Attention fellow base-building ghouls and survival masochists, I've got good news and bad news. Starting with the good: Some of the best survival crafting games are no longer in early access, and have hit their 1.0 milestones. The bad news? Three of them piled into the same one-month window.
I've seen a million posts all asking the same advice: "Should I get Valheim, RuneScape Dragonwilds, or Enshrouded first?" And as someone who can't stop sinking hundreds of hours into mining the same three types of rock, I'm qualified enough to help you decide. I've also recruited my colleague, Chris Livingston, who is always up to in-game riffraff resulting in funny animal encounters or injuries like some sort of bizarre, survival-crafting Jeff Corwin.
Comparing Valheim, Dragonwilds, and Enshrouded
We've got our own opinions on who's who among the recent survival crafting 1.0 launches, but maybe you just need something to compare features before getting into recommendations. It's by no means everything included across all three games, but here's a quick comparison of the differences and similarities between features and default settings in Valheim, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, and Enshrouded.
Feature |
Valheim |
RuneScape Dragonwilds |
Enshrouded |
|---|---|---|---|
Map |
Procedurally generated |
Handcrafted |
Handcrafted |
Fast travel |
Player-crafted portals with item limits |
Player-crafted portals that require runes as currency |
Unlockable fast travel points and limited player-crafted bases |
Thirst and starvation |
No thirst or starvation mechanic, but food buffs are vital |
Adjustable thirst and starvation mechanics with food buffs (enabled by default) |
Adjustable thirst and starvation mechanics with food buffs (disabled by default) |
Inventory capacity |
Slots and weight |
Slots and weight |
Slots only |
Death penalties |
Skill XP/levels lost; leave behind a gravestone with inventory to retrieve |
No XP loss; leave behind a gravestone with inventory to retrieve |
No XP loss; leave behind a gravestone with inventory to retrieve |
Item durability |
✔️ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Crafting from storage |
❌ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Structural integrity |
✔️ |
✔️ |
❌ |
Sleep through nights |
Skips nighttime |
Skips nighttime |
Speeds up nighttime |
Comfort/Rest |
Provides rested buff through furniture and decor with comfort values |
Requires sleep to replenish rest meter; separate cosiness buff requires a bed |
Provides rested buff through furniture and decor with comfort values |
Dynamic weather |
✔️ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Grid snap |
✔️ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Terraforming |
✔️ |
❌ |
✔️ |
Stats and leveling |
Gain XP and levels in various skills and weapon proficiencies upon using relevant tools or crafting benches |
Gain XP and levels in various skills and weapon proficiencies by using relevant tools or by collecting output from crafting benches. Some proficiency levels include stat bonuses or new abilities |
Level up through combat and exploration; each level rewards skill points to spend on additional stats or abilities |
Raids |
✔️ |
✔️ |
❌ |
Dungeons |
✔️ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Fishing |
✔️ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Farming |
✔️ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Taming and ranching |
✔️ |
❌ |
✔️ |
Mounts |
✔️ |
✔️ |
❌ |
Quests |
A few optional sidequests; progression is instead driven by exploration |
Main story quests drive world progression; sidequests reward optional bonuses |
Main story quests drive world progression; sidequests reward optional bonuses |
Creative Mode |
✔️ |
✔️ |
❌ |
Photo Mode |
❌ |
❌ |
✔️ |
Custom difficulty |
✔️ |
✔️ |
✔️ |
Official mod support |
❌ |
❌ |
❌ |
Multiplayer |
1-10 players |
1-6 players |
1-16 players |
Steam Deck |
Verified |
Playable |
Unsupported |
Crossplay |
✔️ |
✔️ |
❌ |
Price |
$30/£24 (Steam) |
$40/£35 (Steam) |
Valheim vs Enshrouded vs RuneScape: Dragonwilds
Most traditional do-this-or-else survival game
🥇 Dragonwilds
🥈Valheim🥉Enshrouded
Mining sucks, and our debate on a winner here turned into "which is the least terrible" instead of an argument over the best. Hunting ore in Valheim's swampy biome was the worst, and stingy Dragonwilds nodes were second worst.
Least terrible mining
🥇 Enshrouded
🥈Dragonwilds🥉Valheim
Mining sucks, and our debate on a winner here turned into "which is the least terrible" instead of an argument over the best. Hunting ore in Valheim's swampy biome was the worst, and stingy Dragonwilds nodes were second worst.
Best in deforestation
🥇Valheim
🥈Dragonwilds🥉Enshrouded
In Valheim, the trees hit back. Nothing beats getting crushed to death by an entire forest—the other two don't even come close.
The one for building sickos
🥇 Enshrouded
🥈Valheim 🥉Dragonwilds
Enshrouded is the best set of Legos, hands down. It has blocks in all shapes and sizes, tons of furniture, terraforming, NPC villagers, and even tools for adding a sprinkle of decay to buildings.
Excellence in hunting you for sport (raids)
🥇 Dragonwilds
🥈Valheim
Valheim raids are a close second (a great way to get resources delivered to your front door) but there's something rad about a dragon boss showing up at your house and carpetbombing you with poison while you're trying to get cozy.
Best 'There and back again' (exploration)
🥇Valheim
🥈Enshrouded🥉Dragonwilds
The handcrafted worlds of Enshrouded and Dragonwilds are both awesome, but setting out on a voyage into the procedural world of Valheim is a mysterious thrill each and every time, which makes coming home again all the more satisfying.
Most deserving of a Michelin Star
🥇Enshrouded
🥈Dragonwilds🥉Valheim
Enshrouded wins us over with its cooking mechanics—holding your own meaty kebabs over an open flame is a nice touch—but this was a close one. The multi-step process in Dragonwilds is fun to micromanage, while Valheim's system feels the most rewarding.
Valheim vs Enshrouded vs Dragonwilds: Our picks
I've played Enshrouded since it launched in early access, and it claimed the top spot in my list of survival crafting favorites long before we even had a 1.0 release date. Valheim is a classic, and Dragonwilds has grown on me, but nothing beats Enshrouded's base building or acrobatic combat. I'll never get tired of surprising enemies from the sky with my glider.
I like Dragonwilds and Enshrouded is really special, but Valheim is easily my favorite—it's not just a great survival game but something I'm sure I'll keep returning to year after year. It's especially great if you think you don't like survival games, because here's the thing: you do.
