If you had asked me last week if I wanted to live in a house built on a rock carved like a giant's skull, I would have said, "No, not really." Why are you asking me that?

But after seeing the voxel-based building tools in the upcoming cooperative survival RPG Enshrouded, which developer Keen Games describes as "a fusion of Valheim and Zelda," I had to admit: ...... Yes, I would love to live in a house built on a rock sculpted to look like a giant's skull. And I apologize for harshly criticizing your question. It wasn't cool.

In "Enshrouded," which will be available in Early Access on Steam later this year, you will explore a dangerous realm where a deadly fog creeps in and covers almost everything, mutating captured creatures and creating terrifying monsters. The only safe zone is the mountaintop that rises above the fog, where we make our home base and relax when we are not fighting the evil entities that lurk within the fog.

I'm all for defeating monsters, exploring the world, and getting around with grappling hooks and wingsuits. However, I am most interested in a base building system. Building can be done completely free-form, and every inch of the base can be shaped and molded. It is also possible to build floors, walls, and other structures using pre-prepared templates. Using the voxel system, walls, columns, and floors can be joined together to create a seamless and beautiful result.

This is where the system looks really flexible; you can see windows being added to walls simply by subtracting small blocks from the surface. What is especially nice is that the architectural tools appear to be able to quickly style the opening you just created to determine whether you are creating something like an arrow slit, a window, or a doorway. Windows appear to be windows and doorways appear to be doorways. It is impressive and gives me hope that my base might turn out nice, even though I am not very good at architecture. Check out the following Enshrouded architecture and terraforming gameplay video to see what I mean:

It's not just the buildings that are made of voxels, it's everything. Want to build a tunnel on a mountainside? Just take a pickaxe and swing it around. If you want to build a basement under a castle, you can carve out rocks and dirt to make walls and decorate them however you want. The game isn't even out yet, but I'm itching to build a cool castle with a dungeon in the basement.

Bases are not only for you and your friends, but also for NPCs. In your adventures, you meet characters such as hunters, blacksmiths, and alchemists. Once you have rescued them from the shroud, you can build rooms in your base, place items such as workbenches, or summon them with magic wands. They will live there with you, help you craft, and complete quests.

It all looks pretty good to me, and if you like building cozy bases in Valheim or Minecraft, Enshrouded is definitely one to watch. No specific release date has been set yet, but you can find more details on the official website.