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ENCLAVE (XBOX)
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Publisher: Atari.
Developer: Starbreeze Studios. Released: July 2002. Genre: RPG. Other versions: PC. Posted 6th June 2025. By Shane Battams © 2025 |
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Enclave, the sophomore effort from Starbreeze Games, would face an eventful development cycle, as its publisher would request the transition from a multiplayer-only, Team Fortress competitor to a single-player experience. A dark fantasy adventure, Enclave allows players to experiment with numerous characters, explore a visually stunning world, and partake in both a good and evil campaign. It all sounds rather appetising, but unfortunately for Xbox owners, issues concerning design flaws and missteps with the mechanics chip away at the fun. Those intrigued by the premise may find some joy, but only with considerable patience.
Celenheim is a world that once knew war, as a demonic lord known as Vatar nearly wiped out the people of this land during a brutal conflict. Only the sacrifice of Zale, a high wizard, ensured the survival of Celenheim, as the forces of darkness were shut out. However, that protection is now fading as the forces of evil attempt to rekindle this battle and return Vatar to power. The Enclave put trust in a prisoner, who escapes their confines but helps defend against invaders, and it is up to this fighter (and others recruited along the way) to put a stop to this plan. The setup offers potential, but the story feels unfulfilling. Most missions bear few scenes, other than an opening spin around your chosen hero, and outside of story dumps between certain key chapters, it doesn’t delve much deeper. It’s a shame, as the game is competently voiced and offers intriguing lore.
Enclave's world harbours promise, but it's blighted by inconsistent gameplay
Enclave spreads its fantasy action across just over a dozen levels per campaign. Primarily taking place from a third-person perspective, players must trek through levels, driving back enemy factions while completing certain objectives. While initially starting with a sole character, special actions and story progression reward further heroes, offering more experimentation and ways to play. The Huntress joins first, replacing swords and shields with bows, presenting a ranged option for cautious players. Druids can cast magic spells using their staff, halflings are blessed with increased speed and the engineer can use bombs. It proves rather fun experimenting with each class, as missions can call for different strategies. The upgrade system also proves novel, with the collectible coins in each stage used as a currency of sorts to select weapons and armour for your hero. Having more coin means you can equip better weaponry, stronger armour and health potions, proving very worthwhile. With levels that are rather spacious, seeking out these hidden treasures is good fun.
The problems stem from Enclave’s gameplay, which is a tale of two halves. The shooting side of things works better, with decent aiming and options to zoom your sight proving handy. It can be tough nailing shots due to enemy’s fast movement, but pulling of a headshot is satisfying. The melee side of things fares much worse. Whether using swords, axes or daggers: it all suffers from an air of clunkiness. Swings sometimes miss despite you being near-enough on top of the enemy. A lack of a lock-on certainly doesn’t help matters. It can be rough going early in both campaigns, as you’re forced to utilise melee-dependent characters. It doesn’t help that this can be a tough game to crack, as enemies hit hard and getting swarmed by multiple foes can leave you stun locked. Throw in some awkward platform jumping, and the game starts to feel unwieldy.
The problems stem from Enclave’s gameplay, which is a tale of two halves. The shooting side of things works better, with decent aiming and options to zoom your sight proving handy. It can be tough nailing shots due to enemy’s fast movement, but pulling of a headshot is satisfying. The melee side of things fares much worse. Whether using swords, axes or daggers: it all suffers from an air of clunkiness. Swings sometimes miss despite you being near-enough on top of the enemy. A lack of a lock-on certainly doesn’t help matters. It can be rough going early in both campaigns, as you’re forced to utilise melee-dependent characters. It doesn’t help that this can be a tough game to crack, as enemies hit hard and getting swarmed by multiple foes can leave you stun locked. Throw in some awkward platform jumping, and the game starts to feel unwieldy.
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Enclave also suffers from some peculiar choices that make the experience even more frustrating. A lot of the time, it feels like a game made to intentionally stiff the player: enemies will spawn from the ceiling or around corners to get the jump on you, cramped rooms make crowds of foes harder to defend against and certain moments see choices punished with instant death. A late mission in the dark campaign sees you punished for entering the exit portal, an action taken on every previous mission, with failure. This all could be forgiven, but missions have a noticeable lack of checkpoints. Some at least allow you a chance to respawn, but out of the 20+ missions between both campaigns, you could count these on a single hand. It’s one thing to be challenged, but the scale here slides much closer to irritation – and most players will struggle to reach the end.
It’s a shame, as there’s quite a bit here for those who stick with it. Completion of the Light campaign unlocks a second focusing on the dark side of the equation, a sort of “What If?” scenario. While it can feel like more of the same during earlier chapters, later ones see new environments while allowing you to play as enemies from the other campaign. Both will likely take a little over ten hours to polish off, with seeking out all the coin in each adding more to the runtime. Special maps also unlock bonus stages, though between shooting galleries and wave survival, they are mostly undistinguished.
It’s a shame, as there’s quite a bit here for those who stick with it. Completion of the Light campaign unlocks a second focusing on the dark side of the equation, a sort of “What If?” scenario. While it can feel like more of the same during earlier chapters, later ones see new environments while allowing you to play as enemies from the other campaign. Both will likely take a little over ten hours to polish off, with seeking out all the coin in each adding more to the runtime. Special maps also unlock bonus stages, though between shooting galleries and wave survival, they are mostly undistinguished.
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Despite arriving early in the Xbox’s life, Enclave is quite the visual treat. Spacious levels look polished and detailed, character models are more intricate than you’d expect for the time period and animation is pretty smooth with combat looking great. The settings encompass a wide variety of attractive locales, from wistful forests and large castles to hellish landscapes for enemy strongholds. Performance is rather strong, mostly keeping up a 60fps performance with a few sharp dips on occasion. The sound is decent too, with fitting fantasy music that is catchy, solid voice acting and strong effects for sword slashes, explosions and monster cries.
Enclave would end up a mere footnote in Starbreeze’s catalogue, with a planned sequel canned after publisher Swing! Entertainment hit financial trouble. A sequel might have done justice to the concept, as a bounty of potential is equal to the frustration certain issues cause. A plethora of character classes, large levels and dual campaigns offer intrigue, but clunky gameplay and frustrating design bury these ideas. Ultimately, those with plenty of patience and a spare controller might be able to mine some fun from this game, but for anyone else, it’s a fantasy adventure best left in the past.
Enclave would end up a mere footnote in Starbreeze’s catalogue, with a planned sequel canned after publisher Swing! Entertainment hit financial trouble. A sequel might have done justice to the concept, as a bounty of potential is equal to the frustration certain issues cause. A plethora of character classes, large levels and dual campaigns offer intrigue, but clunky gameplay and frustrating design bury these ideas. Ultimately, those with plenty of patience and a spare controller might be able to mine some fun from this game, but for anyone else, it’s a fantasy adventure best left in the past.
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VERDICT"Despite offering large levels, dual campaigns and a plethora of character classes, Enclave buries its positives under clunky gameplay and frustrating design choices." OVERALL: 5/10 |
OTHER WESTERN ROLE-PLAYING GAMES REVIEWED
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (2012, PC)
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Risen 3: Titan Lords (2014, PlayStation 3)
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