Trailer – Survival-Crafting ARPG Enshrouded Shows Off Building Mechanics

Enshrouded, the recently revealed title from the creators of Portal Knights, got a new trailer today that covers quite a bit about the game’s impressively deep construction and terraforming systems. Want to recreate the Eiffel Tower, or the Sphinx? Well within the realm of possibility in Enshrouded, as the gameplay trailer below demonstrates.

The flexibility inherent in the game’s building is thanks to Keen Games’ custom, voxel-based engine, which allows for some seriously detailed terraforming and base-building. Terrain can be sculpted to allow for stuff like cellars and moats — or letting you just live in a cave if you want.

You can build things block-by-block a la Minecraft, but for folks who just want a place to rest between monster-slaying, there are blueprints for elements such as floor pieces, walls, stairs, and so on. The voxels allow pieces to seamlessly fit with each other, and there’s even contextual styling on the blocks: cut a hole out of a wall, and you’ll see a frame appear around your new window; blocks added near the top of a wall end up looking like sconces. You don’t just have to use blocks to decorate, however, as you’ll have over 100 props to choose from, which will not only make your home look nicer but can also improve the buff you get from resting.

You aren’t just building this base for you, either — up to 15 friends can join you in your world. You’ll also need to provide shelter for the NPCs you find in the world; they won’t be able to offer their whole repertoire of items or services until they’ve got a roof over their head. Whether you choose to stick them in a plain wooden box, or give them a proper domicile, is up to you.

It’s looking like the construction system in Enshrouded is deep enough that plenty of players will probably spend the majority of their time in game happily building away. Not that they’ll have to — there’s plenty of exploration and ARPG combat to go along with all the construction, and the sneak peek we got of it looks promising. If you’re a fan of games like Valheim, Minecraft, Terraria, and so-on — or even if you’re someone who wants to like those games but needs meatier combat to go along with it — Enshrouded is one to keep an eye on.