Enshrouded is a game full of challenges and strife but also ignites a sense of wonder and discovery.
There’s something alluring about mist and fog; it makes even the most familiar places seem alien and off-putting as if the very area is hiding something from you. There’s a reason why games such as Silent Hill are so memorable because of their use of mist and fog; it hides, obscures, and warns others that they may find more than they first thought. That is very much the case with Enshrouded, an interesting survival game that, at first glance, may come across as something generic, but much like the fog present inside it, the more you find, the more you will get lost in it.
The people behind Enshrouded are none other than Keen Games, a studio that you may not be too familiar with but has been around for quite some time. Originally founded in 2005, the studio was the successor of another studio known as Neon Studios. The studio had a bit of a rough start, with their first release being Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery, an RTS game developed for the Nintendo DS.
The studio would then develop Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Channel Edition, which is exactly what you think it is. However, the studio is more infamous for Sacred 3 in 2014, a game that critics and fans of the Sacred series didn’t receive well. Some time has passed, and Keen Games have certainly redeemed themselves with the release of Portal Knights in 2016 and now with Enshrouded, which shows how far the studio has come since then.
In Enshrouded, we play as the Flameborn, an individual who is the world’s last remaining hope in fighting off the eponymous Shroud that has slowly spread across the world. Remember all the stuff about mist and fog we spoke about earlier; this is what we were referring to. The Shroud came to be after the discovery of the mystical Elixir.
This strange yet wonderous substance gave everybody the strength to rival the gods, but humankind is, of course, greedy, and they didn’t stop there. Humanity would then build structures known as Elixir Wells, which in turn unleashed the Shroud. Unfortunately, the only person that can stop the Shroud is you.
The first thing we need to touch on before discussing anything else is character creation. Despite still being in early access, the game has quite an impressive amount of character creation and while you can’t go all out and make an abomination like in Elden Ring, you can still make a decent-looking character. That is, of course, if you were aiming to keep things a bit more on the realistic side of things. Due to you being the last living human alive, the first person you speak to is the Flame of the Cinder Vault. This magic-talking fireball will be your guide for most of the game.
The first thing you’ll notice about Enshrouded is that the game has many similarities with Valheim; that’s not to say it’s a direct clone that would go to another title, but there are quite a few similarities in both its gameplay and mechanics. In the game, there will be several stats you will need to manage; these are Rest, Health, Stamina, and even Mana.
Each of these stats plays a vital part in your journey, especially the Rested buff. This buff will play a surprisingly vital role in gameplay as when you are rested, you gain a boost in stamina, and more stamina means the more you can do, and the more you can do, the more you can keep going without having to stop.
The main way to keep your stats up is through building a shelter, several types of food, and the all too familiar creature comforts of a home. Speaking of comfort, you’ll need to raise your comfort level to get a high-rested buff. However, to do this, you’ll need a source of heat for warmth, a roof over your head, and many other amenities like tables, chairs, and the like to raise the comfort level. However, you’ll need to keep all this within your Flame Altar’s boundary.
The Flame Altar is probably one of the most important things in Enshrouded; it allows you to build your home, protects you from the Shroud, and acts as a fast travel point. The goal in Enshrouded is to live out your cottage-core dreams and build yourself a cozy little cabin in the woods, and the biggest threat you will encounter is the Shroud itself. The Shroud isn’t always dangerous; most of the time.
You will walk through what is known as Dense Shroud, which is a red fog that, when entered, will quickly drain you the remaining time you can spend in the Shroud, but regular Shroud will come with a normal running timer. Now, you’re thinking, “Hah, then I simply won’t go into the Shroud easy peasy”. Well, sorry to say, you have to, as located in the Shroud are some of the most useful and most valuable materials, such as Scrap Metal, which is incredibly important in the early game.
The Shroud isn’t the only threat you will encounter as the world of Embervale is filled with wonderful and incredibly hostile wildlife such as Wyverns, Giant Scorpions, Sand Diggers, and, of course, the tusked menace known as Boars! There are also hostile races, such as the Scavengers, The Taken, and Vukah.
Needless to say, you will have a lot of things wanting you dead and keeping you away from living that cozy life you’ve always longed for. However, it should be noted that while everyone and everything is out to kill you in Enshrouded, you aren’t entirely alone.
Pretty early in your journey, The Flame will send you on a quest to retrieve the spirit of a blacksmith. This spirit is instrumental and will let you unlock more advanced crafting options and will allow you to finally use that Scrap Metal you died five times trying to get. The blacksmith is just one of many spirits you will encounter.
And each will greatly expand upon the game’s already extensive crafting options. It’s also really nice, even though the spirits aren’t really there, they bring a nice breath of life to the world of Enshrouded and make it feel a little less lonely if you’re playing by yourself. In fact, it is recommended that you play the game with someone else, as it makes the game a lot less brutal.
Aside from building resources, Enshrouded will offer you an array of delicious food. Initially, you will have to gather basic food items such as berries, fruits, mushrooms and honey. You will only be able to consume three food items at a time, and these food items will give you a temporary buff.
While foraging is one option, things get kicked up a notch once you unlock the Farmer Spirit. The Farmer will allow you to grow most of the various foods you will encounter in the safety of your base without the worry about being mauled by a terrifying bear person. You will, of course, need to venture out to discover more of nature’s bounty, but at least you can grow it at home.
As mentioned before, Enshrouded and Valheim are incredibly similar but are still distinct from one another, especially in terms of visuals. While Valheim goes for a low poly ambiance, Enshrouded goes for gorgeous realism, and by god, is it gorgeous? Enshrouded is a hefty game, but it makes sense once you look at it.
From rolling fog, grass, and leaves that move in the wind to beautiful rays of sunlight peeking through trees. Enshrouded makes you feel like you are in a living, breathing world; while there are still its unique fantasy elements, the game nailed the serene beauty of walking through the wilderness.
Despite Enshrouded being an Early Access title, it shows incredible promise; while it would be easy to write the game off as a Valheim clone, it is so much more than that. The game has a notable difficulty spike, but this goes away once someone joins you. The world of Embervale is simply breathtaking and perfectly mixes hyper-realism with the whimsical fantasy. Even some of the game’s most dangerous parts are just a joy to watch, and the game is just incredible.
