Enshrouded

Dear devs: Please do not rely on upscaling tech to optimize your games for you! I should not need to enable FSR to maintain 60 FPS at 1440p on an overclocked and undervolted 9070 WITH reduced settings. That's crazy. I'm well above your recommended specs and I'm sitting around 50 FPS in the open world without FSR. That's with Point Light Shadows, Shadows, Indirect Lighting, and other settings turned down. I will update with an actual review when I've played more, but damn dude, optimize your game. :|

[h1]"Our cause was just, and our intentions were pure. Be certain, I would choose this path again."[/h1] The first thing I have to say about this game is that it is absolutely beautiful. The second is that I'm surprised at how well made this game is in a multitude of ways. Perhaps it's sad to say, but in the time that I've played this game I've run into no bugs that I can think of or remember, the mechanics all work as intended (except for perhaps the multiplayer or quest marker ones, but I talk about those later in this review), and the game runs smoothly for me. It's also addicting, though I grumble about this lovingly. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3731860193 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3731860208 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3731860381 So, the pros: ✅ gorgeous visuals, every area I've been to is vibrant and lush with plant life, creatures and effects (like the enshrouded fog, or regular fog). The other weather effects are also pretty. ✅ The enshrouded mechanic is cool, and so far seems pretty fair. A few minutes seems terrifyingly rapid at first, but you would be surprised by how fast you can clear an area. Especially with tiny lanterns placed strategically through areas that relieve the effect, or by upgrading the flame you can increase your timer of being able to withstand the effect. ✅ All of the weapons I've tried so far are fun, and usually I'm the type that is drawn to certain weapon types almost exclusively. I didn't think I'd have fun at all with the heavier weapons, but they are just as fun as my favored bows or magic. ✅ I find the staves very interesting, you can change out [i]charges[/i] on a staff rather than remaking individual types of staves and I'm surprised I haven't seen this mechanic more often. ✅ Often in games that have gliding, the mechanic has some quirks to it. This one has fair stamina usage that allows quite a bit of distance and even some maneuvering to it. I was both surprised and very pleased at how much I've enjoyed jumping off a cliff like a little flying squirrel and making considerable distance in any given direction. ✅ Sometimes with games that have extra fantasy mechanics, the fights can get a bit hectic and busy. Especially when you're in multiplayer where the game does not always scale difficulty well. But Enshrouded's boss fights so far have been pretty fair. I haven't run into a situation where we fought a boss and I sat there afterwards like "WHY was that fight so ridiculous?" Instead it's usually "what the hell was THAT" in regards to what the bosses look like, but that's the fun worldbuilding sort of questioning. ⚠️ FYI: the red enshrouded mist is lethal. Almost immediately lethal, even. I thought that the enshrouded timer also works for that one, it does not. Two guesses how I figured that one out. Now, my short list of complaints. Because rarely do I leave a review that also doesn't nitpick, even if I adore a game. ❌ Quest progress is individual. I've run into the issue where if I pick up a questline by reading something that my close friend (that I almost exclusively play this game with) has not, I cannot simply just share the quest with them. This annoys me, obviously, because I would like us to share the experience I get from the quest (if any). I don't know why any game that has multiplayer does this, because most people don't want their friends to lose out on any of the experience or loot. ❌ Relatedly, achievements are also individual. If my friend places down the object to create a base, we do not both get the achievement. You have to also create and place one as well. Granted the materials for it are abundant and easy to find, but again I really wish things would work as a collective in this game that both my friend and I add to. ❌ Some of the markers for this game could be clearer, admittedly. Sometimes the marker will be just generally on a spot on the map and the indication of where it actually is doesn't come across as very helpful. Usually there's a message when you get close to it that the area is above or below you, but you could be in the middle of a random grassy cliff when that pops up. In that case, it was because a flame altar was actually halfway down a cliff, or a certain quest area was at the bottom of a cliff and it wasn't clear what area "below" was actually referring to. The regular area, or the enshrouded area. However it's not game breaking and just requires extra exploration. Just don't rely on the quest markers to be absolutely reliable. I do have to agree with my lovely friend [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dustbath/recommended/1203620]Eekz[/url] though, if there is a story to be had so far I have no idea what it is. The game is certainly fun for survival and crafting and fighting, but I do also love story based games where I know what's going on and why... and the beginning doesn't have much to any of that at all. Granted, this game gets updates regularly and the roadmap seems to always have a lot on it in terms of what is coming. So I'm sure there is probably more explanations or lore later, but for people who are impatient to get into the meat of a story it might not be very enjoyable for you. All in all, my score is a solid 4.5/5 so far. I have enjoyed almost every minute of this game, and my quibbles with it are pretty small. It's a wonderful little fantasy survival/base building game with cool mechanics. I will say though, be sure if you're playing this with friends not to wander too far without each other. Finding anything that could give you a quest could mean that your friend does not share it with you if you forget where it is in a looting spree and can't guide them to wherever you found it. [code]If you liked this review and would like to read others I have written, I keep all of my reviews archived in [url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45886946/]Order of the Ancient Dragon[/url] 🐉[/code]