Going into the game as a person who typically isn’t into survivals I was very reluctant to give Enshrouded a try, thinking I’d play for a couple hours, make a first impressions video giving my opinion and that would be it.
Fast forward a few days and I’m finding myself playing it in my free time and searching on google where to find certain materials.
Mind you, most of my time was as a solo, something I thought was going to be a chore or not well balanced, however I’m amazed with how well the developers managed to make each system work.

The game is advertised as a co-op survival action RPG for up to 16 players. And the more the merrier I’m sure, but I’ve got to say, if you’re someone who’s looking to try it by yourself and is afraid to spend the money, go for it.
Being alone in this huge map is not a cruel and brutal experience, quite the contrary. I find the game to be very forgiving not just for solos but in general and I think that comes from the fact that Enshrouded is an action RPG first and a survival game second.
With that said, if you’re one to look for an hardcore adventure, you’ll be a bit disappointed as the mechanics around survival aren’t quite there.

The risk of losing your loot when dying is minimized as you only have to travel to the place to pick it back up, gear on your hotbars isn’t lost, there’s no hunger or thirst and the weather condition has no impact on you either.
So no, the game is not Hardcore. Is that bad ? Quite frankly, I prefer it this way and it may be the reason I keep coming back.

I’m not looking for a grueling gameplay loop when turning the game on.
I’m craving a chill experience that lets me explore at my own pace, freedom to build my creations, fights that are challenging without heavily punishing me for taking risks, and I got all of that and so much more.

Enshrouded does an amazing job at teaching you the basics to get you started on your journey without holding your hand too much, letting you delve into the massive hand crafted world at your own rhythm. The fact that the world isn’t procedurally generated just elevates the whole exploration aspect for me, because each cave, each hidden room, each hidden chest was placed there for a reason and that reason is to tell you a story.
With every new paper or book you find, giving you a little bit more insight as to what is happening is a pleasant way of letting you know what’s happening if you choose to read each document without being forced to attach yourself to the story if that’s not your thing.

Honestly, now that I think about it, the way these lands present themselves is a huge part of why I’m enjoying the game so much and the feeling is only heightened by the fact that you can not only Fast Travel to certain points making your expedition easier but you can also grapple to onto some places, you can glide from height and last but not least, you can fully break most of the environment both with explosives or tools making it hilariously possible to reach your destination in unexpected ways.

Not only does the game give you all these tools to have fun, it also rewards you for exploring as you’ll always find a new point of interest or a new cave system and despite the world being monumental, it never feels empty.

Now that does come with an issue for me at least, as of now, I’m having some fps issues from time to time when streaming or recording putting a slight dent on my overall perception of Enshrouded but I’m sure these optimization problems will be fixed with time so I’m not holding a grudge about it.

Despite this, when everything works, it works great.

I love the shroud mechanic, not only because it feels original in such a game but also because it’s well implemented in my opinion.
If you don’t know what the shroud is, let me give you a brief run down. There’s basically this infectious mist in many parts of the world that prevents you from staying in those places for too long. That can be minimized by upgrading your base or finding lamps that give you more time in the shroud. And even though this mist doesn’t feel harsh most of the time, it can certainly make you plan your decisions better as you’ll die if you can’t get out in time.

I feel like preparing your next step is especially important if you play as a solo like I did, because in most fights you’ll be outnumbered and it’s going to be hard to single out enemies. And let me tell you, those guys hit hard.
Even though combat isn’t super complex, there is certainly a degree of difficulty to it and I’ve died many many times trying to fight my way through a group of enemies only to be humbled seconds later. I’ve since turned my focus to being more of a mage and I’d say things have gone more smoothly as I can maintain my distance and inflict a good amount of damage.

You might be wondering how I’ve started as a mighty warlord and turned into a wise wizard and I’m delighted to say that the game doesn’t force a class upon you, instead it gives you a dope skill tree with many options that can be intertwined to create a build that best suits your playstyle.
The skill tree can also be resetted in your base if you’re not satisfied with how your build is turning out.

As for the construction of your base, the sky's the limit for your creativity.
There’s so many options for walls, roofs, accessories and of course, crafting stations.
In this department Enshrouded also did something that I quite enjoyed which is having NPCs in your own buildings, which aesthetically just looks cool but they’re also useful as each have a category, for example a farmer or an alchemist.
Personally, this little detail adds a lot to the immersion as the base feels more lively and it feels like you’re not the one doing all the crafting by yourself, because you know, I’ve been playing solo and it can feel lonely.

As I’ve said before, the game is very forgiving and I’d go as far as saying the solo experience doesn’t lack much in comparison to a full group of people, as it should.
Of course there can be slight details where having friends will make things easier as XP is shared and more inventories to carry loot on your travels is definitely a plus, but not something that’s necessary to have fun.

All in all, Enshrouded has more than delivered what promised to achieve in this early access and I’m hopeful and excited for the future of this colorful universe with the next updates.