Lately, I’ve been busy with classwork, but this past week I found time to play Enshrouded. Initially, I got this game for a review, but I’ve since found myself spending more time in it, and I have to say, it’s good enough for Nintendo to be worried. The same way Nintendo is worried Palworld could hurt the Pokémon franchise, I feel that Enshrouded is strong enough to make them sweat over The Legend of Zelda. So, let’s get into it, shall we?
At the start of Enshrouded, the player is given the backstory of how the world was destroyed by humankind’s desire for the Elixir, which caused them to mine into areas hoping to acquire more of this resource motivated by greed. This eventually led to the rise of the Shroud, a villainous race of mold-like creatures. To put it simply, humans became addicted to a powerful substance and, in their greed, awoke an ancient evil.
You play as the Flameborn, a being created through the fusion of humanity and the ancients, brought to life by the flames of life. When you awaken, you are tasked with restarting civilization, ending the Elixir’s reign, and defeating the Shroud to reclaim what was lost. This journey involves finding others like yourself hidden in vaults and battling the Shroud, monsters, and scavengers who now rule the land.
The story is linear but allows exploration at your own pace, with a tone that feels hopeful—much like Breath of the Wild as you rebuild a world that was once destroyed. However, the story is fragmented and largely delivered through lore books, environmental storytelling, and nuanced details. There is a moral grayness here: you are the hero, but the narrative leaves room for ambiguity and personal interpretation. Your character is created through a character creation system, giving players the freedom to shape their identity.
The world of Enshrouded is large, though not quite on the scale of Skyrim. It matches Breath of the Wild in scope, and the real “wow” factor comes when you’re standing atop a mountain ridge and looking out at the vast, detailed landscape. One of the most beautiful places I’ve visited was the top of an ancient dungeon—a quiet, hauntingly scenic reward for those who climb and explore.
Your arsenal consists of tools and weapons either crafted or unlocked by rescuing others who have also been touched by the flame of life. These tools include swords, shields, gliders, grappling hooks, potions, and armor. You can also find rare items and gear scattered throughout the world, which can be enhanced further by mining gems and applying enchantments to improve performance.
One feature I loved is that tools used for mining and scavenging—such as pickaxes and axes—aren’t limited to just those tasks. In Shrouded areas or difficult terrain, you can use these tools to open new paths and access hidden areas. This adds a layer of utility that enhances exploration beyond the linear.
Piecing together the story of Enshrouded. 
The doors remain locked, unless all the symbols are lit up. 
Mining changes the world’s topography. 
The view on a Mountain from Enshrouded. 
The dungeons in Enshrouded. 
Inside the Vaults rescuing allies. 
The extra characters within Enshrouded. 
The world map of Enshrouded. 
The Enshrouded Skill tree. 
Building and crafting within Enshrouded.
Combat in Enshrouded feels fluid and dynamic, much like modern AAA Zelda titles. Parrying, dodging, and timing your attacks are all crucial to taking down enemies. While the AI isn’t particularly smart—they follow fairly rigid and predictable patterns, reminiscent of monsters in Zelda games—combat remains enjoyable. Your playstyle is highly customizable thanks to the diverse weapon options available: bows, staves, wands, and various melee weapons scattered throughout the world.
Dungeons in Enshrouded are immune to player-forged tools, forcing you to solve puzzles and defeat enemies in order to progress. These areas typically contain characters stored in vaults that must be rescued. The dungeon design adds a welcome layer of challenge, though I wish they were larger, included boss fights, and offered more intense encounters.
Unlike games such as Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Skyrim, or Oblivion, Enshrouded has a leveling system. While this allows for character growth and class specialization, it also gates exploration and can make the game feel grind-heavy. Players must level up, gain new skills, and acquire better gear in order to progress the narrative, which shifts focus away from story immersion.
A Multiplayer experience
As you level up, you unlock skill points that can be spent on specialized classes such as Healer, Tank, Wizard, Warrior, Survivor, Ranger, Assassin, Trickster, and more. Each class has unique abilities that impact exploration and combat. Thankfully, the game provides a difficulty slider and experience gain modifier when creating a world, allowing players to speed up or slow down progression as they see fit.
Unlike other games, such as Elder Scrolls IV Skyrim, Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom, they don’t have multiplayer features, Enshrouded on the other hand, supports a multiplayer experience. While I focused on single-player in this review, players can host their world locally and invite friends or family to join them. This allows for shared adventures, co-op battles against monsters and dragons, and communal exploration.
At the beginning of the game, the flames of life guide you in building your first base. As you rescue characters from vaults, they can join you at your base, where you can construct homes and other facilities. You can also create multiple bases across the kingdom to enable fast travel and speed up resource collection and exploration.
The building system is similar to Rust, though simplified. One improvement I’d like to see is the ability to remove rubble during settlement building without having to manually mine it out, which slows down the creative process.
Replay value is high, especially since the game is still in early access and has a lot more content planned for the future. The freedom to explore, build, and replay different class combinations means Enshrouded has strong staying power.
Final thoughts
I don’t have many criticisms, but I do hope the developers consider removing enemy level gating in favor of a system like Skyrim’s, where player skill dictates progression. Retaining gear upgrades while removing level-based exploration barriers would be a better balance. Additionally, expanding dungeons and adding boss fights would add more depth, even if epic loot isn’t always a reward. Defeating a powerful enemy should feel like an accomplishment, not just a comparison of levels.
Enshrouded offers a deeply engaging experience with meaningful crafting, flexible tools, and immersive exploration. It might not yet dethrone Zelda, but it certainly proves it belongs in the same conversation. This is one indie game that deserves your attention.
What do you think? Do you think Enshrouded will stand the test of time and make Nintendo worry?
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