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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1772 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 16, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Video game thread

I haven't played anything in weeks. Been too busy with a responsible adult mode/productivity streak. Haven't been getting enough R&R and became a bit worn down. Please tempt me into some fun gaming.

Not sure where saw a recommendation for 'Encased' and it can be best described as 'Fallout 2' but with a modern engine and somewhat less memorable writing. Takes place in an alternate past where during the 70s an 200 km wide and probably invisible from outside 'force field' was discovered in a desert somewhere, with a single entrance. Inside are some enigmatic ruins. Borrowing liberally from 'Roadside Picnic', a joint US/Soviet company is established to research what's in there. Game starts a couple years after that.

The rulest is broadly but not too similar to Fallout 2 with abilities themselves gated beyond skill levels (e.g. if your lockpick is too low, you can't pick locks at all etc). It's more complex.

Then there's people who accuse it off knocking off Stalker which is fair, e.g. the anomalies are pretty much ctr+c; ctrl+v and (so far) it seems there aren't many novel anomaly designs, but come on, it's a wholly different genre and apart from the anomalies themselves, the vibe / aesthetics /settings are wholly different.

I've found a fair amount of people hating on it. The writing and quests aren't usually very inspired but they're not that bad usually. At least it's not offensive like most of e.g. Baldur's Gate 3. I suspect a lot of people got filtered by the combat which is absolutely not levelled to the player so you can pick impossible fights.

I actually tried Encased a few years ago. I thought it seemed quite promising. Without getting far into it, I gave up on it after being convinced it wouldn't, in the end, be worth the time spent, by lots of people claiming the "second half of the game is unfinished and bad." As if it falls off a cliff after a while and really can't stick the landing. Is that true?

It seems I haven't even gotten to the second half yet, so. I'll let you know, I guess.

I'd appreciate hearing about it if and when you finish it!

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