Valheim meets Zelda in this co-op fantasy survival crafting RPG
Co-op survival crafting games are not only numerous on PC, but the quality and scale of them is now at a higher level than it has even been before. A few years ago if you wanted to get your co-op base-building, cooking, weapon crafting and monster slaying kicks then you’d have to venture forth into the realms of, mostly, low-fi, small-scale indie games.
Enshroudedis Valheimcrossed with Zelda: a big, mysterious and mostly serene fantasy realm where you build a base, craft gear and weapons, cook over a campfire, go exploring, fight monsters and complete quests. And, if you like, you can bring along a whole bunch of your friends for the adventure –Enshroudedsupports a somewhat ridonkulous 16 players.
The realm in Enshroudedhas hit hard times –the shroud of the title has consumed much of the land in a hazy murk that saps your life force and mutates living things into twisted monsters. As a newly awakened member of the Flameborn you need to reclaim the world from the evil fog and that means… well, it’s a survival game, so it means chopping down trees, picking up rocks, building a hut, and crafting some starter gear. Once a base is established and a few local wolves and rabbits have been hacked into fur and meat chunks, it’s time to start exploring the world both above the deadly shroud and deep within it.
The world is a big one. Areally big one. In the 18 hours I’ve played I estimate I’ve only uncovered maybe a 16th of the total map. Despite its rather standard game engine, Enshrouded boasts a pretty and, quite frequently, visually epic world, too. Fantasy vistas there are a plenty, while during the day its environments are bathed in a soft light that seems well suited to adventuring and crafting. Delve deep into ancient ruins and the game’s art style delivers suitable levels for a dark, dangerous fantasy dungeon. Is Enshrouded going to go down in PC gaming history as a graphical wonder? No, but the dev deserves a hat-tip for making the game look this good.
THE SHROUD OF THE TITLE HAS CONSUMED MUCH OF THE LAND IN A HAZY MURK
AN EPIC SCALE
It can be a difficult world to explore, though mostly in a good way. More than once I’ve been headed toward an icon on my map only to run into, for example, an entire mountain range. Maybe I can scale that mountain by doing a lot of running and jumping, but sometimes I need to divert around it instead, which could lead me to a massive enshrouded gorge, or a huge river of lava, a sheer cliff face, a ruined town full of monsters.
Going around or through those obstacles can lead to others, and before I know it what seemed like a short journey north has turned me in a completely d
