Grounded gets its big Koi Pond update today, and the patch notes are huge

Grounded got its big Koi Pond update today, which adds a new pond biome, an aggressive killer Koi, and rather unpleasant-sounding diving bell spiders. The video above gives you a quick rundown, but there's loads to explore in the patch notes, too.

In addition to the aforementioned Koi boss enemy and spiders, there are also tadpoles (you can eat 'em) and water boatsmen. These aren't "men" but rather cute, inoffensive little bugs you can slay for their Fin Flops. The latter makes it easier to traverse through water, and are among new wearables that also include the bubble helmet and Koi armor. For the latter, you'll need to tackle that fish if you want to rock it.

"Like everything in Grounded, The Koi Pond is a work in progress, and we want to incorporate your feedback to make it the best it can be," Obsidian writes in its update post. "This is just the start of development of this area, and our team is already hard at work adding more into the pond, including a large revamp of the lab in the depths which will add more content and variety of gameplay."

The tweaks and fixes introduced by this update are numerous. HDR support is in, and thankfully, "the player now breathes through their face". Elsewhere, explosive damage can no longer be blocked, bows have been buffed, and poison is hectic now: It deals 50 percent more damage than it used to. Be careful out there. These are just a handful of the changes, check out the full changelog here.

Grounded now has five million players, so Obsidian has also hinted at what's to come. While it will still receive patches every month, "larger content releases" will now be more spread out and more substantial. While the Koi Pond biome will be in ongoing development (the game is still in Early Access), once it's done the focus will be on adding to the Haze and Sandbox areas.

"Once we feel all the content is in a good place, the next step is a story, quest, and content pass over all the existing labs. The goal is to unify the experience by adding quest connective tissue and a satisfying payoff for completing each lab. In an upcoming story update, you will be able to complete this quest, which will tie into what we are calling the first story chapter of Grounded."

It sounds promising. Grounded is currently available on Steam and the Microsoft Store.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.