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gaming Oct 15, 2026 · 👁 4 views · Syndicated from PC Gamer

Valheim vs Enshrouded vs RuneScape: Dragonwilds: Let's settle this

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 a...

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

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 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

Item durability

âï¸

Crafting from storage

âï¸

Structural integrity

âï¸

Sleep through nights

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

âï¸

Grid snap

âï¸

Terraforming

âï¸

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

âï¸

Dungeons

âï¸

Fishing

âï¸

Farming

âï¸

Taming and ranching

âï¸

Mounts

âï¸

Quests

A few optional sidequests; progression is instead driven by exploration

Main story quests drive world progression; sidequests reward optional bonuses

Creative Mode

âï¸

Photo Mode

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(Has option to hide HUD, can control camera with console commands)

âï¸

Custom difficulty

âï¸

Official mod support

Multiplayer

1-10 players

1-6 players

1-16 players

Steam Deck

Verified

Playable

Unsupported

Crossplay

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Available between PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S (and Switch, pending an update)

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Planned for future update

Price

$30/Â£24 (Steam)

$30/Â£25 (Steam | Epic)

$40/Â£35 (Steam)

Valheim vs Enshrouded vs RuneScape: Dragonwilds

Most traditional do-this-or-else survival game

ð¥ Dragonwilds
ð¥Valheimð¥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

ð¥ Enshrouded
ð¥Dragonwildsð¥Valheim

Best in deforestation

ð¥Valheim
ð¥Dragonwildsð¥Enshrouded

In Valheim, the trees hit back. Nothing beats getting crushed to death by an entire forestâthe other two don't even come close.

The one for building sickos

ð¥ Enshrouded
ð¥Valheim ð¥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)

ð¥ Dragonwilds
ð¥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)

ð¥Valheim
ð¥Enshroudedð¥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

ð¥Enshrouded
ð¥Dragonwildsð¥Valheim

Enshrouded wins us over with its cooking mechanicsâholding your own meaty kebabs over an open flame is a nice touchâbut this was a close one. The multi-step process in Dragonwilds is fun to micromanage, while Valheim's system feels the most rewarding.