Enshrouded Souls of the Frozen Empire is here, and it’s a gargantuan update for one of the year’s best survival games. Once Human, Nightingale, Abiotic Factor, and even Pacific Drive have all rounded out the 2024 survival experience, but none are shaping up quite like Enshrouded. Today marks the fantasy survival game’s fourth major update, and it’s brimming with a new biome, extra mechanics, and a suite of reworks. Best of all, we’re still on track for 2025’s full launch.
Keen Games calls Enshrouded Souls of the Frozen Empire the survival game’s biggest update yet, in both content and scope. It comes with a new biome, dynamic weather systems, new companion pets, extra weapons, a higher level cap, and an avalanche of even more tweaks and fixes.
Enshrouded’s new biome is Albaneve Summit. This snowy tundra is home to dynamic traversal events, which means deep layers of snow will slow you down, updrafts give you higher and longer glides, and slippery ice plains can act as a quick getaway (or lead to a deadly tumble). The mountains are also home to entirely new monsters, materials, and quests that tower above the rest of Enshrouded’s world. Combat and survival take on an entirely new dimension, so be sure to wrap up.
The game’s new weather system is yet another reason to put on multiple layers. Snow, rain, and fluctuating temperatures occur throughout the day, so you’ll need to make sure you craft some of the new outerwear recipes as soon as possible.
My favorite new feature arriving with Souls of the Frozen Empire is an easy pick, however. It’s got to be the pets. In your bases, you’ll find cats and dogs that you can pet, with each offering a unique buff (as if the act of petting them wasn’t enough). An array of non-aggressive farm animals now graze across the world of Enshrouded, too, and with enough effort, you can tame them and bring them back to your base where they will periodically drop resources if you keep them fed and safe. The new snowy biome is even home to mountain lions, yaks, and goats – but I doubt they’ll all be friendly.
This colossal update just keeps going; Keen Games is also introducing a big NPC revamp. Your crafting NPCs now follow their daily routines, working in your base and seeking a bed at night. You can also find secondary crafting NPCs out in the world, and these characters can be placed in smaller bases across the land to meet all your needs. There’s an entirely new type of NPCs called townsfolk. These characters offer you quests and new dialogue options while making your bases feel more alive.
To round out Souls of the Frozen Empire, there are a few smaller changes and features. Keen Games has increased the max player level to 35, to give you even more skills, perks, and spells as you progress. There are new weapons and outfits, while the grappling hook and glider have been reworked to make them feel better than ever. On the whole, this is just more of what makes Enshrouded so great in the first place.
Enshrouded Souls of the Frozen Frontier, the game’s biggest free content update so far, is available now. The game’s full 1.0 launch is planned for 2025. You can find the full game on Steam here.
If you’re jumping into the game for the first time be sure to check out our Enshrouded beginner’s guide, alongside some of the best multiplayer games to keep you busy
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