This promising new action RPG combines Valheim and Zelda, and what more could you ask for?

Keen Games GmbH, the studio behind Portal Knights, has announced a new action-RPG inspired by Valheim and The Legend of Zelda.

Enshrouded is launching this year with support for up to 16-player online co-op. Like Valheim, your chief responsibility is to keep your player alive primarily by gathering materials and crafting things like armor, weapons, food, and a place to camp out away from big beasts and even bigger boss beasts. There's also an "in-depth" skill tree you'll interact with to gain new abilities and powers.

As for the parts of Enshrouded more directly inspired by Zelda - and yes, Keen Games' co-founder Antony Christoulakis told PC Gamer the project is "Valheim meets Zeda" - well, it takes place in a big open-world that isn't procedurally generated like Valheim. Combat definitely looks a lot more similar to Zelda games than Valheim, and there's even a paragliding skill that lets you survey the world from the skies like in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. There's also a seamless freedom of exploration in Enshrouded that will feel immediately familiar to fans of the aforementioned Zelda titles.

While it's openly inspired by two very popular games, Enshrouded isn't simply a mash-up of existing ideas. For example, the world of Embervale is partially covered by a deadly fog, and the only parts that are safe from its noxious fumes are on mountaintops. Players will often need to go beneath the fog to traverse the map, collect loot, and occasionally rescue NPCs, but they'll only be able to survive there for so long before they need to re-emerge.

Enshrouded definitely looks like a unique and intriguing new indie game, but we'll have to wait until it launches in Early Access sometime this year to see if it can stand out from the crowd of 'X game meets X game' releases we see all the time.

In the meantime, here are some games like Zelda that are certifiably good.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Read more
The Knightling standing in a sunlit field
This open-world game imagines a cartoony Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom where the Master Sword is the Master Shield – it's coming to all platforms and I dig its Steam Next Fest demo
Cloudheim
Former Epic and BioWare devs reveal their new co-op action RPG, a gorgeous sky-high dungeon adventure "in a fully breakable world"
a helmed soldier holds their arm up defiantly
Elden Ring spinoff Nightreign is a co-op roguelike with battle royale and Monster Hunter juice, but FromSoftware says it's "not what we'd consider a live service game"
New location Hervor Bloodtooth in Valheim
10 games like Valheim you should play next
Hyper Light Breaker early access launch
"It's not Escape from Tarkov," but an extraction twist gives open-world roguelike Hyper Light Breaker an edge – plus it comes with one of the best indie games of 2016
Elden Ring co-op
10 Games like Elden Ring for when you've conquered The Lands Between
Latest in Action Rpg
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' story is as divisive as expected: some players hate the "relentless on rails handholding," others love the build-up to "the best scene in Monster Hunter history"
Monster Hunter Wilds Dapperwing
Monster Hunter Wilds Dapperwing location
Monster Hunter Wilds Herbivore Shell
Monster Hunter Wilds Herbivore Shell location
Monster Hunter Wilds Goldenfish caught by hunter with fishing rod
How to catch a Goldenfish in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds Gravid Bowfin
Monster Hunter Wilds Gravid Bowfin location
Monster Hunter Wilds event quests
Monster Hunter Wilds Event Quest calendar and schedule (March 2025)
Latest in News
Ultima Online
As Ultima Online approaches its 28th birthday, former creative lead reveals what it takes for an MMO to last for decades, and why they sometimes fail: "Content does not last forever"
Link and Epona
A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Stardew Valley
With another "thank you," Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone brings an update arc to a close with "the Switch patch to fix the last Switch patch"
Demon Slayer Infinity Castle
Over 80 countries and 42 days: the first Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie's remarkable staggered release plans have been revealed – including a US date
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' story is as divisive as expected: some players hate the "relentless on rails handholding," others love the build-up to "the best scene in Monster Hunter history"