Enshrouded is an open world action-survival RPG that takes place in Embervale, a continent devoured by a growing lethal fog known as the Shroud. You are the Flameborn, a hero who must cleanse the world from this deadly fog.

The game is still in early access on Steam, but it is incredibly well polished and the upcoming updates seem rather exciting. Graphically speaking, it looks very beautiful and the performance is great. During my playthrough there were only some occasional issues, such as FPS drops in certain areas and a couple of crashes, but nothing game-breaking.

Step into the Shroud

You can play Enshrouded solo or with up to 16 players in one server. As soon as you start your adventure, you can feel overwhelmed with what Enshoured has to offer. The open world is massive and it’s not procedurally generated, which means that every location has been carefully created by the developers to ensure players always feel the exploration rewarding.

Similar to Elden Ring, there are numerous marked locations on the map to encourage exploration and there are also many quests that introduce new mechanics and push the story forward. You can move really fast through each location by using the Grappling Hook and the Glider, which are some of the items you will be able to craft in the first few hours.

Speaking of RPG mechanics, the game includes a classic skill tree with three different paths: Rogue, Warrior and Wizard. Combat is very simple and intuitive, with the typical ability to attack, block, parry and roll as well as a selection of melee and ranged weapons.

Defeating enemies, gathering resources and completing quests grant you XP points that you can use to increase your stats and unlock many new abilities.

The Shroud is a key aspect of the gameplay. This is a deadly fog that covers large areas which are often unavoidable, either because it is the only way to reach your objective or to find high-quality resources that are not available elsewhere.

Inside the fog you will have little visibility and encounter many dangerous foes, but most importantly, you will only have five minutes left before dying. While you can reset the clock through some checkpoints, the only way to cleanse the area from the fog is by destroying Shroud roots, which are often guarded by strong bosses.

One thing to notice is that you can’t fast travel while being inside the Shroud, so escaping is not really an option and you should be well-prepared before stepping inside the dangerous fog. You should also keep in mind that, if you die, you must return to your body and take back all your resources, like in a soulslike game.

Enshrouded is all about teamwork and base-building

The base-building is another fundamental component of your journey. As you try to defeat the Shroud, building, expanding and defending your own base becomes essential.

First, you must find your preferred location where to build (you can build pretty much anywhere). You will need to gather resources to build structures, craft tools and fortify your base. Researching new technologies and unlocking magical wards will greatly enhance your base defenses.

You can also find and recruit a diverse group of NPCs, such as warriors, healers and craftsmen, that will strengthen your base through their skills and share their personal stories with you.

As mentioned earlier, Enshrouded can be played alone and it offers a great survival aRPG experience, but it gets better when played with friends and other players, as you can see their constructions, explore together and team up to defeat numerous bosses.

After exploring for many hours, you still feel like barely scratching the surface and considering the game is still in early access, this is insane. Replayability is also very high and probably will be higher when the full version launches and offers proper end-game content.

That said, streamers can already find plenty of content in this early access version and Enshrouded is proving to be a major success with nearly 100.000 concurrent players each day. This makes it one of the best games to stream right now, especially if you have an audience that loves survival games like Valheim, ARK Survival Evolved and Conan Exiles. Those who enjoyed playing these games will have a similar, if not better, experience with Enshrouded.

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marcoleo

I’m a passionate guy who loves videogames, movies, anime and comics. I like to talk about videogames and share my opinion with the world.