Expansive Overview: Shadowrun Returns

You may remember Shadowrun from the 1989 tabletop role playing game or 1993 fantasy/sci-fi action RPG on the SNES, or even the 1994 follow up on the Sega Mega Drive. If so you will almost certainly be delighted to hear that Shadowrun is back after being Kickstarted to the tune of a cool $1,836,447 back in April 2012. Originally schedule for release in January it finally made it’s way into the clammy hands of excited fans back in July. The question is have the years been kind to Shadowrun or Have the  36,276 backers thrown their money away? Read on and find out…

Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Release Date: Out Now
Format: PC & Mac
Version Tested: PC
Price: £14.99

You are a shadowrunner an elite criminal hired to do the dirty work that governments, corporations and wealthy randoms can’t be associated with. Unfortunately, your last run went south and since then you have fallen on hard times, it’s either time to sign on or time to get yourself another job. Thankfully before you go tumbling under the breadline you get a call from an old comrade in arms Sam Watts. Well kind of, he had a dead mans switch fitted that would call you and play a prerecorded message in the event of his untimely demise. It turns out that old Sam has been murdered and if you can bring his killer to justice you can bag yourself a cool 100,000 nuyen that is waiting in escrow. Looks like it’s time to pack your bags and head to Seattle to bring his killer to justice.

The story really is king in Shadowrun Returns; there might be no voice acting or funky motion capture from real hollywood stars but the story really steals the show. It starts out as a bit of a standard noir detective story (but with elves, trolls, magic and cyberpunk obviously) but quickly develops into something much more convoluted. Cults, conspiracies and all kinds of craziness rears it’s head as you move through the story but it all fits perfectly in the Shadowrun universe. There are even a number of memorable characters – although strangely not among the runners you get to take out with you who only get a one line bio and no lines.

There is quite a varied set of skills you can build on and enough different weapons and outfits to see you through the main story without feeling short changed – although a few more would be nice. Combat is solid too there is a decent cover mechanic and each of the roles available adds something different to the combat. There is a nice risk/reward mechanic when hiring your comrades. The best of the best can be expensive so the temptation is always there to skimp a bit on your mates and save up some nuyen for better kit, but doing so can have disastrous consequences if a few dice rolls go against you.

It is best to have  a decent mix of runners in your squad if you want to use the battlefield to your advantage. If you have a rigger on your team he can boot up a wee drone that can either help you blast your enemies or provide support with medkits. Also there is probably a air vent somewhere that you can sneak it through and get the drop on your enemies. If you take a shaman you not only have a host of  spells at your disposal but can also summon big scary monsters to fight for you (although keep them too long and they may turn on you). That is not even mentioning your usual ranged and melee combat experts or the mages; there is a lot going on here and battles can be tackled in a variety of ways. Combat is turn based like the excellent XCOM and in the same way when you line up an attack you get a chance to hit percentage to guide you. Just remember 80% is no guarantee so it is best to air on the side of caution if your runner is low on health.

The music is good too, I wouldn’t stick it on a CD and listen to it in my car but it fits perfectly with the theme of the game. The graphics look good and the isometric viewpoint is tried and tested for this sort of game. The basic feel of the levels can get a little samey but there is so much variety in the detail that you can forgive the basic building blocks of a plush office building looking a little like the basic building blocks of secret lab.

The game itself is disappointingly linear. You get the feeling that the stance you take in conversations doesn’t have a big impact in the grand scheme of things and your sassy elf rigger would probably have a very similar play through a dour troll mage. Also the game moves you from zone to zone with no ability to retrace your steps or choose where to go next. You start in the Barrens move on to a bar then over to a different part of town with a loading screen in between. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by playing too many AAA games but I can’t help but feel that Shadowrun would be immeasurably improved by adding a few more side missions and giving it a truly open world.

The only other niggle I had with the game was the fact that you can only save when you transition to a new area. In general the areas themselves are relatively self-contained so this is rarely a huge problem but it does make some of the longer missions a bit dicey not only from the point of view that you may die and have to do it all again but also from the ‘do I have enough time to finish this bit before I have to go to bed/work/the moon?’

The game itself is well written and with solid mechanics and music all set within a truly  interesting universe. If one game is setup for DLC Shadowrun Returns is it. Not only do we have the Berlin DLC set to hit the shelves in January 2014 with a new city, new characters and new weapons but if you can’t wait that long there is already a plethora of fan created content out there on the Steam workshop. As it stands it is a fun, well written blast from the past with but give it a year and Shadowrun could really be the game all those backers hoped it could be.