Introduction Enshrouded is an ambitious open-world survival game that has managed to latch onto the innermost sense of childlike wonder. Drawing inspirations from games like Valheim, Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it presents an ultimate survival RPG experience.
Art and World Design The game boasts a gob-smackingly gorgeous high-fantasy art style and a vast open world. The world of Embervale has officially ended, its human inhabitants are mostly gone, and a mysterious fungal Shroud covers much of the landscape. This setting provides a unique backdrop for exploration and adventure. The game’s art style is a feast for the eyes, with its vibrant colors and detailed environments. The world design is expansive and immersive, with a variety of biomes to explore and secrets to uncover.
Gameplay and Mechanics Enshrouded offers intelligent crafting systems, seemingly limitless base building, and satisfying character customization. The voxel building feature works really well, allowing players to construct bases almost anywhere. The game also offers a sense of adventure in exploration and some great quality of life features. The crafting system is intuitive and rewarding, with a wide range of materials and recipes to discover. The base building mechanics are flexible and creative, allowing players to build unique structures that reflect their personal style. The character customization options are extensive, allowing players to create a character that truly represents them in the game world.
Story and Narrative The game’s story is somewhat lackluster, with most of the storytelling done through scattered notes and journal entries. However, the game’s main quest and the lore tidbits picked up along the journey provide an interesting narrative. The story, while not the game’s strongest point, still manages to engage the player through its world-building and lore. The scattered notes and journal entries add depth to the world and its history, and the main quest provides a clear goal for the player to strive towards.
Combat The combat in Enshrouded is a bit clunky and off to a middling start. The dull combat can be frustrating at times, which doesn’t match its great overall design. The combat system, while functional, lacks the fluidity and responsiveness of other games in the genre. The enemy AI can be predictable at times, and the lack of variety in enemy types can make combat encounters feel repetitive. However, the game’s focus on survival and exploration means that combat is not always the main focus, and players can often choose to avoid fights if they prefer.
Bugs and Issues Despite its impressive features, the game is marred by a few bugs – both literal and figurative. However, these are expected in an Early Access game and will likely be addressed in future updates. Some players have reported issues with performance and stability, as well as minor bugs with the game’s UI and controls. The developers have been active in addressing these issues, and regular updates have improved the game’s stability and performance.
Conclusion Enshrouded is a promising game with a lot of potential. It gets key things right in the form of an engaging build system and a sense of adventure. Despite some underwhelming systems and bugs, it’s easy to get lost in its rustic fantasy charm. The game’s strengths lie in its world design, crafting and building mechanics, and sense of exploration. While it has some areas that need improvement, the game’s potential is clear, and it will be interesting to see how it develops in the future.
