Available to players who have access to the games with gold lineup, either viaXbox Live Goldor Xbox Game Pass Ultimate,Agroundis a charming indie title that’s worthy of some love and attention. Released initially in early access form all the way back in 2017, before landing on Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem four years later to little fanfare, the creative people behind the title will be hoping that the subscription services can boost its publicity to new heights.
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Aground’s Backstory
Agroundis the brainchild of Fancy Fish Games and SnoBox Studio, two small indie teams that employ only a handful of talented developers between them. After the release of a free early access version of the game on platforms like Newgrounds towards the tail end of 2017,a Kickstarter initiative was createdbetween the pair in the hopes that their collective vision could be truly realized.
Thanks to the subsequent support of 584 backers,Agroundwent into full development during the early months of 2018. Even though the fundraising campaign ultimately fell short of its $15,000 console port stretch goal,Agroundstill launched on Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch, when the game came out of early access in 2021. With the game widely available after this point, the stage was set for its eventual debut on Xbox Live Gold.
What is Aground?
Stylized as a resource gathering and crafting RPG, it’s obvious when examiningAgroundthat it shares a lot of gameplay and aesthetic DNA withgames likeTerrariaandStardew Valley. Progression and survival are unsurprisingly the two central tenets that run through the core ofAgroundbecause of this, as players explore its beautiful retro-inspired pixel art universe. While recent survival phenomenons likeMinecrafthave clearly inspired the developers behindAground, the influence of old-school text adventures likeA Dark Room, and their surprising narrative twists, is also plain to see during gameplay.
Aground’s Accolades
Since making its early-access debut towards the tail end of 2017,Agroundhas accumulated some notable critical acclaim from players and critics alike. Considering the nature of its creation, and the sheer number of people who believed in it enough to back it during its Kickstarter campaign, that isn’t all that shocking though. As it stands right now, 95% ofAground’s 1,043Steam user reviews are overly positive, which bodes remarkably well for its time in the spotlight on Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold.
Agroundis available now on Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mac.
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