At the beginning of the 70s a strange dome appears in the middle of the desert. Of unknown origin, everyone who enters it dies upon leaving. Inexplicable events, relics with unpredictable powers and the hunger of corporations to investigate and exploit the place are the pretexts that lead us to this science fiction RPG that is captivating me from the first minute.

Encased takes us to a dystopian past, specifically in the mid-70s, which is great for achieving something that is too obvious to ignore for any longer: it is a clear tribute to the first two Fallouts . Those who, like this title, kept the isometric view to delve into their post-apocalyptic stories derived from hypothetical and devastating nuclear wars. In this case the premise is different, although the results are similar.

The Dome, an event that seems of alien origin is a sea of ​​unknowns for humanity. It is with this pretext that Encased hooks you from minute one . It is in its history, in how it immerses you in it and the way in which the hours fly by in front of the screen where I believe that the title developed by Dark Crystal Games is going to have one of its fundamental keys to become one of the best RPG that we see during this 2021. And no, I’m not trying to raise your expectations above the possibilities offered by the game, I fervently believe it.

In Encased you can choose any of the characters previously molded by the studio or create your own. Something that I really liked is that there are no classes as such. We can choose one of the five wings of which the CRONUS corporation consists, the one who is in charge of the exploitation and investigation of the strange events and artifacts that occur and are found under the dome. Depending on the wing you choose, your background will change. The silver wing is reserved for bureaucrats and management, the white for scientists, the black for security, the blue corresponds to engineering and the orange, well, this point is very interesting, the orange is for inmates. Workforce that has had to choose between jail or the death penalty outside of La Cúpula, or serve the aforementioned corporation for life.

In Encased you can choose to be who you want

It is true that choosing to be part of one or another faction will give us certain skills that we will not have with others, these will be useful to unlock lines of conversation or exclusive skills that will change the way of approaching the adventure from the most direct action , going through stealth and theft, to the most efficient diplomacy. However, there is an interesting play on words here: in Encased there are no classic RPG classes, but the title starts from the premise of the class system. A rigid social stratification that makes everything “work” and that, although it is the starting point, it will be something that we keep in mind during an adventure that plays with two well-defined narrative frames. The Dome and its mysteries on the one hand; on the other, how a society isolated from the rest of the world is recomposed once this ascription system collapses. In the role of gamer you will have to make complicated decisions, and many times these will be more or less based on the prejudices that you may have when seeing how everything is reorganized when the time comes.

You will have a leveling system very similar to that seen in other titles such as The Outer WorldsOf course you will have a leveling system, this is very similar to that seen in other titles such as The Outer Worlds . Not only because of the aesthetic component of the interface that is very reminiscent of Obsidian’s work, but the rise will be made by distributing points that, upon reaching a certain amount, unique branches of attributes and abilities are unlocked . Actually, the character is a blank canvas, it does not matter much which wing you have chosen and soon you will be able to reverse your starting abilities to try to adapt to what suits you best in the game. Although yes, think carefully about who and how you want to be, since specializing in each of the different attributes is how you will get the most out of them.

There are many virtues that I have found in Encased, but I think its secret lies in how well written it is. Conversations with all the NPCs always provide interesting information about their world. Even those that you keep with those that are nothing more than simple secondary make you see yourself completely trapped by all the background that is behind the game that you have to discover. In addition, a scanning system has been incorporated that makes the player an active part of this discovery, do you see something that catches your attention and you want to know what it is? Come closer and scan it. Not only will you get information, you will also get experience points and different currencies to get better equipment with certain merchants.

Encased combat: turn-based and action points

Encased has a certain sense of humor. By pulling a screw, we can deactivate anomalies present on the stage.

Less convinced has left me his combat system. His approach draws on references of the genre such as Wasteland 3 or XCOM . However, despite having psychokinetic powers and a good number of weapons that are constantly evolving and improving, when it comes down to it, its mechanics based on action points and turns is missing a better coverage system. The shots leave a feeling of injustice when you pull the trigger point-blank and see that you miss up to two or three bursts.

In addition, the approach to situations through stealth , while satisfactory when exploring, leaves a certain bitter aftertaste when it comes to starting a confrontation trying to catch enemies by surprise as it lacks bonuses. The enemy detection system is based on circular areas instead of vision cones, something that I did not like, and especially knowing that other independent proposals of recent appearance have managed to hit the nail on the head in this regard, such as Solasta case : Crown of the Magister .

Exploration is of vital importance, in Encased it is convenient to search down to the last garbage canThe exploration is of vital importance, in Encased it is convenient to search even in the last garbage can that gives us elements to create useful objects such as ammunition, food, or healing kits in the different work points distributed by its scenarios. The trading system is there, in fact you can exchange objects with almost any character you find, but obtaining resources is going to be much more linked to this manufacturing system than to anything else.

This makes all the sense in the world considering that Encased has a strong survivability component . We must be attentive to our inventory load, fatigue, hunger, effects such as radiation and other assets such as bleeding or confusion will be making an appearance during the game. Each and every one of them has its solution in a series of specific objects that you must not lose sight of if you want to stay alive.

Could there be anything more reminiscent of Fallout than a power armor like this?

Precisely death is a fairly frequent travel companion in Encased, so quickly become friends with F5 and learn how to use it before starting a conversation that you do not know very well how it will end. I have done it, allowing me to explore the large number of variablesthat there are situations that, a priori, may seem completely inconsequential and that have led to many different options. This component adds to the fact that Encased is not a linear story, it is an open world, and the way to explore and discover it will be very different for each of you. Do not expect a large expanse of interconnected terrain with no limits to move through, Encased is set through scenarios that are accessed in the order that is preferred through the journey through the title map.

The independent origin of the production is noticeable in its graphic section, which should not be detracted at allThis affects everything. Discovering a power armor that can be really useful in combat sooner or later, obtain a certain relic to equip and that gives you additional advantages or meet the different travel companions with whom to team up either by hiring them to help them complete their own missions, it goes to be something that each of us will discover in our own way.

The independent origin of the production (it went ahead in its first phase thanks to a successful Kickstarter) is noticeable in its graphic section, which should not be detracted at all, but which remains the large productions in isometric view that currently dominate the market. But you know what? It really matters little, since Encased has all the ingredients to kick off the RPG scene this year, and yes, it will arrive entirely in Spanish .