Interested in getting your hands on Enshrouded? You should be. For action role-playing game fans longing for an open-world fantasy adventure, this might just be your next favorite PC game.
Enshrouded features a fallen, post-apocalyptic world for players to hop in and explore with their friends. Want to perform spells? You can do that. Prefer archery or sword-slinging? That’s possible, too. And for the Minecraft fans among us, Enshrouded lets you break down practically anything you’d like and create buildings, caves, and more. Cool, right?
Want to get your hands on this upcoming ARPG? Here’s what we know about Enshrouded so far, including when it releases and whether you should invite your friends to join you.
What exactly is Enshrouded?
Developed and published by Frankfurt-based studio Keen Games, Enshrouded tells the story of the Flameborn—brave and noble warriors who walk an abandoned and struggling world ruined by the Shroud, a “creeping blight that absorbs and mutates all life it encounters.” Blame your ancestors for the awful fog that’s taken over the land, as they destroyed their kingdom while searching for a strange elixir.
Terrible.
Players become one of the Flameborn and awaken in Enshrouded‘s world with practically nothing. You (and your friends) will have to learn to navigate the world on your own, rebuilding society while exploring the ruins of an ancient civilization.
How does Enshrouded’s gameplay work?
In a May 2023 chat with PC Gamer, Keen Games’ Antony Christoulakis said Enshrouded is essentially “Valheim meets Zelda.” In short, Enshrouded combines traditional fantasy ARPG gameplay with a sandbox, open-world multiplayer setting. Players traverse through a pre-made world, where they can complete skill trees, glide from the highest mountains, and meet pre-existing characters. You and your friends will change Enshrouded’s world for good, but the game still offers a lived-in world to settle into, not unlike Zelda.
All the expected features of the classic open-world co-op multiplayer ARPG experience are here. Boss battles? Check. Survival-oriented living? Check. Crafting? Oh yeah, there’s crafting. Everything in Enshrouded is voxel-based, too, from the smallest rock to the largest castle. Players can build their own structures and settlements over time, with Christoulakis teasing how Enshrouded will tell a story of humble beginnings to grand creations.
“You start with constructing a small base camp at the beginning and then grow it over time, into hopefully an awe-inspiring home or a kingdom for you and your friends,” he told PC Gamer.
Don’t let the term “voxel” fool you. Enshrouded has a far more realistic feel than your traditional voxel-oriented game while maintaining the flexible and malleable nature that voxel engines offer. Yes, everything can be broken apart, and you can build practically anything you’d like.
On the official Enshrouded YouTube page, Keen Games shows that building and refining your structures is seamless in the game’s world. You can show off the bosses you’ve killed in your home, add pre-made furniture like beds, and modify your structures quickly and seamlessly. It’s hard to tell that the game’s world even runs off a voxel engine.
Plus, you can even convince NPCs to come live in your growing kingdom. And if you want to farm? You can do that, too! It’s pretty nifty.
Enshrouded has multiplayer, right?
You bet. In fact, Enshrouded primarily offers a cooperative multiplayer experience, according to the game’s official FAQ. The developers recommend avoiding single-player, even though it’s an option.
” … we strongly encourage players to grab a friend or three before setting out into the fog,” developer Keen Games says in the game’s FAQ. “It is just more fun.”
So, while you can treat Enshrouded like a single-player romp akin to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, you should ideally bring some friends along for the ride. It’s a much better way to leave your mark as a Flameborn.
When does Enshrouded come out?
Good news for PC gamers: You won’t have to wait until the new year for Enshrouded to release. The game’s FAQ states that the upcoming multiplayer ARPG will enter Steam Early Access sometime in 2023. “Eventually,” Keen notes, “the full version will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox X|S in 2024.”
In the meantime, there’s a demo available now for Enshrouded on the official Steam page. You’ll need around 30 GBs free to play it, and the game’s required specs appear somewhat demanding. At the bare minimum, you’ll need a GPU with 6 GBs of VRAM, 16 GBs worth of RAM, and a CPU as powerful as the Intel Core i5-6400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X.
In short, yes, you’ll need a gaming PC to run Enshrouded.
(featured image: Keen Games)
