With so many games launching in early access lately, I’ve followed only a handful from their beginnings to their long-awaited 1.0 release—Enshrouded is one of them. From its first days as a voxel survival-crafting title with many interesting ideas to its full launch, it’s been a joy to watch this world grow. Now, the complete version is here, and beyond being one of the best survival games on the market, it is also the standard for the whole genre, setting the bar as high as the islands in the final biome.
Reaching New Heights
I was fortunate enough to try Enshrouded’s 1.0 update before its release, which came at the perfect time, as I was eager to try everything Keen Games worked on for the full release.
Before diving into the new parts, however, I’ll cover some general points, since many new Flameborn are joining the console landscape, and maybe a few patient PC gamers haven’t started yet.
On the surface, Enshrouded is a voxel survival-crafting title with a hand-crafted map, meaning no procedural generation, and several RPG mechanics. Those may sound familiar, which is great because the entry barrier is low, but Enshrouded shines in how it makes so many of these systems feel fresh and innovative.
For starters, exploration plays a huge role. While moving to the next tier feels familiar, I always loved how Enshrouded leans more into the “adventuring” part of the game. To make your Flame Altar strong enough to reach a new area, you need to do some Shroud-delving to get materials, instead of just finding a way to procure them at base. Want a new piece of armor? Good luck finding that lost survivor. And even then, you need to make a home for them and give them a place to work.
It is strange to see games nowadays where every single system works so tightly and cohesively, but Enshrouded has always achieved that. Even if progress might feel slower than in other survival-crafting games, I’ve always loved the focus on the journey rather than the destination or unlocking the next tier.
As for the new additions, Enshrouded 1.0 delivers the long-awaited conclusion in a jaw-dropping way. A new biome called Cinder’s Cradle adds new materials, dangerous enemies, and floating islands for Flameborn to explore.
As always, I won’t go into story details, but those who have been following the game’s superb environmental narrative for a while will have a blast with some of the reveals in this area. Yet, if you lean more toward the building, fighting, and crafting sides, there’s also a lot to do here.
One thing I particularly liked about the new biome is how it starts as a gloomy, Mordor-looking area and slowly leads you to the aforementioned islands. Stepping onto them is among the most epic experiences I’ve had in the game, and I’m glad the game made me work hard to reach this final area, because it was extremely rewarding.
Of course, it isn’t just the new biome that gets all the 1.0 goodies, as some previous areas also got new additions. You’ll find new places to explore, extremely challenging dungeons to tackle, new enemies to face, and plenty of gear to add to your arsenal, plus even more ways to empower it.
All in all, this update not only wraps up one of the most addictive survival-crafting games on the market, but also revitalizes everything that helped Enshrouded get to the spot where it is now. It’s a flawless experience that many who haven’t made their Flameborn will love, but the ones who will really have their minds blown by everything added are the veteran adventurers out there.
Fresh Starts Are in For a Treat
*Excerpt written by another Enshrouded adventurer*
While my colleague spent time diving into what was new in 1.0, I went in a different direction. I grabbed a co-op partner and jumped headlong into the brand-new PS5 version of the game, which, of course, meant a fresh start. I won’t say much beyond what I already said, but the console version runs incredibly well. I’ve put about 50 hours into it with a small but hardcore group of co-op players, building big castles, small villages, and cozy homes, and the performance is exactly what you want.
You can choose between performance and graphics modes; I went with performance, and even with enemy density set to maximum, I’ve yet to encounter crashes, game-stopping bugs, or even a hint of slowdown despite the voxel-based world. As a veteran of early access, I’ve found that all the additions and improvements to the 1.0 experience shine just as much with a fresh start. Combat is much better across the board; quests and early-game progression feel incredibly well designed, and my co-op partners, who were new to Enshrouded, loved it. If you’re looking for a survival game with friends, or, heck, even the next great adventure experience, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything that does it quite like this. I can’t even fathom what the community will create with all the creation tools and Sparkworks to come.
A Gold Standard
In the end, Enshrouded is a once-in-a-lifetime survival-crafting game, and one that should become a staple for studios looking to enter the genre. Its systems are extremely accessible, while still leaving plenty of room for creative players to build and craft anything they can imagine. Progressing through the game is slow, but it emphasizes this often-lost sense of discovery, making every new find and location you stumble upon feel extremely rewarding.
As someone who was there from Enshrouded‘s first day to this 1.0 milestone, it feels great to see how huge the game has gotten, and how much the studio has listened to its community. Enshrouded has set a new standard for the genre, and Keen Games has shown the true power of early-access development, turning an addictive survival-crafting game into an action-adventure masterpiece.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Enshrouded (PC Reviewed)
Enshrouded 1.0 is the culmination of Keen Games' monumental effort to create a flawless survival-crafting title that will stand the test of time, thanks to its in-depth progression systems, gorgeous map to explore, and addictive loop that sets it apart from other games in the genre.
Pros
- A gorgeous, hand-crafted world
- An excellent progression system
- One of the most addictive survival-crafting games of the decade
Cons
- Still can't sheathe weapons or tools
