When the kingdom is lost, what's left? 

Survival. 

Enshrouded is a survival sandbox with strong RPG elements that transports us to the devastated kingdom of Embervale. As the Flameborn, you are the last hope of a dying race, who place their faith in you that it is possible to restore the kingdom to its former glory. Explore, build, and destroy evil in this sandbox where your path is your own. That's if you're able to overcome the Shroud...

In early access since January 24, 2024, Enshrouded is available for PC via Steam.



The Shroud... It consumes everything... and everyone

When a stranger brings a mysterious elixir to the kingdom of Embervale, humans and elders alike give in to a great, inexplicable, addictive power: the elixir. Before long, peace succumbs to an uncontrollable desire for more and more of this power. 

Bloody conflicts mix with a race to the depths of the earth in search of the source of the infamous elixir. However, something emerges from the heart of the earth. A cursed mist that spreads and consumes all life it touches. This curse is called Shroud. 

As a last hope, humans and elders come together to give birth to the Flameborn, a being capable of containing the Shroud and all the destruction it brings with it. 

And so begins our saga of survival in the kingdom of Embervale. As a bastion, we must prepare ourselves to face the evil that surrounds us, gradually discovering the mist and the world that is left to us. 



As explorers, we are led to discover and imagine what may have caused all this, as well as the consequences, both immediate and delayed, of the events that have corrupted our lands. In this way, the narrative experience of the game is built up gradually, without the game being the protagonist, but rather forming a background that makes sense of our actions and motivations. 

Without a doubt, the game has the potential to build up its stories and delve deeper into the small plots that together organize themselves to make us feel at home in the world. The few characters we come into contact with are relevant and engage us in restoring the world, while scattered messages situate us amid the chaos we encounter on our awakening. 

Enshrouded manages to present a very visual storytelling, where the alternating scenarios and biomes make us realize the dimension of Shroud as a corrupting element and central to the gameplay. As you delve deeper, you realize more and more of the evil power of this mist, whether it's through increasingly strong monsters and villains, or through insurmountable barriers that annihilate your character in a few seconds if you come into contact with them.

This narrative set-up produces a convincing and unique atmosphere for the game, which is very important for it, given that it has many similarities with games of a similar nature. I hope the game takes its narrative line further and further, as it has the potential to drive the gameplay in an immersive and meaningful way. 



Building salvation, block by block

Like other sandboxes in the genre, Enshrouded offers a range of resources for building, exploration, and combat that satisfy the gameplay very well. At first glance, you can't help but compare it to games like Valheim, V Rising, and Tribes of Midgard. Except for their proportions and themes, each of these games offers the same range of features for the player's experience. But what does Enshrouded do differently?

So... So far, the game has shown that it is capable of improving various elements while applying its gameplay formula. The game gives us more responsive and varied combat, coupled with customization possibilities that go as far as Path of Exile-style talent trees. 

Speaking of the talent tree, based on our choices, we can "build" our class. This agency, which goes beyond the traditional choice made in the very first moments of gameplay, allows us to develop our character in our way, just like in Skyrim. Need I say more?!

The building mechanics are also simpler, which may sound simplistic, but it's quite the opposite. With a more straightforward strategy, the player spends less time on details and can design their environments with greater ease and agility. I was able to establish my camp and build important resources, such as a construction bench and quality-of-life items, in a relatively short space of time. This gave me more confidence to continue collecting materials in more challenging locations. And that's what also made me explore more distant corners, with powerful creatures and interesting rewards. 



Now for an opinion: if there's one thing that puts me off survival games, it's micromanagement. If you've read my review of Sons of the Forest, you can imagine how much I hate having to worry about whether my character is hungry or thirsty. I think a game needs to be more fluid, so that we can get down to more interesting things, like killing things, breaking things, or exploring things. Stopping to look for water or food is a big thumbs down for me. And that's why I liked Enshrouded. It answered the question I always ask myself: what's the point?!

Instead of worrying about hunger or thirst, I can focus on buffs and less frustrating conditions, such as cold and rest. I can see the usefulness of these elements, as resources that complement the gameplay rather than making it anxiogenic and sometimes frustrating. Dying in combat because you're not rested enough, ok. Dying because you couldn't find water while exploring a super intriguing cave... kinda sucks. 

But let's move on... 

Despite all these positive elements, Enshrouded has a few bugs resulting from the Early-access version. For some, this may be a negative point, but in my opinion, it shouldn't be taken too seriously. This is an excellent time for developers to test new things, and correct any problems, but above all, to listen to the community and continue producing meaningful content. This is what they seem to have done, as the game appears to be a compilation of everything that has been working well in games of this genre. 

At the moment, the game has some optimization and animation problems, both with the characters and the creatures in the game, especially the harmless ones. Some weapons are also not working properly or not giving us adequate feedback on how they work, such as the wand. Some of its attacks don't hit the target, but as far as I can tell, it's the range of the weapon that isn't clear to the player. I'm waiting to see how situations like this turn out. 

Despite this, at the moment, the game is quite fun, satisfying, and challenging, as it features Dark Souls-inspired combat, both in terms of gameplay and the level of risk/reward. 

And as if that wasn't enough, Enshrouded brings fun features to the gameplay, such as the grappling hook, which allows you to reach higher places, and a glide, inspired by the new games in the Zelda franchise, to fly around the lands taken over by Shroud.

All in all, I'm looking forward to the final version of this game that promises to take the survival/crafting genre to the next level.



Lighting the Shroud

Yes, as well as some bugs present in the version, Early-Access needs to solve this issue with the lighting of the scenes. At times, the whole environment is too bright, at others, it's almost impossible to see ahead. Seemingly applied as a mechanic, this haze can quickly become more frustrating than intriguing, as the visuals are flat and low-resolution. 

When the lighting is right, the kingdom of Embervale turns out to be a wonderful place. Vast, colorful, and very diverse, the lands that make up the kingdom are, in themselves, motivating our curiosity. Exploring the territories and returning to base conveniently, via quick trips scattered around the scenery, makes for a rewarding and memorable experience. 



The game's atmosphere, characters, and creatures are very reminiscent of the Ubisoft game Fenyx Immortal Rising. For me, this similarity is a positive point, as I find Fenyx's visuals very pleasing.

The game's soundtrack is also pleasant, with ambient sound and music that envelops you in moments of tension and combat. The dubbing of the characters is also convincing, bringing life and personality to each of them. I hope to see more characters and more narrative involvement so that I can come back and talk more about these elements that are so dear to me. 

For this review, Enshrouded was played on PC via Steam.

Many thanks to the Evolve team for providing the access key that made this content possible.