Enshrouded 1.0 Is Finally Here, Bringing a Complete Embervale, New Biome and Major Gameplay Changes

After more than two and a half years in Early Access, Enshrouded has officially reached version 1.0, with developer Keen Games delivering its biggest update yet alongside the game's PlayStation 5 debut.

The survival action RPG first entered Early Access on Steam in January 2024, introducing players to Embervale, a world slowly being consumed by a mysterious fog known as the Shroud.

Since then, Keen Games has steadily expanded the game with new regions, building tools, combat improvements and additional ways to explore its world.

Now, with version 1.0, the remaining areas of Embervale are finally opening up, the current storyline is reaching its conclusion, and returning players have quite a bit of new content waiting for them.

Cinder's Cradle opens up the rest of Embervale

The biggest addition is Cinder's Cradle, a new biome located beyond the previously inaccessible gates north of Veilwater Basin.

Unlike the forests, mountains and wetlands we've explored so far, Cinder's Cradle features volcanic wastelands, ancient ruins and rivers of lava. Above the devastated landscape are floating islands, home to unusual wildlife, elaborate structures and some particularly dangerous enemies.

It's here that players will uncover more of the history surrounding the Ancients and the Shroud, bringing Embervale's current story to its conclusion.

Keen Games has also expanded several existing regions, including Springlands, Blackmire and Kindlewastes, adding new points of interest, quests and Shroud Roots to discover.

Two additional Hollow Halls are now accessible in the Albaneve Summits and Veilwater Basin, offering more dungeon challenges for players looking to put their equipment and combat skills to the test.

The full Embervale map is now open, although Keen Games has made it clear that the Shroud and the threats facing its inhabitants aren't necessarily gone for good.

More enemies, higher levels and a substantial combat overhaul

Players can now reach level 50, with equipment upgrades extending to level 55.

Cinder's Cradle introduces an entirely new enemy faction, while existing factions have received additional variants. Keen Games says the update includes 37 new enemy types and variants in total.

Combat has also received a sizeable overhaul, particularly for players who prefer magic.

Mages have nine new spell types available, ranging from area-of-effect attacks and crowd control to summons and utility spells.

Summoning skeletons and elemental totems is now possible, opening up more opportunities for necromancy-focused builds. Additional skills and weapon gems allow players to lean further into that playstyle.

All spells now have Eternal variations for late-game use, removing the need to continually craft charges for favourite spells. These can also be upgraded, with Eternal arrows receiving similar treatment.

Wands now have a heavy attack, alongside new evasive and aerial attacks unlocked through the skill tree.

Keen Games has also improved enemy behaviour, navigation, aiming and movement to make combat feel more responsive.

Sparkworks could completely change how players approach building

For players who spend more time building elaborate bases than fighting monsters, Sparkworks might be the most interesting part of the update.

The new logic system allows players to connect interactive objects and create their own puzzles, traps and combat encounters.

A pressure plate could open a hidden passage, trigger a trap or spawn enemies. Combine enough of these interactions and it's possible to build entire dungeons or challenge rooms.

Players can then share their creations through Enshrouded's Adventure Sharing system, allowing others to experience what they've built.

It's a significant addition to a game that already has an impressive building system, and it will be interesting to see what the community manages to create once people start experimenting.

Building itself is also becoming considerably less frustrating.

The new Airborne Architect skill allows players to fly around their base while placing construction pieces, making awkward roof sections and hard-to-reach areas much easier to work with.

Anyone who's spent more time than they'd like trying to position a single roof piece will probably appreciate that one.

Performance, lighting and character movement get some attention

Content isn't the only focus of version 1.0.

Keen Games says it has made significant improvements to performance and memory usage, while also improving how distant terrain and structures are rendered.

Lighting has received particular attention, with better illumination inside buildings and dense forests, improvements to shadows and support for more point lights in larger bases.

HDR support has also been introduced for compatible displays, while shader compilation times have been reduced.

Movement and camera behaviour have been refined, including changes to running, stopping, turning and navigating steep terrain.

And for anyone who wasn't particularly fond of the original Flameborn proportions, there's now an option to switch to a more realistic character model.

The original proportions are still available for those who prefer them.

These are all developer-reported improvements at this stage. We'll need to spend time with the new build before drawing conclusions about how much better it performs in practice.

Voice acting and a long list of quality-of-life improvements

One of the more welcome changes is the addition of voiced lore.

Previously, discovering a note while exploring the Shroud often meant stopping to read through another piece of text. Those notes can now be narrated while players continue exploring.

Major survivors and quest-giving NPCs have also received voice acting, with English, German and Mandarin Chinese supported at launch.

The opening hours have been revisited too, with more opportunities to discover equipment, improvements to early crafting progression and changes intended to make exploration easier for new players.

Returning players will find a number of smaller improvements that could make a noticeable difference over time.

Storage chests can now be upgraded without emptying and replacing them, while both chests and custom map markers can be renamed.

A new auto-loot option makes collecting loose resources easier, and server hosts can adjust Updraft charge times, including restoring the original instant activation.

There are also changes to fishing, enemy behaviour, movement on steep slopes and several existing encounters.

Individually, these might not be headline features, but they're the sort of improvements that can make a lengthy survival RPG considerably more enjoyable.

What returning players should know

Anyone who purchased Enshrouded during Early Access on PC will receive version 1.0 without having to buy the game again.

Existing save files are also supported, although Keen Games recommends considering a fresh start to experience the improvements made to the opening hours.

One important detail: your skill tree will reset the first time you load an existing save in version 1.0, so you'll need to allocate your points again.

The PlayStation 5 release also marks the game's console debut, although cross-platform multiplayer between PC and PS5 isn't available at launch. Keen Games says crossplay is being worked on, but hasn't provided a release window.

Xbox Series X|S players will need to wait until 2027.

Is now the time to return to Embervale?

We spent time with Enshrouded during its earlier Early Access period, before the Wake of the Water update introduced another major expansion to the world.

Even at that stage, the combination of exploration, combat and detailed base building gave the game plenty to work with.

Looking at what's been added since, particularly the expansion of Embervale, the new combat systems and Sparkworks, there's a lot worth revisiting.

Of course, a lengthy changelog doesn't automatically make a game better. The performance improvements, combat balancing and new systems will need to hold up during actual gameplay.

But for players who've been waiting for Enshrouded to leave Early Access before jumping in, version 1.0 represents a considerably more complete experience than the one that first arrived back in 2024.

Enshrouded 1.0 is available now on PC via Steam and PlayStation 5.