Small back story
Enshrouded was developed by a small German indie studio with only about 50 people. With these few resources, they created one of the most beautiful voxel engines, which can easily compete with AAA studios.
Despite the small team, developers were able to create a beautiful visual with many small details, lighting, and organic-looking particles, which, unfortunately, are not often found in modern games. I especially want to mention the destruction physics, which lets you have a different version of the battlefield, with bombs and magic that can reshape the environment in the blink of an eye.
Story
The story takes place in a once-prosperous kingdom, Embervale, which fell after being covered by a mysterious magical object called the Shroud. You play as a Flameborn - a warrior that has awakened long after the collapse with a role to rebuild what was lost.
Another good thing about the story is that it is highly integrated into gameplay, it doesn't feel like something somewhere far. Your progress runs a story, not in a separate way, but they work together in a tandem.
Open world
The game world is one of its biggest strengths, and one of its reasons - the world is crafted by hand, of course, developers used many algorithms to help them build it faster and more realistic, but most of the things were done and reviewed by real humans. You actually can feel it even from the very beginning of your story.
Regions in Enshrouded feel unique, with diverse biomes ranging from forests and plains to mountains, ancient ruins, caves with hidden paths, and abandoned settlements.
The gameplay is mostly about exploration, during which you can always get some new gear, weapons, crafting materials, and lore fragments. You will also meet some challenges, like boss fights, including mini bosses, and many other types of mobs.
You will also need to spend some time in that mysterious mist, but the catch is that the time is limited, and enemies in the mists are strong, which gives even more challenges.
Crafting is a big part of a game, one of its core concepts, and its systems are intuitive with enough depth for everyone.
Combat
I would personally compare the combat in Enshrouded to that in Dark Souls games, of course, it is not 100% like that, but it shares many similarities in how it feels. The good side is that fights are not hardcore, but just a casual experience where difficulty depends on how strong your character is and which enemies you are gonna fight.
Verdict
I recommend that everyone who loves open-world survival-crafting games give Enshrouded a try. It is a fantastic game that you will definitely remember, and it doesn't even cost much.
I want to give this game a 90/100 score, and I also take into account how it's developing and how regularly it gets new updates, including the big ones like "Wake of the Water".
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