Shadowrun Returns Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on July 26th, 2013

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I'm very pleased to see a good new RPG in this classic isometric style, and its The Dead Man's Switch story has some well-told twists while it lasts, and the light tactical combat has enough depth to make it a worthwhile adventure. But the bite-sized scope and limited choices available make me more interested to see what Shadowrun Returns will be a year from now, after the community has used the included mod tools to build on it, than in what it is today.

The initial campaign offers a great adventure, but it's easy to feel hungry for more when you're done. Thankfully, Harebrained Schemes has included a highly useable editor to let players create their own content. Enterprising module creators are already digging into the toolset, and I'm hopeful about the potential for expansion.

Even if you never played the tabletop game or the original Shadowrun console games, Harebrained Schemes has crafted a potent argument for joining in on the fun. Here's hoping this reawakening is just the beginning of a new lease on life for the Sixth World.

Ultimately, I suppose, this feels like a vindication of the (hey, let's do nostalgia and turn-based RPGs) thing on Kickstarter. I've always been sceptical of the inclination to look to the past, but this is actually giving us something we wanted. Something we needed. In this case I feel like it was filling a void. A rain-slick, turn-based, isometric elf-shaped void with mirrorshades and a shotgun.

Even with the few flaws it possesses, Hairbrained Schemes have knocked it out of the park with Shadowrun Returns. This is one of the most satisfying and complete tactical roleplaying experiences to come out of 2013 and realistically the last few years. It's strong in narration, sporting one of the best scripts we've seen in a long time, rich in customization and solid in its combat sophistication. This is a game that unabashedly understands how to deliver the full-bodied, total package experience. To cherry the Sundae, though, the game editor means that Shadowrun Returns goes from being a game that is a handful of hours long, to one that truly could never end. And honestly, we hope it doesn't end we hope that community takes to the game faster than Vin Diesel to a new Fast and Furious film, because this is the type of title that deserves to be played by many, and live a long and prosperous, cyberpunk life.

Shadowrun Returns exceeded my every expectation. The videos I've shown you are just a small portion of what this game has to offer. The combat is engaging and rewards good tactics and class understanding. The Dead Man's Switch storyline is a great start to this new universe, and the included editor opens the door to literally everyone to craft their own stories. While there is no voice work in the game, the descriptive portions that tell the story match the capabilities of any GM I've sat across from during a pen-and-paper gaming session. Stepping back and looking at what the team has completed in the time since their Kickstarter closed on April 29th of last year, this game is an amazing example of what true fans of the source material can do when not constrained by traditional distribution methods. The fact that this game costs less than a night at the movies (Steam price is $19.99, though you can pick it up for 10% off for a very short span after you read this) and delivers a storyline you'll want to play more than once, as well as the promise of infinite expansion, it's very easy to recommend. Welcome back, Shadowrun welcome back to the Sprawl.

There's at least one more campaign in the works right now (supposedly set in Berlin), but the real future for Shadowrun, in my mind, will come from the players themselves via the bundled editor. A good start.

All this together makes the job of recommending it an unfortunately awkward one. One the one hand what's already here is enjoyable and compelling, for the comparatively short amount of time it'll take you to play through it, but the promise of more makes me feel like Shadowrun Returns is only going to grow in value as time goes on. If the players really latch onto the capabilities of the editor, it's going to be an incredible rich offering, and one that could theoretically never stop giving.

Frankly, with the low price they're asking for what is essentially a decent Fallout-style RPG with Neverwinter Nights level customisation, and a good, if linear campaign out of the box that's going to take you around 10 hours to complete anyway, I don't really see why not. Shadowrun fans won't be disappointed with the campaign's whistle-stop tour, although they might moan a little about the rules light nature of the game and limited equipment. RPG fans will find a solid toolkit and a good campaign, and Cyberpunk fans will encounter something that they may enjoy, if they try it. Heck, even newbies to RPGs would not go amiss giving this a go. It's a solid product, and it deserves some love, from both the players and the developers.

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