[REVIEW] Shadowrun Returns: Review

Shadowrun Returns released yesterday after over a year in development.  The Kickstarter launched on April 4, 2012 and ended up receiving over $1.8 million.

Background

The world of Shadowrun is actually based on a role-playing game that's been around 1989.  Set in a dystopian cyber-punk future mixed with Tolkien races and magic, it's one of my favorite settings.

There have been three previous game releases:

• Shadowrun, released on the SNES in 1993 that was a mixture of action and role-playing, with a stronger emphasis on role-playing
• Shadowrun, released on the Sega Genesis in 1994 that was also an action/RP mix but with more of an emphasis on action.  My personal favorite and it also has fantastic music
• Shadowrun, released on the PC/Xbox in 2007 and was very loosely based on the RPG universe

Let's talk about the game

The new game, Shadowrun Returns, is a top-down, isometric, turn-based RPG/action game.  It plays and feels very similarly to Fallout 1 and 2, or for a more modern example, XCOM.

You spend your time in the game transitioning between "role-playing" and "action" segments.  In the RP mode, you wander already, talking to people, collecting clues, purchasing equipment, etc.  In the action segments you face off against street punks, corporate security, and even hostile life forms from another dimension (no spoilers here!).

Everything is done on the top-down/isometric map, so there's no cutscenes or anything else that will take you away from your characters.  Conversations are done through dialog trees.

The action is definitely worth nothing.  Every character has a certain number of "action points".  AP can be used to move or use abilities.  Certain powerful abilities (firing a gun on full auto, casting a massive fireball, etc.) require more than one action point.  Everyone on one side goes before the other.  Who goes first is mostly

You start the game off receiving a call about an old runner friend who's been murdered.  He's recorded a video to be played on his death, asking you to find out who killed him and avenge him in exchange for a cash payout.  You head to Seattle and begin your investigation, which takes you from the slums of Redmond to high-security corporate facilities and everything in between.  Along the way, you make some friends, help some people in need, and occasionally have to make morally ambiguous decisions.

The skill system in the game is very important to explain.  There are no "classes" in the game- you can choose to be a mage, shaman, adept, decker, whatever you'd like.  It just takes points invested in the appropriate skill (e.g. summoning, decking, shotguns).  Of course, being a jack-of-all-trades makes you weaker in any single category.  You gain skill points (called Karma in the Shadowrun universe) through the completion of objectives, like helping a stranger out, finding a critical clue or completing a mission.

Before you embark on a "Shadowrun" (a mission) you can recruit up to three other runners.  Some will work with you for free for plot reasons, but most expect cash.  In combat, you control all four members of your team, and have to learn how to put their strengths together into an effective team.

Overall:
7.5/10 with just the main campaign
8.5/10 with additional content (assuming fans put out more campaigns)

Summary

Pros

• Extremely flexible skill system- build any character that you want
• Strong writing and dialogue
• Interesting combat options and abilities
• Gritty, engrossing universe
• Fleshed out content- even the side missions feel very complete and are not just tacked for filler

Cons

• The campaign that ships with the game, "Dead Man's Switch", is short.  I completed it in 11 hours.
• Ultimately, both combat and RP scenes are very linear.  There's always just one possible ending, and your decisions often feel like they don't matter all that much
• Unlocking new dialogue options through having the appropriate skill or attribute level often has minimal effect
• Inability to save during a scene can make bad luck with the dice frustrating, or if you run into a bug and are forced to restart
• Minimal explanation of core game mechanics (cover, karma costs, critical chance)
• Weapons feel incompletely balanced
• Moving around between fights in a scene can be tedious since you're stuck in turn-based mode