Mom just grounded you and you wanna smoke some weed in the house. Just don’t get caught.

It sucks to be grounded. What better way to pass the time at home than getting high?! Get your hands on all six joints scattered throughout the house, but beware of mom. She will kill you if you don’t keep a watchful eye.

GRAPHICS 7/10

We’re looking at minimalistic 3D graphics and shading, with an additional air of mystery. The walls and doors have an exceptionally smooth quality, the lights have a somewhat realistic flair to them which creates just enough depth and eeriness to the atmosphere of uncertainty and suspense. When you’re first introduced to mom, her hands are shooting straight to the sides like a 3D model and it may bother some players. At each of the “tokin” stations there are elaborately framed pieces of art on the walls illuminating a joint and lighter on a small wooden table. I was unsure what the origin of each art piece was or if they had any particular meaning to the game itself. Nonetheless, the chosen artwork added to the suspenseful atmosphere in a subtle and inviting manner. It almost felt as if I was walking through a virtual museum. I appreciate the smoke that appears after you successfully acquire each blunt. It adds a jovial flair to the game, giving the player more incentive to find all the little dudes throughout the house.

SOUND QUALITY 8/10

It’s a quiet night in your house and you open each door with a slow creak. You hear nothing but your footsteps on the wooden floor as you venture each room in search of the goods. When you pick each item up, you hear the satisfying click of the lighter and the all too quick burn of paper. At some point in the game you meet mom. I literally jumped out of my seat and screamed when I saw her. The suspenseful jumpscare wasn’t too loud — wasn’t too soft — It was just right. As you turn your back on her for the first time she makes a teleportation sound communicating to you that she’s on the move. When you get to the second to last joint you start to hear the sound of your heartbeat indicating that the end is near. If and when she catches you, the jumpscare gives its final blow to your ears. When you win the game feel-good reggae music commences your victory and you can relax. Overall, a simple, yet satisfying auditory experience.

GAMEPLAY 8/10

The Grounding is an immersive first-person survival horror game that can be played for free on Windows OS via Steam. Use WASD/arrow keys to move and the mouse to view and interact with your surroundings. A white font prompt appears with a cue to press “E” on your keyboard to open doors and smoke weed. I had a bit of a difficult time getting my cursor over each item; but with persistence, I managed.  The playing style of this game is reminiscent of Slender in that rather than gathering pages, the player is smoking blunts. Even the counter in the bottom right corner shares a similar quality. The atmosphere felt a bit cramped. Perhaps this was an aesthetic quality that the developer wanted the player to feel. As you walk around the house, mom sometimes cuts through the walls in a seemingly direct trajectory towards you, which makes it pretty easy to evade her. The game had me wishing I could play more, but at the same time, not wanting to for fear of getting caught again. My initial play-through time was 14 minutes. I successfully smoked six times during my first play-through. During a second play-through I got caught by mom after smoking twice.

CHARACTERS 7/10

The game starts off each time with a different scenario: finding out that the main character got busted by mom for proposing to their Minecraft girlfriend, the discovery of their pee drawer, going out for a night on the town and coming back wasted, etc. Basically, a simple teen trying to live their best life despite their limited resources. The player is provided with little clue as to who this main character is. On the small table in the bedroom where the character first appears sits a picture of a teenage boy. It could be the main character, or it could also be someone close to them. I initially got the impression that it was a photo of the main character, but looking back, it could have been someone else for all we know. A number of conclusions can be drawn regarding the origins of this mysterious main character.

The first instance of meeting mom definitely left an impression on me. She’s this stoic figure, emotionless, and pretty basic. If you turn away, she disappears and reappears in another spot. She gave me the heebie-jeebies, but I couldn’t help but laugh at her arms sticking out to her sides like an airplane. It was as if she was saying, “You shall not hash!” She’s a blond lady with short hair wearing average mom clothes who gives off bad vibes. All I was presented with was the mere fact that she busted you for living your life and now you’re being punished. She appears to be anti-weed, and yet has marijuana scattered around the house. She will also watch you smoke in front of her, but not do anything until your back is turned. Some passive aggressive shit right there. Why can’t we just toke it out?

STORY 7/10

The game starts off in a bedroom and the player is informed of the main character’s previous actions which led to them being grounded. In a conscious effort to get back at mom and collect the goods, the main character explores different areas of the house. There’s artwork scattered throughout, an archaic library full of books, a tight squeeze in the bathroom, and the incredibly dark kitchen which strangely leads to a crematorium.

The Grounding shook me at my core with its satisfying jumpscares. It pulled me through an unsettling atmosphere and along the way, disturbing rooms mystified me. Though the journey through the house filled me with despair, I held on to the hope that I would reach that final breath of sweet, sweet marijuana.

OVERALL 7.5/10

All in all, this game drew me in with its curious title and cheesy objectives. The play through was fun and delightfully scary. I experienced a fair number of goosebump moments. The antagonist is creepy enough to give good frights during the game, but approachable enough to not interrupt your sleep.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy scare, The Grounding is a great pick me up!

Developed by Gus Jewell and released on September 16th, 2020, The Grounding is the first of hopefully many more games to emerge from this creative mind. Watch out Slenderman, there’s a new scary lady in town!