Open World & viel Zerstörung: Enshrouded ist nach Palworld gleich der nächste Spaß! - Test / Review

Summary

In January 2023, 'Shrouded' by the German developer KeinGames emerged as a promising contender in the survival game genre, following its highly successful demo. As of January 24, the game entered Early Access, inviting players into its vast, rugged world for resource gathering, boss battles, and base building. Shrouded stands out with its voxel-based holistic engine, allowing deeper world interaction than seen in games like Valheim, with almost everything destructible. Players can build deep tunnels and massive sky castles, thanks to the game's disregard for static physics. Besides its aesthetic superiority over Valheim, Shrouded offers a glider for exploration, reminiscent of Zelda's paragliders, and integrates puzzles within its ruins. With a rich talent tree blending magic, warrior, and rogue abilities, and NPC allies for questing, the game promises over 50 to 100 hours of adventure across diverse biomes. Despite its expansive freedom, the narrative struggles for coherence, relying on players to piece together the story from scattered texts. Shrouded's ambition to evolve with community feedback and expand its world further positions it as a unique survival RPG experience, distinct from inspirations like Valheim and Zelda.

Takeaways

• 📚 'Chrouded' from German developer KeinGames made waves with a highly successful demo in 2023 and entered Early Access on January 24, offering a massive, resource-rich game world for players to explore, defeat bosses, and build bases.
• 🔨 The game's voxel-based 'holistic Engine' allows for deep interaction with the environment, surpassing even the Viking hit 'Valheim' in terms of destructibility, including the ability to dig tunnels and construct large castles in the air.
• 🏁 With a more attractive visual presentation than 'Valheim', 'Chrouded' introduces a practical glider for navigation, reminiscent of 'The Legend of Zelda' series on the Switch, enhancing exploration and travel.
• 🧙‍♂️ 'Chrouded' incorporates a rich talent tree that mixes mage, warrior, and rogue talents, and allows players to gather a team of five NPC characters to embark on quests and uncover the game's lore.
• 🛡️ The game features an omnipresent miasma fog that adds a layer of challenge, requiring players to manage their time effectively in hazardous areas, while also unraveling the mystery of the fallen kingdom's demise.
• 🏗 'Chrouded' offers an expansive world with diverse biomes, from lush high meadows to barren wastelands, filled with ruins, fortifications, and mysteries, promising 50 to 100 hours of adventure content in its Early Access version.
• 🚧 Strategic placement of fast travel points is key, as players have the freedom to place these points themselves, adding a layer of strategy to exploration and base building.
• 🔬 The game encourages creativity in base construction, with a wide range of building materials and the ability to significantly alter the landscape within the radius of 'flame altars' to ensure permanent changes.
• 📝 'Chrouded' offers a unique storytelling approach, relying on players to discover over 100 text documents to piece together the game's narrative, presenting a challenge in understanding the full story.
• 💪 Despite some areas needing refinement, such as combat difficulty and clearer quest guidance, 'Chrouded' stands out as a unique survival RPG with a strong emphasis on player freedom and creativity.

Q & A

What is the name of the survival game developed by the German studio KeinGames that gained attention with a successful demo in 2023?

The game is called Shrouded.

When was Shrouded released in Early Access, allowing players to gather resources, defeat bosses, and build bases?

Shrouded was released in Early Access on January 24.

What unique feature does Shrouded's voxel-based holistic engine offer to players compared to the Viking hit Valheim?

Shrouded's engine allows deeper interaction with the game world, including nearly everything being destructible and the ability to dig deep tunnels and build huge air castles without statics playing a role.

How does Shrouded incorporate elements from popular games like Zelda on the Switch?

Shrouded includes a glider for traversing the world, similar to the paraglider in Zelda, and integrates numerous small puzzle challenges reminiscent of Zelda's gameplay.

What role do NPCs play in Shrouded, and how do they enhance the gameplay?

NPCs in Shrouded contribute to the gameplay by offering over 75 quests, helping to uncover the game world's secrets, and providing access to crafting disciplines once housed properly.

What is the Miasma in Shrouded, and how does it affect the player's exploration?

The Miasma is a pervasive, harmful grey fog filling lower areas of the game world. Players are initially highly susceptible to its toxic effects but can explore it for limited times due to a protective blessing.

How does the game encourage strategic placement of fast travel points by players?

Players can place fast travel points themselves in the form of flame altars, allowing strategic access to various locations and resources within the game world.

What construction and customization options are available for players' homes in Shrouded?

Players can collect dozens of building materials to customize the appearance and interior of their homes, with incentives for diverse decoration like the 'well-rested' buff.

How does Shrouded's talent tree and class system contribute to its gameplay depth?

The talent tree allows mixing of mage, warrior, and rogue talents, enabling players to create unique character builds and encouraging team coordination in multiplayer to balance skills.

What future updates were planned by the developers for Shrouded during its Early Access period?

Developers planned to expand the map with new biomes, enemies, and resources, increase the level cap and talent tree, enhance building options, and incorporate player feedback to improve the game.