Enshrouded - The Backstabbing Adventures of an Easily-Distracted Fire-Worshipper

Summary

John begins as a newly awakened Flameborn, tasked with helping save a fantasy post-apocalyptic world from the Shroud—a deadly fog filled with hostile creatures. Flameborn can explore freely and combine skills rather than follow a fixed class. As John ventures out, he finds and recruits surviving artisans, including a blacksmith and a hunter, who unlock more crafting options and equipment upgrades.

Gameplay Highlights and Strategies

• Build a base around a Flame Altar: It enables crafting and provides a place to rest. Resting helps John stay effective in the field.
• Gather and craft constantly: Plant fiber is especially important because it becomes string, which is needed for many recipes. Gathering materials can involve repetitive runs through bushes.
• Prepare before entering the Shroud: Time inside is limited, and stronger enemies appear deeper within. Collect Shroud materials for useful equipment, including the grappling hook and glider, and look for routes back to safety.
• Explore during the day when possible: Monsters can roam outside the Shroud at night, making nighttime exploration riskier.
• Use stealth and mobility: John favors daggers, silent movement, sneak attacks, and backstabs. Double jump helps with traversal and can make some platforming and tower puzzles easier. A bow provides a useful ranged option.
• Fight deliberately: Stagger enemies, evade attacks, and finish off staggered foes. Sneaking past enemies or luring them near explosive barrels can be safer than starting a large fight.
• Upgrade equipment through recruited artisans: Weapons may start with similar stats but gain different bonuses as they are upgraded. Rings, armor, food, and water can also help with survival.
• Destroy the large red roots in Elixir Wells: Clearing them removes a source of the Shroud and can reward skill points and loot. John’s upgraded dagger build makes these fights feel especially powerful.

John enjoys the satisfying combat and the freedom to shape a character build, but finds that survival crafting and material grinding can slow down the exciting moments. After more than four hours, he feels he has only begun to explore the game. He considers playing more, including possibly trying multiplayer with experienced players.

Featured gamer/source: John of Many A True Nerd.