Exciting news emerged from the Triple-I Initiative for fans of the open-world survival RPG Enshrouded. As reported by TechTalesLeo for Digital Tech Explorer, the game is poised for a significant update next month. Titled Thralls of Twilight, this update revolves around the theme “Rebirth of the Shroud,” promising deadly new monsters and mysterious locations within the game’s perilous fog-filled regions. Importantly, the update introduces compelling reasons to brave the gloom, including a system for crafting powerful, customizable new gear.
Creative Director’s Insights on ‘Thralls of Twilight’
Antony Christoulakis, Enshrouded‘s creative director, offered insights into the upcoming Thralls of Twilight content. He revealed a strong focus on the game’s signature shroud mechanic because, “it’s not strong enough yet from our perspective.” Christoulakis elaborated that the development team is “introduced new enemies… improving the topology and adding more points of interest to these [shrouded regions], and also some new mechanics that hopefully make combat also more interesting.”
New Customizable Weapon System with Gems
A key new mechanic arriving with the update is a customizable weapon system centered around special gems. “You can find special gems that you can insert into weapons that have various abilities,” Christoulakis detailed. These enhancements can be acquired through combat or discovered in treasure chests, and players can upgrade them. Crucially, these gems possess unique effects, and Christoulakis added, “You can keep the specific effect, if you like it that much, across the rest of the game to basically level with you.”
Once the update goes live, weapons found throughout the world will have a chance to feature sockets for these gems. However, equipping them involves a multi-step process. Players must first locate “special forges,” often hidden within dangerous, shrouded locations. “The higher the [weapon] rarity, the higher the chance that it also has a slot for a gem,” the creative director explained. “You can mix and match… but to do so, you have to unlock the slot first… and then you have to insert the gem into the weapon, which you can do in special places… mainly found within the shroud.”
Enhancements to Shrouded Areas and Nighttime Gameplay
This gem system naturally provides fresh incentives to explore the game’s shrouded locations. Developer Keen Games has also concentrated on enhancing these zones, aiming to make them more engaging. Christoulakis acknowledged that some areas felt “a bit too empty,” allowing players to traverse them too easily or face repetitive dangers. “We felt there needed to be more variation,” he stated, indicating improvements to make exploration more challenging and rewarding.
Nighttime gameplay is also set for an overhaul in Thralls of Twilight. While specific details were kept under wraps to avoid spoilers, Christoulakis hinted the changes aim to encourage players to “actually go out at night and not just sit it out and sleep.” He elaborated, “We will add specific things that only appear at night, that can be found and that are also necessary to solve certain problems that we throw at the player.”
Looking ahead, the much-requested feature of adding water will not arrive in this update. Christoulakis addressed the technical complexity: “It’s a tricky problem, adding [water] to a dynamic voxel-based world where players can just pull the plug on a lake and it just flows somewhere.” He reassured the community, however, stating, “We are working on this, and it’s definitely going to happen.” Keen Games also celebrated a major milestone, announcing that Enshrouded has surpassed four million players since its early access launch in January 2024. Arriving in May, Thralls of Twilight will mark the sixth major update, continuing the game’s evolution.