Enshrouded: Exploring the World of the Next Big Survival Game

The survival game genre has exploded in popularity over the last decade thanks to massively viral hits like Minecraft, Rust, and Valheim capturing the imaginations of millions of players. Now, a new contender called Enshrouded aims to follow in those successful footsteps when it launches into Steam Early Access later this year.

Developed by Keen Games, the studio behind the popular Portal Knights, Enshrouded stands out from the crowded field of survival games by blending the most appealing elements of its predecessors. With creative building and terraforming inspired by Minecraft, dangerous exploration reminiscent of Valheim, base building and recruitment systems like games like State of Decay, and accessible action-RPG combat, Enshrouded has all the ingredients to cook up the next survival sensation.

Where Can I Play Enshrouded?

The initial launch of Enshrouded game was planned for Q3 or Q4 of 2023. However, it now looks like the release of the game won’t happen within the year. As per the current news, people who are interested in the game can expect its release on Steam by 24^th January 2024.

While Steam will be the only platform supporting Early Access, console releases for PlayStation and Xbox are planned to follow the full 1.0 PC launch later in 2024. So, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S owners will get their chance to explore the foggy realm of Enshrouded in the future, but PC players will get the first crack at it.

If you are looking forward to getting your hands on the Enshrouded game as soon as it is available, you should visit Electronic First. Then you can download the game to your PC at the best possible price as well.  

Can You Play Enshrouded Single Player?

A common question surrounding many survival games is whether they can be enjoyed playing solo without the need for multiplayer interaction. The answer for Enshrouded is a definitive yes – the game has been designed from the ground up to support single player exploration.

The entire core gameplay experience including combat, crafting, building, exploration, questing, and settlement building can be experienced playing alone without missing out on anything substantial. While teaming up cooperatively with friends could make building bigger bases easier or increase your chances of defeating particularly deadly enemies and bosses, solo players won’t face any restrictions. The world of Enshrouded can be fully experienced without ever partying up with another player.

How Many People Can Play Enshrouded Together?

For those interested in the multiplayer side of things, Enshrouded will allow groups of up to 4 players to adventure together on PC and consoles. The Early Access version planned for Steam launch later this year includes full 4 player cooperative gameplay already integrated and ready for testing.

Partying up allows you and your friends to quest, gather resources, build settlements, and face threatening enemies as a team. You can split up tasks like scavenging, crafting, and exploration then reconvene back at your shared base camp for safety. Defeating challenging dungeons and powerful bosses also becomes more achievable when working strategically as a coordinated group of up to 4.

While many survival games eventually hope to support massive servers with dozens or even hundreds of simultaneous players on shared worlds, Enshrouded is sticking to a more intimate scope focused on small group cooperation for now. But that 4 player limitation still provides plenty of opportunity for camaraderie and social gameplay without needing to manage huge player counts on servers.

Enshrouded Release Date

As of now, the official launch date of Enshrouded is on January 24, 2024. Once it does go live for the first time in its early, unfinished state, enshrouded expects to remain publicly available and supported on Steam Early Access for approximately 12 months. This extended Early Access lifespan gives Keen Games time to refine features, add content, polish stability based directly on real user feedback, and ultimately shape it into the full experience they envision.

Only after that yearlong open beta test period concludes will Enshrouded leave Early Access and officially “release” in its complete 1.0 form. A 2024 date is projected for the version 1.0 milestone launch at that point, which also lines up with tentative console launch plans. But PC gamers jumping in during 2024 January Early Access will get their first glimpse into the fog earlier.

Enshrouded Beta Access

Survival fans eager to be the first wanderers to explore the mysterious realms hidden beneath Enshrouded’s dense fog won’t have to wait long. In addition to the forthcoming Early Access phase serving as an open beta of sorts, Keen Games hosted a closed online beta test weekend from October 14-16, 2022, exclusively for members of its community Discord channel.

This technical alpha gave cherry-picked testers an extremely early sneak peek at Enshrouded for evaluation and feedback purposes. With core mechanics like crafting, building, and combat still heavily in progress, it aimed to validate technical performance and stability above all on a wider range of PC hardware configurations.

While additional closed beta events may occur moving forward, fans shouldn’t expect any more public testing until Steam Early Access kicks off in early 2024. Signing up on the official Enshrouded website for their newsletter provides the best chance at gaining admission to future closed beta waves before then.

Enshrouded PS4 and PS5 Release Date

Gamers sticking to PlayStation 4 and PS5 consoles will have to exercise some patience beyond Enshrouded’s initial PC-only Early Access release. Current forecasts slated for roughly one year after its Steam debut point to potential PS4 and PS5 launches sometime in 2024 following the official 1.0 update.

Until extensive public testing and iteration can be completed in the Early Access stage, developer Keen Games understandably is not ready to commit resources toward specialized console ports. Optimizing Enshrouded for living room setups and controllers is better left until after the core mechanics and features lock closer to final on PC first. But PlayStation owners won’t be left out forever once that work can begin. They will only have to wait till the Enshrouded PS5 release date.

The good news is that by targeting Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 platforms for eventual release down the road, Keen Games is designing Enshrouded as a cross-generation game from the start. So, players on any modern PlayStation or Xbox device will get to uncover the same expansive open world and gameplay once available, just slightly later than PC.

Enshrouded Price (Standard and Deluxe Editions)

Official pricing details have not yet been disclosed for Enshrouded’s initial launch into Steam Early Access. However, similar recent survival crafting genre Early Access titles have released for between $19.99 and $24.99 USD at launch. Based on those data points, a $24.99 debut price point feels reasonable to expect.

$24.99 would position Enshrouded as a budget-friendly introduction compared to the current $39.99 MSRP of its predecessor game Portal Knights. Yet still high enough to be indicative of a premium quality Early Access experience versus cheaper indie experiments pricing closer to $9.99. Of course, actual Early Access opening cost remains speculative until Keen Games confirms closer to release.

One pricing model confirmed during Enshrouded’s next year roadmap is the addition of in-game microtransactions once the full 1.0 version launches. These will take the form of cosmetic-only marketplace purchases that do not impact gameplay or progression. So, while the base game itself will presumably still cost $24.99 or so upon leaving Early Access, incremental revenue can be generated from optional skins after that point.

A Deluxe Edition was also announced as in development, although details remain vague for now. Typically, Deluxe game editions come with the base game itself plus a bundle of premium digital extras. For Enshrouded, the additions appear to be purely cosmetic costumes and weapons without affecting mechanics. But the Deluxe Edition would likely carry a $10-$20 premium over standard pricing.

Enshrouded Demo Impressions

While an Early Access release window has been loosely slated for early 2024, fans didn’t have to wait that long for their first hands-on gameplay experience. A public demo of Enshrouded was made temporarily available as part of Steam’s annual Next Fest summer gaming festival between June 13-20, 2022.

This downloadable demo acted as an extremely early vertical slice preview, delivering about an hour of guided content and free exploration stemmed from an even earlier internal build of the game. As expected from such an early version still at least a year out from public launch, the hands-on demo felt quite rough around the edges and unpolished. Placeholder textures, models, effects, UI elements, textures, and animations dominated the experience.

Yet even in that prototype state, Enshrouded displayed clear gameplay foundations built upon novel survival and crafting mechanisms refined through decades of collective genre influences. Intuitive world interaction tools set a strong creative sandbox foundation. Kinetic action-RPG inspired battles brought satisfying impact against fantastical creature foes still lacking finished assets. The general framework felt clearly established for Keen Games to flesh out through ongoing development.

While discussions of precise Early Access timing filled most post-demo reactions, Enshrouded undoubtedly flashed enough raw potential even then to spark considerable interest. And with at least another full year still to go polishing off all those rough edges, Keen Games has plenty of remaining runway to stick the landing in realizing the full vision. Surviving the journey through Enshrouded’s fog should prove well worth the wait.

Enshrouded Game Engine and Development Details

Enshrouded is built using the modern and versatile Unreal Engine 4 as its graphical and physics foundation. Unreal Engine 4 powers countless contemporary games across genres and platforms, selected for its refined toolset facilitating rapid iterative design. The Enshrouded team leverages benefits like advanced dynamic lighting, robust physics simulations, high polygon counts and draw distances, optimized asset streaming, and multiplatform export support.

That Unreal Engine backbone allowed focusing development efforts on crafting Enshrouded’s distinctive flair atop robust infrastructure rather than building core technology from scratch. It also eases eventual console ports following the initial PC Early Access period as Unreal smooths multiplatform deployment.

While indie studio Keen Games stands as publisher behind Enshrouded, they have partnered with the external studio Ebb Software for direct development assistance. Ebb is led by veteran game developers with past credits spanning massive hits like League of Legends and World of Warcraft. That wealth of expertise translates directly into refining Enshrouded’s approachability and depth for broad appeal.

Blending the nimble innovation of a passionate indie studio with the production pedigree of seasoned industry veterans has Keen Games feeling confident about achieving their creative vision. Bringing a polished genre entry like Enshrouded to eager genre fans demands nothing less.

Get Ready to Explore the Fog

The central conceit shrouding Enshrouded’s fantasy realm in an ominous fog tease as much as it terrifies. Venturing forth blindly into the unknown sits at the very core of what makes survival adventures so compelling. Each new shadow masking the terrain evokes equal parts intrigue and danger.

But ample tools empower pioneers charting their custom course through the mist. Construct a sprawling settlement Location from scratch then set forth prepared to uncover hidden treasures awaiting within ancient tombs. The journey promises equal parts tranquility and tribulation.

Whether preferring to wander alone or band with stalwart allies, the call of the fog permeates. Equip your preferred weapon and get ready to illuminate the veil when Enshrouded comes calling late this year. Your destiny awaits, Explorer!

The Next Chapter in Survival Gaming Dawns

From building solo sandcastles to coordinating virtual communities—and everything in between—the intoxicating open-ended nature of survival crafting games empowers self-determination unlike any other genre. Enshrouded stands poised to recapture that fundamental appeal while evolving stagnant conventions in desperate need of a foggy facelift.

Blending boundary-pushing ideas with comfortingly familiar tropes, Enshrouded casts an atmospheric spell summoning scrappers young and old to leave their mark pioneering the unknown frontier. Gaming trends come and go, but mankind’s innate urge to construct always endures. Step forth into the fog and build a new world rising from the ashes of the old when Enshrouded ushers in an exciting new era of survival creation later this year. The flames beckon!

For more information about Enshrouded, including the most recent news and tips for winning the game, see our blog.

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