Enshrouded Co-op Review: Shape the Embervale with your Friends

The recent free update 4 “Souls of the Frozen Frontier” landed on November 5 and has breathed new life into Enshrouded, making this the ideal time for both new and returning players to dive back into this immersive survival-crafting game. Especially if you’re looking to play with friends, family or your partner.

Enshrouded is an open-world RPG for up to 16 players in online co-op, combining various genre highlights. You have an action combat system with various weapon types to adjust to your playstyle, whether you're a front-line melee brawler, a wizard casting powerful spells or an assassin attacking from the shadows. To survive the challenging boss battles, you need to prepare and craft items to help your survival. You will operate from your own base that can built from the ground to your liking. From a humble 4x4 hut to the grandest gothic palace, the only limit is your creativity, patience and time. With update 4, new mechanics were introduced, adding animal taming and pets which adds more depth into the farming and basebuilding aspects.

At the time of this review, it is still in Early Access and only available for PC players on Steam. After the full release, the developers at Keen Games are considering adding the game to consoles, namely PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X |S (Source: Enshrouded Discord FAQ).

In this review, we dive into what makes Enshrouded such a well-rounded experience, with a focus on its co-op gameplay. We will discuss who this game is well suited for and how group dynamics, communication and collaboration shine here. To wrap things up, we will highlight what the recent content update is bringing to the table (and tiny spoiler here: it is just great).

If you prefer watching a video review, we linked our YouTube co-op review below!

In Enshrouded, you as the player embody the Flameborn, a survivor tasked with saving the Embervale - a world that has suffered a catastrophic event that wiped out nearly all of humanity.
Before beginning your journey, the game offers a straightforward but satisfying character creator, allowing customization of your character’s look, from skin tone and hair to beard styles and even voice. It’s just enough to create a unique avatar without overwhelming options, adding a personal touch of identity as you step into the adventure in your ragged clothing.

Your starting experience is guided by small tutorials, hinting at basics, as well as what you're expected to focus on in the game: looting, gathering, crafting for starters. You make contact with your first Shroud, teaching you the dangers of these zones covered in thick fog. After entering these zones, a timer will be displayed, indicating your resistance and when you need to leave. Staying inside the Shroud for too long will result in physical damage and - if you're not able to leave quickly enough, your demise.

Quickly the game leads you to an open meadow where you're expected to build your first little outpost to act as your base. With a bedroll, a campfire and the heart of your base: the Flame Altar, you're set to venture out. There is a rough questline to follow, guided by the Flame, and it is necessary to follow these hints and objectives to drive your progression. Questing in Enshrouded is not text-heavy, but some side-quests and the lore are told through books and scrolls found across the world. Reading them is mostly optional, but can be beneficial to hint at hidden treasure nearby or - to understand the game world you're now a part of.

One of the game’s strengths lies in its co-op capabilities, with support for up to 16 players per session. Co-op in Enshrouded is designed for flexibility: you can jump into a friend’s hosted session and still retain your character and gear progression, meaning you can bring your leveled-up character into new worlds. This design is excellent for groups with consistent players and equally accommodating for friends with limited time, as even a quick 30-minute session can feel rewarding and drive progression.

Enshrouded thrives on variety. Co-op players have a rich range of activities to enjoy, from exploring, gathering, hunting, and crafting to base building and decorating. The game doesn’t follow a strict main quest line, but more so objectives to be cleared and dungeon puzzles to overcome. This offers players the freedom to wander solo or as a group and to focus on the part of the game (or in gaming in general) that they enjoy the most. Whether this is exploring landmarks or placing each voxel cube one-by-one to build their dream home: everyone is free to do it. Shared quests ensure that even players who miss out on key interactions still receive credit, so no one is left behind in progression.

For creative players, Enshrouded offers a wealth of opportunities. Its voxel-based world lets players craft and terraform their surroundings, from building dream bases to farming and decorating. The game’s relaxing music and aesthetic make for a soothing experience, allowing players to shape the world to their tastes.

On the other side, Enshrouded keeps adventurous players on their toes with dynamic environments. Moving through dense fog and dark, mysterious regions adds tension, and the game’s Shroud mechanic provides an extra thrill, requiring players to manage limited time in dangerous areas.

It's absolutely possible to jump into a friends' game later, even if they have progressed quite a bit and do not plan on starting over with everyone new joining in. While Enshrouded is a level-based game, with not only characters, but also monsters having a certain level (range), enemies do not scale. That means, newcomers may experience the world just the same as veterans have before them. You can help them out by crafting higher level equipment, tools and weapons - or watch them suffer the same item spiral you have! The main story objectives (namely, the NPC's you will have to rescue eventually, unlocking things important for your progression) can only be done once per server, but will auto-complete on interaction with the corresponding quest NPC. Smaller side-quests as well as Shroud Roots (which are important for skill points) are character-based, so everybody will have to do those either themselves or while everybody is online. Shroud Roots do respawn (around every 2 hours), in case anyone did not get the skill point although they were online.

Survival aspects, such as hunger and thirst, are optional, meaning buffs are available, but players aren’t penalized for skipping meals. This flexible approach makes Enshrouded ideal for both newcomers and seasoned players looking for a casual experience. You may adapt the difficulty and impact of these mechanics in the options..

What Enshrouded lacks, is an in-game voice or text chat, so players will need an external app like Discord for communication.
This small hurdle aside, co-op play truly shines in tougher combat scenarios where teamwork becomes essential. Facing off against challenging bosses with the good old 'holy trinity' party, consisting of tank, healer, and DPS roles, enhances both the sense of achievement and teamwork, making it feel like a classic RPG or even like beating a dungeon in an MMORPG.

While some accessibility options are limited, the game does include features to reduce motion sickness. However, colorblind modes and Arachnaphobia (spider-reduction) settings are minimal, so players with specific sensitivities should keep this in mind

The setting is intense yet generally family-friendly, though better suited to older players due to spooky elements like darkness, heights, and enemies resembling spiders.

The recently released Update 4: Souls of the Frozen Frontier (November 5) has expanded the world of Enshrouded with a new snowy mountain biome, the Albaneve Summits. This frozen landscape introduces new enemies, weapons, armor, and furniture, along with exciting new gameplay mechanics: aerial updrafts now allow players to boost their gliders upwards for better vertical exploration, and the level cap has increased to 35, unlocking new spells and skills for combat.

NPCs have become more interactive, roaming around your base for added life and immersion. Players can now tame various animals, including goats, birds and yaks, and adopt pets (a dog, a cat and a rabbit), which makes base-building and farming feel more dynamic. The game’s visuals have also received upgrades, including new weather effects simulating heavy rain.

• are part of a player group with different gameplay interests (casual, veteran, combat, relaxed)
• enjoy voxel-based worlds where you can shape almost everything to your liking (as in Minecraft)
• appreciate sandboxes that do not force players into linear gameplay progression

• you're feeling overwhelmed with big open worlds or less guidance (in terms of guided progression)
• dislike survival-style combat with endurance management and potion cooldowns
• hate repetitive chores like gathering and crafting

Enshrouded is an impressive game in Early Access that’s only growing in scope. It’s well-suited for a long-term co-op adventure, where each update brings something new to explore. For its current price, Enshrouded provides excellent value, and though there are minor technical quirks, the experience is remarkably solid for an Early Access title. Occasional glitches like enemies clipping through floors or shooting projectiles through structures are present, but they don’t detract much from the overall experience.

Whether you’re playing casually or tackling the challenges of combat and exploration together, Enshrouded lets you play the way you want. The cooperative element is especially fulfilling as you face tough bosses and build a sanctuary together, each player contributing something meaningful. With its mix of creativity, adventure, and teamwork, Enshrouded stands out as a rewarding co-op experience.

If you’ve been on the fence about trying Enshrouded, it’s absolutely worth checking out. This is a game designed for adventure-loving duos or groups who enjoy building something unique together while battling against the odds. With the full release planned for 2025, there’s plenty more to look forward to.

So grab your favorite people, jump into Enshrouded, and explore, build, and survive together in the Shroud!

We gave Enshrouded a rating of 4 out of 5!

4 / 5.0

If you prefer visual info or would like to get a better impression of how the game plays, you can watch our review on our YouTube channel: