Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG

I'm writing this review as someone who's never really played games like this. I'm a "cozy" gamer. I like Stardew, the Sims, Animal Crossing etc., I also haven't finished the main story line either.
I like this game, a lot. I've always loved the Fallout games but was never able to play them because I suck at combat. This game eliminates that problem for me. It's very "Fallout" themed, but the turn-based combat is a win for me. I can see as other people who've played games that have actual combat would not like this game.
I also really enjoy the story line so far, and the characters. I enjoy the semi-laidback feel of this game. It's challenging enough for me where I don't want to give up the game completely.
But what do I know? I'm just a cozy gamer, trying something that fits my game play style while also wanting to fight weird zombie like monsters and travel though a dystopian universe without it being to difficult for me.

Went into this game without knowing a lot about. I expected (or rather hoped) it would be at least a passable apocalyptic RPG, but it ended up actually really exceeding my initial expectations and I got really sucked into this game.
This game is unashamedly inspired by classic Fallout, Wasteland and Stalker games but it never feels like its lazily ripping those games off and the Dome is an interesting setting. And while the main factions arent probably the most original, I did think the different employee wings added a more interesting layer to the game.
I really liked the way this game also gives you a lot of freedom with the role playing aspect of your character. The different ways you build your character can open up different options in how you approach the game and it's quite good for giving you multiple ways to complete quests. Based on one of the achievements, its supposed to be possible to complete this game without killing anyone, though admittedly this would make it difficult to complete a couple of quests as I recall a couple where you needed to kill creatures. It also possible to talk your way out of some situations based on skill checks. If you enjoy the freedom to role play a character how you like than this is a pretty immersive game for that.
The combat is turn based tactical and I thought it was good enough without doing anything groundbreaking. I did like that not just the combat skills but all skills or sometimes combination of skills can offer different abilties to be used in combat. I did also like the fact that initiating an encounter doesnt automatically pull every enemy into combat, but instead only within a certain radius. So you can pick off enemies if you can kill them quick enough or else they will call for backup which will pull in nearby enemies who are not currently engaged in combat. It's a nice touch that makes a stealthy approach more viable.
As much as I enjoyed it, it is not a game for everyone. The pace is very slow and it is quite dialogue heavy. For example the prologue is a few hours long and while it is good for setting up the story, I can imagine that it may frustrate some people. It also isnt a game that doesn't hand hold the player and or provide a nice quest marker to tell you where to go. You actually need to take note of what NPCs tell you as well as read quest logs to figure out where you need to go or what to do. However I quite liked that.
So I'd definitely recommend this game if this kind of game is your jam, but if any of the above mentioned doesnt sound appealing then this game probably isn't for you.

This is a big diamond in the rough. It's a bit of a sleepy adventure, unfortunately, and I only enjoyed it because I was really looking for an experience that emulated the original Fallout adventures. It's very competent, but doesn't really excel at anything. There's lots of content, and you have a ton of options to do what you want. I encountered zero bugs or issues, which is very impressive. I enjoyed the game, but, as I said, I don't know if I'd have enjoyed it as much if I wasn't specifically looking for a Fallout CRPG experience.
If I had to give it a rating, I'd say 7/10. Very competent, but not really stand-out. Surprising amount of voice-acting (more than some AAA titles), so that's a definite plus.

So it's 343 hours spent on this game and i guess i am ready to write my review.
If there exisited "Strong but medicore" score i would put it on this game. Encased is game between two contrasts - at first it seems like your classic Fallout adventure with strong elements of Roadside Picnic or STALKEr but in depth there bit...different picture.
Story and Quests - Some quests sounds really cool! Some secondary quests have nice vibe and feel but in end they feel like unrewarding enough. I mean - my PC just passed some death-row labyrinth, witnessed horrors and rewarded with some medicore artifact. Feel bit unfair but well reward is reward and this is just one spoilerless example. Main story feel nice but yet not very branching and somehow cut on edges. Factions ain't feel so alive cause they have one or two side quests and no unique rewards. But still story feel good and somehow complete.
Companions and Items-weapons-armors-relics-crafts - Companions are very nice edge between "Weird" and "Unique" - there just few people who will follow you in Dome and barren-lands - They are typical archetype of "Ranger", "Melee" and "mage" but in some mixes and matches. They look cool, they feel unique yet somehow they are dull and lack of "personal quests" yet they feel like they SHOULD have some but been cut that idea on release. There lot of things that can Player use - from drinks, foods, stims to some cool gadgets and weapons but some of weapons and relics feel somehow useless or too repetive to use. I haven't find my "favorite" type of weapon or item in Encased yet i feel most of them have potential that haven't been released. Psionics feel very situational and mostly awesome but impractical at some moments (Like onehit kill but only when your opponent is tired enough), some guns and melee feel like "magikarp power" - they start to be useful after good dedication of upgrades and resources on them. Relics are bit dull - they sound like their artifact analogues from STALKER - giving some benfits with some negative effects , and some unique quest rewards give benefits only but...I didn't found anything cool and most of relics been sold or salvaged except some few for my psionic-melee build. Yet they still feel like something - i wish there could be more relics, maybe some should be "weaponized" more, or give more abilities but well we have what we have now.
World and Gameplay - World feel unique. There some nice feel between Gothic's 1 Prison dome and strong sense of "Roadside Picnic" in a world of "Atompunk" of Fallout 2 vibe. Shame that only few unqiue random-encouters and after 1/4 of game random encouters became very repetive and lose their vibe between "Horror" and "Science wonder of exploration". Also as small cherry on top there craft system - it's nice. I reallt like it. but some objects feel very "uncrfaty" - for example you can craft pistol, rifle and machinegun bullets but shotgun shots are buy-only and can't be crafted from same polymetal ore. There few items that seem to be must be useful but ended up in my endless stash and never came out. But on 90% craft system is nice
Atmosphere and Gameplay - Yes we came to moment WHAT saves it all and why i played 300+ hours in Encased :D. It's awesome and unique world and atmosphere build-up. I am finishing my 2nd playthrough and beside all dull and questionable moments i still like this game.
Verdict? - It's a solid good rpg that have lot of potential in form of DLC OR...Sequel. Yes. Sequel with all reworks and mistakes fixing would be great. Cheers!

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ Pixel

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boy
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leader boards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second live for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

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If you are fan of Fallout series from old times previous Bethesda then this is for you.

Excellent experience that takes may queues from the early Fallout 2D games. Rich story, crazy encounters, and plentiful voice acting. Stealth is a bit obnoxious, but combat, and exploring is where this game shines. They can't alert anyone if they're dead, right? I did kinda feel the game cut short and the ending was a bit "meh," but the ending result slideshow was certainly fun. I would seriously love to help kickstart another 2D game by these folks. Well worth it! I'll probably play it through again as an Serial Killer Orange for giggles... I mean stress relief... and mean.. nevermind.

Interesting story set in a STALKER like setting. About 70 hours to complete a playthrough. It gets a bit tedious in second half of the game if you want to complete every side mission but i think every RPG game of this type does. Still quite unique and worth a play especially if its on sale.