining is a quintessential part of the gameplay, since it’s the main way to obtain coal and other materials that can be found underground. The ultimate goal is to build a thriving settlement for you and the other survivors, while also fending various beasts and enemies that try to assault it.

The role-playing features are not overly complex at this point, but the fact that you can choose how to spend your experience points is definitely a great addition. Thus, you can focus on improving your mining speed, or spend the points on increasing your health pool and attack damage to have an easier time with enemies.

It’s also possible to equip all sorts of equipment, some of which can be crafted by you, while other items are simply found around the island or provided to you by NPCs. It’s a simple system, but it works like a charm, and it allows anyone to advance without learning complex crafting patterns or similar gimmicks.

In the end, Aground still has room for growth, and the developers are actively working on the game to add new features and expand the world at your disposal. Everything works as intended, including the crafting and the character development system, so you can already have tons of fun with the game if you are looking for a simple sandbox adventure title.