Since the arrival of Minecraft over a decade ago, the creative game genre has taken the world by storm. New additions have tried to build on the idea of an explorable world that allows players to create to their hearts’ content, and Enshrouded is the latest to add its own twist to the tale. Developed by Keen Games, Enshrouded is coming to Early Access on Steam later on in 2023 and I recently had the opportunity to view a hands-off preview of Enshrouded that showcased what the game will have in store right from the start.
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Set in the world of Embervale, the world of Enshrouded has been consumed by The Shroud, a mist-like substance that is corrupting the land and everything in it. Players start with absolutely nothing and will need to work hard to survive. There are bosses to defeat, bases to build, and interesting new environments to explore. In the preview, I was able to see a little bit of each of these core components and was left quite intrigued.
At its core, Enshrouded is an action role-playing game. There is a skill tree system that allows players to unlock and upgrade abilities that will help them in their adventures in Embervale. Character paths include mage, warrior, and ranger, but players aren’t locked into choosing only one path. Skill points can be used to unlock skills from each different path to create their own style of gameplay. Since Keen Games wants to push co-op with Enshrouded, this also allows players to specialize in certain areas that complement their friends’ abilities to create an unstoppable team of up to 16 players.
Throughout the world are quests to be completed, some of which take players through the fog on the way to some high-intensity battles. Players can only survive in the fog for a limited amount of time, but there are secrets to be uncovered there as well that require players to be quick-thinking and ready to fight. The combat in Enshrouded is your standard action-RPG combat and movements looked a little bit janky at times, but that is fairly common for the genre and still looked to be enjoyable. Combat in and out of the fog looks fairly simple for players to get the hang of without being too simplistic or boring.
While the RPG elements of Enshrouded look fun, the real highlight is going to be the building and terraforming. Players can scavenge for resources all around the world that are used to help build and improve their home base. It’s possible to build beautifully intricate stone castles that can be populated by rescued NPCs to help bring the home base to life. It was really fascinating to learn that NPCs will move into your stronghold to unlock things like new shops, something I am interested to see more of once the game is released. It’s a nice mechanic that makes base-building even more important than just keeping yourself or your friends alive.
Building bases looks incredibly fun, with so many options to choose from. Being able to see the environment changed by the players in order to accommodate new buildings is something that unlocks even more base building options. What I was able to see in the preview showed that players won’t be limited by anything but their minds and the mysterious fog, so I can’t wait to dive in and flex my creative muscles.
Enshrouded gives players creative freedom in an interesting world that could shake up the genre. Excellent crafting and a fascinating world will need to be helped by great storytelling and worldbuilding, but what I have seen so far leaves me optimistic.
Enshrouded releases on Steam Early Access in 2023.
