Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG

Disclosure: I got a review code for Encased but wanted to drop this on my preferred platform. Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic has a few minor issues that add up over time but fans of the CRPG genre are still in for a treat. The alternate history world, central mystery, divergent narrative, skill- and choice-driven gameplay, and stylish presentation make it a great examples of a modern CRPG. At worst, you could argue it sticks a little too close to its inspirations and doesn't offer many few novel features, but CRPGs are hardly a crowded genre. As such, new setting to explore, using classic mechanics, still makes for a solid game. The good: - Deep character creation with immediate and long-term repercussions - Complex, interconnected gameplay systems that ensure there are always several ways to progress (even if you kill everyone!) - A divergent narrative that can see you unite the factions, side with one, or destroy them all - Solid visuals, great atmosphere, and an amazing soundtrack The bad: - Stays true to its inspirations with few novel features - Several minor gripes (think clunky menus, bloated crafting, limited gear variety) add up over time Full opinion in a written review - [https://gameblur.net/reviews/encased-a-sci-fi-post-apocalyptic-rpg-pc-review/] And the video review of that - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3A98hiAaGM&ab_channel=gameblur]

Think "small team made a Fallout clone but ran out of money and time halfway through" and you have Encased. It starts well, and its writing is surprisingly solid for what I assume are not native speakers. However after a relatively good act one the game kinda fizzles and wears out its welcome. Act one sets up a cool world to explore and story ideas to expand on, but you never quite get there. Cities you imagined would be complex end up being three empty houses and a boss's office. Factions and questlines you expected to go places give you a few errands to run and that's it. The big epic ending is a simple dungeon that ends in a text crawl, my final confrontation being against zombie type enemies I fought many times already. I respect that these guys shot for the moon on a pretty small budget. I wish they did something like Shadowrun Returns to ease into the genre, then maybe we would have gotten a Dragonfall. As it is though Encased opens well enough... not Fallout 1 standards but solid stuff... and then a rushed second half is so meh I rushed to the ending as fast as I could. For a CRPG addict though, it's worth playing. Not that many games like this exist.

I played in 09/2021 for several hours... Pro: + graphics: very good + sound: very good + narrator and other voice acting: very good + quests: very good and interesting (NOT! the usual 'fetch ten items of this kind', 'kill three creatures' etc.) + story is transported very well by the NPCs and the events that are happening + did not encounter any grave bugs so far + round based combat is good + lots of abilities, perks and attributes that are really taken into account + lots of different items, relics etc. Con: - was not yet able to use grenades by now (but that might be because I'm missing some skills or clues on how to use them) - May not be worth playing a second time as by then you already know the story (could only be interesting to see how a different type of character works) - combat has not been very tactical (mostly firing guns and keeping an eye on health and fatigue) All in all a great RPG experience that makes me want to go through the whole story and find out what is behind everything...

I love the mechanics of the game, and the world is interesting. This "tapedeck" futurism is interesting, and they've painted a good picture of what a trying to be good but failing society might end up being. If you like tactical RPGs, you'll have a lot of fun. Not as deep as divinty original sin, but with enough interesting mechanics to work with. However (and this is a problem with a lot of RPGs these days I feel) the story has no real payoff. They set up a ton of mysteries that never come to a conclusion. I even tried the multiple endings, and none pay off anymore than any other.

Don't get me wrong-the game's decent enough, story's good and narration events add flavor to the game, allowing for expanding story telling. But, the game's imbalanced to extreme, making it extremely easy, even on the hardest of difficulty. Worse yet, "Criminal," skill tree(stealth mechanics), simply trivializes the whole game. Need an item from NPC? You could go through a chain of quests, or pay lots of money...or you could just steal it. Found a nice, shinny gun+8, but don't have enough cash? Well, you could grind for random encounters, sell all your inventory... Or you could just steal whatever you like. Have a tough battle ahead of you? You could come back after leveling up, a bit, optimizing your build, upgrading your gun... Or you could just sneak in and keep shooting enemies while hidden, without initiating combat... Finally got caught in a combat and you're unprepared, unequipped and unoptimized for open confrontation? Just pop a smoke bomb skill, from Criminal skill tree and hide in their faces, taking them out, one shot at a time. Yeah, it's ridiculous. It's the one skill you need in this game, it trivializes the whole thing. I can't be bothered finishing the game, because I have a stolen relic, that allows me to hide, while wearing power armor MkIII! Even if I'd bother to fight-nobody can seriously hurt me!