Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG Preview for Steam Early Access

Role playing games provide people an experience a life other than their own. They provide an opportunity to enter a world completely independent from this reality and give them permission to make decisions that they would not make under normal circumstances. Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG brings the player into an immersive story where they get to explore the world that exists underneath the Dome. The narrative lies in the player’s hands as they craft, brawl, investigate, lie, and convince their way through a branching storyline that changes with every choice.

Stepping into that world, the player is recruited by Cronus, an organization whose main objective is to explore the area under a structure known as the Dome and discover its secrets. From there, the player is prompted to select one of the five different subsections of the organization, each with certain attributes and abilities. Each faction has a certain population associated with it, Silvers being high ranking individuals, Oranges being criminals. While choosing a Sci-fi Hogwarts house is fun, choosing a specific faction carries burdens as not all factions get along. The player influences the tide of the story through the choices that they make and how they interact with other characters from other factions. The beauty that developer Dark Crystal Games and publisher Black Tower Entertainment achieved in Encased was the way that they wove character choice repercussions into the world and at the same time gave players the authority to influence things, even it goes counter to what their faction demands. Flexibility and freedom of choice is the backbone of Encased, and it does an extremely good job of laying out multiple paths for the player to traverse.

Gameplay wise, there are two primary modes in Encased. Half of the game is played in dialogue, with many characters and items in the world to interact with. Interactions with the other NPC’s are mediated by not only the faction that the player belongs to, but also by the fights that have occurred, items that have been procured, and skills they have invested in. Certain dialogue or action options become available or unavailable due to requirements that the player character does or does not meet. Prohibiting certain options provides perfectly good reasons to run through the game again with a different background and skillset. The other half of the game takes place on a grid, in a turn based tactical combat system. Players can specialize in melee combat, but most of the sweetest gameplay comes from the firearms. Fights also make use of the environment, where objects in the room influence the battle and useful items are hidden in the nooks and crannies of each corner. And there are quite a few places to loot.

Beautifully capturing human relationship and greed, the writers outdid themselves on making interesting and engaging dialogue and characters. The gameplay challenges the player strategically and does so in a satisfying manner, despite the oddly difficult first battle (screw elevators man). Encased builds a desolate, ancient yet futuristic, intriguing world that entices the player for multiple playthroughs as they discover the secrets beneath the Dome.  

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Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG is available for PC via Steam Early Access. For more information, please visit here:  https://www.encasedgame.com/