“I’m ambushed by a giant corpse”
Encountering imaginative nonsense in Encla ve
Before Starbreeze became the studio behind FPS cult classics like Escape From Butcher Bay, it tried action RPGs. Namely, Enclave. It’s a very silly game. Enclave is set in a typical fantasy world, where the forces of good and evil are separated by an ancient chasm formed in a battle centuries ago. Why are they fighting? Is it hard to build bridges in this fantasy world? Look, it’s not important. The premise, like the story, is paper thin. As best I can tell, it’s an excuse for Starbreeze to string together a load of daft levels.
For instance, there’s the one where I fight a giant skeleton. I’ve been sent to retrieve some magical staff, and, in the deepest pits of some hellscape, I’m ambushed by a giant corpse. I wave the staff, and I’m whisked into the shoes of my own massive undead creature. It’s hard to argue with the logic: What better way to fight a giant skeleton than with another one? Here I am, slapping this giant with my bony arms. It’s the kind of nonsensical moment that just can’t help but make me laugh.
The combat is shallow, but I feel like Starbreeze knew this, so concocted absurd detours in the hope that nobody would notice. Seeing as I remember the game fondly, perhaps it worked. I didn’t recall the rubbish combat or wonky platforming. No, I remember that time you find yourself in control of a giant skeleton. I also remember visits to underwater fortresses, towns teetering on the precipice of the underworld, and haunted mansions full of traps. It’s to the game’s credit that I remember the good stuff, silly as it all may be.
Butchered
Enclave doesn’t showcase the talent for atmosphere, character, and story that Starbreeze would demonstrate with Butcher Bay, The Darkness or Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. In these offbeat moments, however, is the imaginative spark that would form the surprises littered throughout their games. Featured are hints of Jackie Estacado’s detour to hell or Riddick’s stint in cryo detention. The DNA of a studio is a hard thing to pin down, but you find it in unexpected places. Enclave is no classic, but it’s a fun look at where a lauded studio first flexed its muscles.