Encased tells the story of a disastrous research project inside an anomalous zone - the Dome - built in the middle of a desert by an unknown civilization.

The events of the game happen under the Dome - an artificial construction of unknown origin that is shaped like a sheer half-sphere with a small aperture at the top. The Dome is indestructible. Technology, items, and relics can be extracted from it, but people who enter the Dome cannot leave. Beneath the earth, yet more mystery awaits, as the Dome is just the cap of an enormous complex hidden under the sands. Ancient underground labyrinths contain bountiful artifacts, weapons and artificial intelligence systems that control the whole complex… not to mention lethal traps and curious anomalies that guard these riches.

Research and exploration of the Dome are conducted by staff of the C.R.O.N.U.S. Foundation - an international corporation and a state-within-a-state. To the outside world, little is known about the inner workings of C.R.O.N.U.S. Those that sign up for a life within the Dome do not speak of their experiences, and those managing the Foundation from outside speak even less. Thanks to the bounty extracted from the Dome, C.R.O.N.U.S. have become powerful enough to hold sway over the leaders of the world. Now, the fate of the entire planet rests in the hands of the soldiers, businessmen, scientists and even criminals who comprise their ranks.

However, within the Dome, something is changing. Another power has arisen - something never faced by explorers before. As a direct result of actions performed by the expedition of the player’s character, an intelligent entity has awakened in the depths of the underground complex - an unstable AI nicknamed Maelstrom. Upon breaking loose, it will change the world under the Dome beyond recognition - all connection to the outside world is lost, and the denizens trapped within the Dome become desperate and split into warring factions.

Encased takes place in an open world consisting of more than 200 locations, with over 100 side-quests and 75 random events. During the main story, featuring 30+ hours of gameplay, players can choose to join one of the five main factions or remain neutral. The player’s every action, decision and criminal act will affect our hero’s reputation and the development of the plot.

Beyond the praise for the gameplay, storyline and environment, one thing stood out - almost everyone who recently played the game "normally," taking the standard path through The Dome.

This might feel like a strange statement. But this is why Dark Crystal Games wanted to let everyone know about the unusual gameplay styles they've added to Encased. 

It's true that most RPGs won't actually let you finish the storyline using a pure stealth or pure pacificist build, but that's not true of Encased. Dark Crystal Games created full narratives and story options for any and all starting stats you'd like to begin with, including being an idiot, or a total psycho. The Dome can be explored with any combination of alternative personality habits and players will still get a refreshing unique storyline.

Some starting options that players can choose are: 

• Setting your intelligence as low as possible, giving you ridiculous combat options such as dancing like a fool.
• Not talking to anyone, literally, and hiding permanently in the shadows.
• Being a pacifist and using only non-lethal weapons.
• Acting like a straight up psychopath and killing every. single. person.

To give players a visual, the team created a new trailer showcasing a few alternative starting choices for Encased.

So why did everyone begin Encased playing as 'themselves' rather than role-playing an alternative choice? While some of this would be down to it being a first playthrough, there are more fundamental issues at play here. 

Dr. Rachel Kowert - a psychologist specializing in our interaction with video games - says that almost all of us project our own personality when playing a video game; at least when it comes to RPGs.

“Our in-game avatars are often a means of experimenting with many possible ‘selves’, either as we are – our actual self – or an idealized version of ourselves. The characters we create in-game are very often closely related to who we are out of game," said Dr. Rachel Kowert.

There’s also a personal development aspect to this too. Research at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab found players who were helpful to NPCs in a video game were then more helpful to others in real life too. It’s called the Proteus Effect and – yes – playing video games can make you a better person. Other studies have produced similar results.

“There is an entire field of research looking at how digital role play in video games can impact how we think and behave out of game. For example, seeing a digital version of ourselves being successful in these spaces can become a catalyst for changing thoughts and beliefs we have about ourselves,” added Dr Kowert.

So is the reverse true, if we play as evil characters or just run amok with a gun in a first person shooter, does that mean we become worse in real life? Thankfully, despite what some of the tabloids would have you believe, the answer to this is a firm no. The proteus effect only pulls you up, it doesn’t pull you down.

So why did the developers put these alternative gameplay styles in the game if people don’t instinctively play them?

“We created Encased to not only be an entertaining game, but one that would provoke some thoughts in players too. From moral choices to problem solving, we wanted the player to use their imagination to play out their avatar in whichever way they wanted,” said Viacheslav Kozikhin, Creative Director at Dark Crystal Games. “These are some of the reasons why we created all these extra possibilities. We’re aware not everyone will see them, but that’s part of the magic of RPG’s. It’s all about discovery and allowing players to explore a world in whatever way they want rather than having a storyline-on-rails."

Key Features:

• Become a driving force in a large-scale story that runs before, during and after the apocalypse.
• Start the game in one of the five divisions of the corporation, get unique opportunities, mechanics, gameplay options.
• Threaten, persuade and bribe: the dialogue system of the game offers a load of ​​mechanics, and you can achieve your goal in different ways.
• Fight smart: spend action points carefully. Use food, stimulants and different types of weapons to gain an advantage over the enemy.
• Upgrade your hero: learn dozens of useful skills. Learn to hack computers, knock down doors, disassemble mechanisms and apply pyrokinesis.
• Explore and study: scan relics to reveal the secrets of the Forefathers technology bit by bit, travel through the desert and find new places, anomalies and organisations.
• Make significant decisions: make allies and enemies, remember that sometimes compromises are impossible, and reputation is everything.
• Repair and create: forge armor, build cool guns and produce ammunition. And also repair cars and cook food, without this you cannot survive in the wasteland..

Currently available through Steam Early Access, Encased is coming to PC (Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG) on September 7, 2021, followed by PS4, Xbox One at a later time.