Hands on with Enshrouded - Preview
Keen Games who are well known to most gamers for the excellent award winning Portal Knights, which released back in 2017 and was largely praised by both critics and players alike, have been feverishly working away on their new IP ‘Enshrouded’ ever since they announced the title back in May of 2023. Having shared numerous videos of gameplay, building and terraforming, combat and exploration since the titles announcement it is fair to say that hype is slowly building around the games unique blend of co-op survival RPG action. Thanks to Steam Next Fest, Keen Games have decided to release a time limited demo version of Enshrouded to allow fans to experience exactly what the game is about.
Enshrouded is best described as a co-op, story driven, action survival game, the game spans across a lot of different genres and it is safe to say if you are a fan of games like Zelda : Tears Of The Kingdom, Valheim or V Rising then you will probably feel at home here. The game is set in a vast abandoned realm corrupted by a mysterious fog. You are known as the Flameborn, the last of a dying race and must survive in this world while gathering supplies, upgrading your hero and vanquishing powerful bosses all whilst trying to withstand the mysterious mist that blankets certain parts of the land.
One noteworthy aspect of "Enshrouded" is the story. The plot is mysterious and reveals itself gradually as you go along, making you want to learn more about the world and its inhabitants. The game masterfully combines survival and RPG features with a thought-provoking story to create a gripping experience for lovers of the genre.
The captivating aesthetics of "Enshrouded" are what you notice initially when you load into the game. Enshroudeds striking visuals effectively transfer players to a foreboding world. The settings are exquisitely depicted, rich in fine details, and cloaked in an intriguing aura. You are kept on edge throughout the entire game by the clever use of color and the interplay of light and shade. The game starts to feel increasingly menacing as you journey through the various areas that are enshrouded in fog with the game taking on a really bleak atmosphere not to mention the ever present timer that you have to keep your eye on whilst in the fog as you can only survive for short periods in these areas, this is a great gameplay mechanic as the risk vs reward scenario comes into effect and you try to work out whether you have time to explore more of the area before you expire to the dangerous mists. One of the best parts about Enshrouded is the grappling hook you can craft in the first few hours of gameplay which is not only extremely fun but also puts a new spin on the way you can navigate the games world.
The gameplay in "Enshrouded" is both difficult and enjoyable and never once did I become frustrated with the challenge, if you stumble into an area and feel you are too underpowered for it, which I did many times, then you can always retreat and go back to your base in order to farm materials in order to craft more powerful armor, weapons and gadgets to give you an edge in battles, food also plays an important part as unlike most survival games that have you constantly scavenging for food in order to keep your player in tip top shape, Enshrouded does away with this mechanic and instead food is used solely for buffs in order to make your character temporarily more powerful. There are varied ways you can attack your enemies in the game through the use of melee and ranged weapons and also various forms of magic, the fighting mechanics are already very polished for a game at this stage of development and it felt extremely fulfilling to start of fights by shooting an arrow at an enemy only to then engage in melee combat as they came into close range and then dodging out of the way and finishing them off with a burst of magic. Attacks are weighty and successful dodges, parries and counter attacks feel very satisfying when you successfully pull them off.
Of course this is a survival game so fighting is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Enshroudeds gameplay. You are able to terraform the land and reshape the terrain so it better fits your needs in order to build the solid foundations required for your base, not only that but the game also features a fairly extensive crafting system that allows you to craft and upgrade weapons and gadgets in order to successfully traverse the games world and vanquish your foes. Keen Games have really nailed the core gameplay loop of Enshrouded and I always felt there was more to explore in the game which of course required farming materials in order to ensure I had the best gear available to take on the games ever increasing challenges.
Keen Games are really on to something special here and I really think they will have a big hit on their hands here if they play their cards right, especially when it comes to the survival games crowd. If the demo is anything to go by the game looks and feels extremely polished and the only issues I had with the game were when it came to playing co-op with friends as disconnections and not being able to see servers my friends had created were a frequent and frustrating occurrence, I am sure all of this will be ironed out before the games early access release later this year though. I really can’t wait until Enshrouded releases and I can get my hands on the full game.
Enshrouded does not yet have a release date for its early access release, but you can wishlist on Steam to ensure you get notified the moment it does.
