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REVIEW: Encased – Life Inside A Dome

 

 
Overview
 

Published by: Prime Matter, Black Tower Entertainment, Koch Media
 
Developed by: Dark Crystal Games
 
Platform(s): Windows PC - Steam
 
Genre(s): RPG
 
Mode(s): Single Player
 
FG RATING
85%
85/ 100


User Rating
no ratings yet

 

Raves


A refreshing take on the rpg genre. It has all the elements that made other classic RPGs great.

Rants


The game may be overwhelming to players new or unfamiliar to the genre. Minor bug experienced.


Bottom Line

Encased is not only the title of this game but it is pretty much what the game is all about. It is, as describe, a sci-fi post-apocalyptic that encased the player in a dome. I’m fond of playing isometric, role playing games and after seeing the trailer for Encased, I got intrigued and delighted to play. […]

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Posted July 22, 2021 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

Encased is not only the title of this game but it is pretty much what the game is all about. It is, as describe, a sci-fi post-apocalyptic that encased the player in a dome. I’m fond of playing isometric, role playing games and after seeing the trailer for Encased, I got intrigued and delighted to play. The trailer gives off that Fallout vibe. It even reminded me of the recent series, Loki as the environment looks like the TVA but all these references ends here.

However, I had a feeling that I would probably enjoy this game. But I wouldn’t get a head of myself and reveal the verdict right away, and with that, let’s start with the review.

STORY

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Encased places you the player in an alternative world in 1976, wherein you’re among the lucky ones chosen to explore the vast and highly technological world that is the Dome. You are an employee of CHRONUS, the organization in charge of the Dome.

Just like any other rpg created, you start by creating your avatar/character and depending on what you would create, that’s how your story would play out.

There are 5 different classes in game: Black Wing (armed forces – military/security forces), White Wing (intellectuals – scientists/researchers), Blue Wing (work force – mechanics/engineers/builders), Silver Wing (executives – directors/managers/financiers), and lastly the class I’ve chosen, the Orange Wing (laborers – prison convicts). As what I’ve been told by the game, this is my second chance at life and contributing something good to society.

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The story starts with your arrival in the Dome and after somewhat settling in, you are thrown right away into action by investigating an incident that occurred in the Nashville location. It’s my first day at the job and ‘m just as clueless as my character as to what’s going on. If your old enough to have read The Choose Your Own Adventure series, it is pretty much how the story is told.

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There is a general storyline but depending on your choices or conversations, your playthrough might be differ from the one I had.

GAMEPLAY

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Encased, as I have mentioned in the introduction, looks and plays like games in the genre. It’s like a smorgasbord of different rpgs made into one. You can see a bit of Fallout, Shadowrun, X-Com, and other isometric rpgs with turn-based gameplays. This is both good and bad at the same time. For experienced rpg players, Encased is just another chapter in their list of games. However, for the unanimated, Encased can be overwhelming.

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Sure, there is a training section but I observed that it is for players to get acquainted to Encased’s gameplay but there’s a lot to be discussed such as the HUD or the inventory management. This is probably not an issue for most players but it’s not as enticing for players new or not familiar to genre.

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Unfortunately, I encountered a bug in the game. During the battle phase, each time I try to end my turn with the defend mode, my game crashes and I had to restart. It’s not as annoying as I try to avoid the defend button since it’s not as necessary in the stage where I’m at but I’m concerned when I progress later through the game.

VISUALS & PERFORMANCE

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Encased has the following requirements:

Minimum: WINDOWS® 7, 8, 8.1, 10, Intel® Core™ i5-3.3 GHz or better, or AMD Equivalent, 4GB RAM, : NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660m or AMD Radeon™ R7 260x (2GB of video memory)

Recommended: WINDOWS® 7, 8, 8.1, 10, : Intel® Core™ i7-3.7 GHz or better, or AMD Equivalent, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB), or AMD RX 480 (8GB)

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Based on the requirements, Encased is not demanding to run on any system. Aside from the bug that I’ve experienced, I had a pleasant experience game. The visuals clearly depicts a beautiful post-apocalyptic 70s, a futuristic sitcom gone wrong from the characters to the environment. Instead of cgi, the game opted for hand-drawn art for the cut scenes, which not only helped feature great art but also gave that 70s vibe in the game.

VERDICT

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Encased is refreshing take on the rpg genre. It has the makings of a great role playing game with it’s classic rpg gameplat elements and an immersive storyline. Prime Matter and Dark Crystal Games clearly knows what they’re doing with the world that they’ve built.  Though, in my opinion, Encased is designed for seasoned players of the genre. Aside from the classics, I’m not familiar with other rpgs released similar to Encased today.  Not just a mere nostalgia trip, experienced players would easily get acquianted and have the same feeling I got with Encased. A feeling that I’ve played something like this before but still feels new altogether.

If by chance, you didn’t like Encased, it does not mean that it’s a bad game. You probably like something else. Encased is not a game that you can just sit and play like an open world rpg. You have to invest time and immerse your self in the game for you to enjoy it. Your choices in the game dictates what your experience is going to be like.

A haphazard decision and you’ll end up just like the guy below.

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Ryan Villanueva

 
Your resident all around Flipgeek, from comics,movies,games,toys,music and even sports. A big Spider-man fan raised in the ways of the Jedi,who listens to punk rock and a sucker for chick flicks.


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