The German survival game Enshrouded will be released on October 15, 2026, in its 1.0 version on Steam and PS5. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was able to get a first impression at gamescom 2026 and was inspired by the enthusiasm of the team.
Which was admittedly quite easy. I love Enshrouded and have found it absolutely amazing since its release. The reason I don’t play it all the time is mainly that the Hamburg developers constantly release new updates, so I preferred to wait until they are finished.
Soon it will finally happen and I was already looking forward to my appointment at gamescom with Keen Games. Right now, not even an hour ago, I was sitting with the sound designer in his presentation for version 1.0.
At events like gamescom, you often sit through “read” presentations. With Enshrouded, you live for the game. To speak a little in memes: Find yourself a partner who looks at you the way the Enshrouded devs look at their game.
“The biome shouldn’t actually be that big… “
The centerpiece of the 1.0 update is probably – besides the porting to PS5 – the new biome that… floats in the air. I mean it: In the end-end-end game (really the end of the main game), you will visit flying islands that hover over the entire world.
There you dive deeper into the secrets of the “Ancients,” the mystical species that are said to have created everything. Including a new final boss fight, which I have not yet been told about.
The biome itself is huge, consisting of unconnected islands that must be reached via jumping puzzles, launch pads, and updrafts. In conversation with the developer, the (from memory protocol) mentioned: They actually never intended to create such a large biome. It was supposed to be much smaller.
However, the team had so many ideas that wanted to be implemented that they eventually came up with the largest biome since early access. If all studios put so much energy into development, we would currently have more good games than one could play in a lifetime.
Enshrouded is maturing and quite literally
However, 1.0 not only brings a new biome, but also reworks the entire world once again. Villages and cities, the “Points of Interest,” have been almost completely rebuilt from the ground up to better fit into the world.
When Enshrouded was released, it looked very colorful and was often compared to The Legend of Zelda and Minecraft. After 2.5 years of development, hardly anything of that can still be seen. The developers have noticed that as well.
One of the bigger changes in the update is a visual upgrade for characters. Instead of disproportionate comic characters, you now get a more realistic appearance – if you want it. The “classic” style remains available as an option in the game.
Important improvements address the areas where the community finds shortcomings
Overall, the full version of Enshrouded contains a plethora of updates, some of which are just small details, but collectively change so much that I am trying to limit myself to the highlights:
- Boss fights, especially against the baby dragon, will be clearer.
- The entire combat system is being revamped, especially large weapons like the two-handed sword.
- Specifically, animations will be made smoother, and the camera will zoom out further during fights to provide more overview.
- Weapons like the great sword and magic wands will receive chargeable attacks.
- Even the talents will now go “deeper,” the skill tree will resemble a full-fledged RPG with builds, etc. Every choice is intended to become more important, but in the end, your playstyle should stand out clearly and feel unique.
- Loot will also be new and better, so while you may initially find a lot of “junk,” you will quickly get better upgrades, even from chests that generally weren’t worth it before.
Additionally, a complete logic system is added to the game, which… is actually like a whole game within the game. With this system, you can assign functions to switches, thus creating puzzles and dungeons – for example, with timers and traps – or even just an automated watering system for your plants.
Players in Enshrouded are already building completely crazy giant cities. With the new system, there will surely be similar content to what Mario Maker offers. And that’s just a “small detail” that the devs added at the end of development.
Enshrouded completely in German, and with prominent voices
Finally, here’s a tidbit that I know some of you will squeal with joy about: The entire game will be voiced, both in English and German.
All NPCs will have voices with voice lines, and all lore texts will be read aloud, not by AI voices, but by well-known German voice actors. For example, the German voice of Daniel Craig, Dietmar Wunder, will narrate texts in the world, and he was apparently so passionate about it that at least “my” developer was literally hanging on his lips.
While my enthusiasm certainly carries a bit of fanboy vibe, every time I look at the updates that Enshrouded keeps releasing, I can only marvel. I mean, the game costs 40 euros. I know AAAA, uh, pardon, AAA games that deliver significantly less and especially much worse content for a lot more money.
As soon as Enshrouded launches in version 1.0 on October 15, you can expect that I will grind away and a few colleagues from the MeinMMO editorial team have also been recruited. By the way: When asked, I was advised to start anew to really experience everything in its entirety.
What do you think of the changes? Will you play Enshrouded at release? Have you been waiting for the PS5 version or the “more mature” graphics like many others? Leave a comment!
Even if half the world is waiting for GTA 6, I am looking forward to Enshrouded much more, and that’s simply because I already know it will be good. After all, I’ve played the vast majority of it, and it can only get better from here. I’ve already planned the time for it: One of the best survival games on Steam will cost me over 50 hours again starting in October, and it will finally be finished
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