InMinecraft, it’s digging straight down into lava.

InValheim, it’s getting crushed by the very tree you’d just chopped down.

One paragraph in, and I’ve already compared Enshrouded toValheim.

A player in Enshrouded wielding a pickaxe looks out at a town.

You’ll see that quite a bit throughout this review, and for good reason.

But that’s both an accolade and a reservation.

Because it’s not quite there… yet.

The player in Enshrouded looks into a cave filled with deadly Shroud.

Enshrouded is a third-person survival crafting game set in a massive, prebuilt fantasy world called Embervale.

Its unique selling point and namesake is the Shroud - a magical fog, inhabited by fell enemies.

The Shroud covers huge swathes of the map, like rivers and lakes in other fantasy worlds.

The player in Enshrouded stands outside their home, wielding a pickaxe.

Whenever you enter it, a timer starts to count down at the top of your screen.

If the timer runs out, you die.

In fact, the times I spent in the Shroud were probably the least fun I had in Enshrouded.

The player in Enshrouded places Scaffolds atop one another to reach higher up while building their house.

It can be truly gorgeous at times.

But the moment I step into the Shroud, all I see is fog.

It’s a bit of an odd one.

The player in Enshrouded creates a window in a house wall, one block at a time.

By keeping my head above the fog, I slowly fell in love with the rest of Enshrouded.

Let’s talk about the building, because that’s where Enshrouded shines brightest.

It’s a very powerful and easy to use building system.

The player in Enshrouded uses the Glider to soar over the landscape.

Scroll the mouse wheel on its own and it selects the building shape in your building hotbar.

It’s wonderfully intuitive, and I’ll miss it dearly when I move onto any other survival game.

The building materials, too, are lovely; very rustic-looking, which is right up my alley.

A player in Enshrouded prepares to face down a towering boss.

I love how they subtly change their look once placed, based on the other blocks around them.

And eventually, the promise of more building blocks would get me right back into exploring again.

At first my adventures were dominated by quests, which does a good job of orienting new players.

The player in Enshrouded stands in front of the Farmer Ancient Vault.

The combat system is similar to Valheim, and best described as “clunky soulslike” combat.

There’s dodging, and parrying, and all that good stuff.

Same with the variety of two-handed maces and guillotine axes on offer.

A player in Enshrouded sits in the grass by a campfire, just outside some ruins.

A lot of Enshrouded is a mixed bag, in truth.

“, and I experienced a lot of mental whiplash.

It’s always much easier to forgive little foibles and frustrations when you’re having fun with friends.

It’s a bit of a lonely affair, playing Enshrouded in singleplayer.

At times, that’s quite comforting.

Embervale is a quiet safe space for you to build and explore as you see fit.

Other times, it felt a little melancholy.

I also have to speak briefly on the technical difficulties I encountered in Enshrouded.

But others with lower-spec PCs may not have as much slack to cut.

The building is absolutely exquisite, and the main reason I’ll continue playing.

The combat is sound, the world is evocative, beautiful, and thick with surprises.

This review is based on a review build of the game provided by publishers Keen Games.