Enshrouded's biggest update yet adds townsfolk, livestock and pets, a new biome, and finally some dynamic weather

It's always a bit weird bedding down for the night in Enshrouded. Inside my tiny base, the NPC craftspeople I live with just stand there all night staring at me while I sleep. That's all they're capable of: they can't move or walk around and have no need for beds of their own.

At least until now. Enshrouded's biggest update, Souls of the Frozen Frontier, is making some pretty hefty changes, starting with those NPCs. And this update is packed with just the sort of stuff that's gonna bring me back to play the early access survival RPG again after a long break.

In the Souls of the Frozen Frontier update, the craftspeople you free from stasis and bring to your home will actually now roam around your base, which will do a heck of a lot to make them feel more alive and less like talking crafting stations. They'll also sleep in beds at night, so get ready to build them their own rooms with bunks to rest in. Secondary crafting NPCs are also being added so you can stick 'em in your secondary bases to have access to their abilities in different locations.

And if you want your base to really feel alive, you can now recruit townsfolk you find around the world and invite them to come live with you. Animal farming is also part of the update, so you can tame creatures and use them as livestock, as well as make friends with cats and dogs and let them live with you as pets. Wandering craftspeople, chatty townies, livestock, and animal companions: all of this will go a long way toward feeling like you're establishing a lively little village instead of just a warehouse to store your loot.

Oh, yeah: for those of you interested in high adventure instead of just settling down peacefully on a farm, there's also a whole frickin' new biome being added, hence the name Frozen Frontier. The new zone is called the Albanever Summits, a huge frosty region parked on the highest mountaintop on the map. Here's a glimpse of what to expect, including a few new enemies:

Also: it rains and snows in the world now, too. Wow! Dynamic weather, imagine that. Unfortunately that doesn't mean there's a full-on water system in Enshrouded with rivers and lakes and ponds: I'm not sure we'll ever get that in a game with infinite deformable terrain. But it at least adds some much-needed atmosphere. 

There's tons more in the update, including new uses for the grappling hook in combat, like yanking enemies toward you or pulling yourself over to them. Check out the full list of changes on Steam.