Encased | PC Early Access Review

Encased is the newest release of Dark Crystal Games, and is published by Black Tower Entertainment. Dark Crystal Games describes the title as “A classic isometric RPG in a sci-fi post-apocalyptic setting. A game with turn-based battles and exciting non-linear storyline.” Sounds familiar? It should, because Encased is very much a love letter to Fallout 1 and 2, and the Soviet era sci-fi classic Roadside Picnic. 

Under The Dome

The game is currently in early access, and I got the opportunity to play through the beginning, where I go under the recently discovered Dome for the CRONUS company. I decided to play a scientist so I could find out what is going on in that mysterious dome and hopefully do all kinds of scientific discoveries. As this is still in early access, I will keep the review short because not all content was available at the time I played this. There was certainly enough for a first look review, however.

Massive Fallout Detected

The Fallout influence is all over this game and that is a very good thing. It’s a classic isometric-view RPG, with an extensive character creation. Instead of classes you choose a profession, but you can allocate your points however you want. You could join the Silver Wing and become a manager, the Black Wing for security and policing, or the Orange Wing if you have a criminal background. There’s also the Blue Wing for technicians and the White Wing for scientists. Choosing your profession opens up different quests and dialogue options for your character, but as far as I can tell, every character follows the same route for the beginning of the game.

Bigger On The Inside

There’s some great world-building done here, and it made for an intriguing start of the game. Once I had finished what was basically the prologue, I got ‘dumped’ into a large open world. Unfortunately, this is where the the content ended for now, as I couldn’t find much else other than random encounters, but the game gave me a good impression. I really liked the story, the world is engaging, and it all looks and sounds really good. This game has the potential to be as good as Fallout 1 or 2, but it’s not there yet.

Conclusion

Would I recommend getting this game? Yes, if the new content is added and it lives up to the promise. So I would wait until later in the early access period, or until the game is fully released. Encased shows a lot of promise, but the price is quite steep at the moment for the content available; so be patient and wait a bit more. However, I am convinced that this game will eventually be worth your time and money.

This preview is based on an early access version of Encased provided by Black Tower for coverage purposes.