Shadowrun Returns

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1042 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 638 out of 1042
  2. Mixed: 273 out of 1042
  3. Negative: 131 out of 1042

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. kjc001
    Jul 26, 2013
    8
    The game is great if our materialistic "me" society hasn't damaged you. It's linear. It doesn't have great graphics. It uses a checkpoint system. Somebody mentioned losing 30 minutes due to the checkpoint system. i call BS on that. If it takes you 30 minutes to redo something you just completed you are doing it on purpose. 10 minutes, tops.

    There is a tool set. I was under the    The game is great if our materialistic "me" society hasn't damaged you. It's linear. It doesn't have great graphics. It uses a checkpoint system. Somebody mentioned losing 30 minutes due to the checkpoint system. i call BS on that. If it takes you 30 minutes to redo something you just completed you are doing it on purpose. 10 minutes, tops.

    There is a tool set. I was under the impression from the get go that the campaign was going to be a teaser and the real game would involve user generated content. Thus it was delivered.

    I don't care for the lack of options in the options menu, I would have liked to see some key bindings. It sits at a 7.7 and I think it's deserving of that. If you don't like retro style games, turn based combat, linear story lines then I wouldn't suggest this game. I'm 30 years old, this game really brings me back and I'm loving it. If you happen to have played the snes Shadowrun title and you enjoyed that you'll definitely enjoy this as well.    … Expand
  2. Morgenstern72
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    At first look this game looks nice and polished and as a Kickstarter backer I was happy that they delivered this good. The story is well written and I decided to play a brutish Troll Adept. I bullied people, took their money, was unfriendly....and it hat no influence on the game or any character. When I did meet a character again for the first time, he even introduced my brute as a friend!At first look this game looks nice and polished and as a Kickstarter backer I was happy that they delivered this good. The story is well written and I decided to play a brutish Troll Adept. I bullied people, took their money, was unfriendly....and it hat no influence on the game or any character. When I did meet a character again for the first time, he even introduced my brute as a friend!

    Then I realized that nothing I do or say does matter in any way.

    The city itself looks nice but is soulless. As good as no interactions.

    The tactical fight is very shallow. I had no problem to swipe through my enemies lie a scythe, bare hands only against machine guns and spells.

    This game leaves me baffled: so much could have been done, so much was done really good, but the essence of an RPG, the interactions and the consequences of them, the tactics in fights and the looting are non existing.

    One can only hope, that the community will be able to spice this game up, since they have a editor delivered with the game.    … Expand
  3. LordLothair
    Jul 26, 2013
    7
    Well, let's start with what it is: This is a CRPG, based around the Shadowrun universe (which was one of my favorite tabletop games). It allows you to jump into the life of a Runner for a few days and deal with some drek that just keeps piling on. It is, IMHO, a nice single player tabletop-like experience if your GM likes to keep tossing more and more on you.

    What it isn't: This is    Well, let's start with what it is: This is a CRPG, based around the Shadowrun universe (which was one of my favorite tabletop games). It allows you to jump into the life of a Runner for a few days and deal with some drek that just keeps piling on. It is, IMHO, a nice single player tabletop-like experience if your GM likes to keep tossing more and more on you.

    What it isn't: This is not Fallout or FO: Tactics, this is not FF, this is not Diablo. If that is what you are looking for you will be disapointed.

    The Good:
    1. The writing... oh wow, the writing. You can tell that the game was put together by a team that loves the world, and knows how to write a campaign. It's one of those stories that remind me of sitting with game designers at GenCon playing their favorite modules or testing out a new story line.

    2. Atmosphere. They nail the dark and gloomy of SR's Seattle, the inter-species/racial tensions of the world, and the socio-economic politics that go along with it all. You deal with Corps, Johnsons, Riggers, Trolls, Shamans, etc, etc, etc. A good taste of a little bit of everything. Pre-rendered background art that works well with decent sprites keeps you interested in the world and makes you want to look around. Subtle and nice music keeps things flowing (when it isn't choppy). Portrait art is very reminiscent of the game art from the books, and helps keep you in the world (think Baldur's Gate).

    3. Tactics. Yup, they've got that down rather nicely. Mild inventory management, but more of a time management game (think original X-Com). You pick your team of runners, you spec out your own kit, and then you run your crew. Positioning, cover and flanking, saving some time for Overwatch fire, or popping off a spell with a long cooldown early, you have lots of options in combat.

    4. Character. This is a hit and a miss for me. You have a fully open character sheet to spend your Karma (XP) as you will. Want to have a Mage with high strength? Sure, uhm, you could do that. Your outfits are rendered on the sprite so it's neat to see the new armored trenchcoat you just bought actually on the character. Sadly, we're all a little spoiled by Bethesda when it comes to creation customization for looks, which is something you have very limited control over.

    The Bad:
    1. Check-point only saves, seriously? What PC developer does this? Massive negative. You can not save the game at any point in time. Only at the beginning of levels does the game auto-save. Should you have a power failure, need to hop off the game to tend to RL stuff, etc. You get to replay the whole area you just did.

    2. Levels. Now, let me clarify, since I said the writing was one of the best things, what I mean here is the linear nature of the story and the follow the arrows map design. The good memories I have of running or playing module based tabletop RPGs is tempered with my hatred for straight from the book GMs. SR:R is definitely a pre-made module. It is a linear story line with only a few minor choices to make, and a handful of hidden rooms. That doesn't mean the story itself is bad, just that it is extremely limiting. Of course, the GM toolkit and futher expansions will mean that this may not be a massive issue given time.

    3. Strategy. The game has tactics, the game does not have strategy. You can't really customize your Runners, or establish a regular team. You don't have the option to just do off-site hacks or sneak in through a vent... sure those things are there, but only when the game gives them to you. Yes, you can get out of some combats by having the right skills set or stat, or picking certain dialogue options, but really you are playing the game the way the GM wants it played.

    4. Optimization. Odd graphic glitches, weird music stutters, and the occasional hangup on a load screen came make things annoying and make you worry that you'll have to replay things. No massive game breakers, but enough that it is rough.

    Did I like it? Hell yes, Chummer! Was it worth the money to get it on Steam? I think so, but I'm a fan of the game and look forward to designing my own campaigns and seeing what others will make available.

    If you miss doing runs for Mr. Johnson, you can again, but you may be left wanting more. With only the one linear campaign available right now, you're looking about about 12 hours of game. Granted that's game with wonderful writing, but you need to understand what you're getting into. There is no voice acting, you will be reading (oh quit complaining, we had these things before tablets and iwhatsits called books), you wont be getting Mad Lootz from enemies you'll bring in your gear to the fight and hope it's enough. You wont get to wander around and take jobs from the different Corps, you'll do what your GM tells you to do.

    If you want to Run in the Shadows, I say get this game. If you want to play Diablo or Skyrim in the SR world, you're out of luck.    … Expand
  4. Dunkare
    Jul 25, 2013
    4
    Shadowrun Returns is nice. But nice isn't great. Which is a serious disappointment after all those enthusiastic videos from harebrained and those positive previews all over the net.

    The story is good. Sometimes it feels like it's written by a pubescent nerd, but anyone familiar with Shadowrun shouldn't be surprised by that. It fits the universe and is very entertaining. (+5) The only    Shadowrun Returns is nice. But nice isn't great. Which is a serious disappointment after all those enthusiastic videos from harebrained and those positive previews all over the net.

    The story is good. Sometimes it feels like it's written by a pubescent nerd, but anyone familiar with Shadowrun shouldn't be surprised by that. It fits the universe and is very entertaining. (+5)

    The only problem is, that it doesn't feel like any choice you make matters. The story just goes on and on in the same direction, no matter how you behave. But that can be fixed by custom campaigns created by the community. (-1)

    The combat is good, too. Its nothing surprisingly great, but a well made turn based tactical combat system. Not too hard and not too easy, just generally well made. (+4)

    A serious issue are the technical shortcomings:

    * There's no save system except for autosaves on map changes. This can get really frustrating when real life calls and you have to quit before finishing a map. To me, this is a fail at game design. (-3)

    * The UI is clearly made for touch screens. Its just ugly. Everything feels kind of out of proportion and needs to be clicked. Very much not intuitive and no shortcuts whatsoever. Which leads to the next problem.. (-1)

    * No customizable keybindings. You can't even switch weapons with the mouse wheel. You have to click the up and down buttons on the screen. Same goes for spells, which cant be used by pressing a number but have to be clicked. This is really bad design and clearly shows harebrained's origin in mobile gaming. (-1)

    The background graphics are great. Much love was put into them and there's so much detail, it's always great to see such nice 2D graphics. (+1)
    But then there's the character models. It seems the background was much more important to harebrained than the characters. They seriously lack detail in any way and generally look quiet bad. Its nothing game breaking, but really sad to see. (-1)

    The bright beacon of hope for this game is the mighty editor. The community gets all the tools to create their own campaigns and addons which is a lot of fun to do and gives hope for custom content, that fixes some of the negative aspects of SRR. (+1)

    In conclusion, I don't regret backing the game, but I'm also not satisfied with it.
    The technical shortcomings need to be fixed asap to make this nice game for fans into a fun experience for everyone!

    4 of 10    … Expand
  5. Noviere
    Jul 26, 2013
    8
    Pros: The setting. The noir-ish writing. Multiple solutions to many of the encounters. The combat is quite fun, if a bit simple. The potential of user-generated content.
    Cons: The save system checkpoints are hard to accept in a PC RPG. The RPG systems seem a bit lite.
    Conclusion: For the price, Shadowrun Returns is a great value.
  6. Edgeinsthelead
    Jul 25, 2013
    8
    As a Shadowrun player I had a lot of high hopes going into this game. But they do deliver. One thing lacking is multiplayer, which hopefully will come soon enough. The graphic design isn't the top of its class but more than expected. The simple, yet advanced gameplay mixed with an in depth story line keeps you on point. Difficulty isn't to complex but does grow with the character.As a Shadowrun player I had a lot of high hopes going into this game. But they do deliver. One thing lacking is multiplayer, which hopefully will come soon enough. The graphic design isn't the top of its class but more than expected. The simple, yet advanced gameplay mixed with an in depth story line keeps you on point. Difficulty isn't to complex but does grow with the character. If you've never played an actual game of Shadowrun you may be disappointed. If you have, well this might be the game for you.… Expand
  7. Captiosus
    Aug 4, 2013
    4
    After completing the game and spending some time working with the User Generated Content tools, I'm afraid I have to drop my original score from a 6 to 4. Below is my original review with some minor revisions to address the change in score:

    I was really stoked for a reboot of the CRPG version of Shadowrun, especially after Microsoft and FASA tried exploiting the world for a terrible FPS    After completing the game and spending some time working with the User Generated Content tools, I'm afraid I have to drop my original score from a 6 to 4. Below is my original review with some minor revisions to address the change in score:

    I was really stoked for a reboot of the CRPG version of Shadowrun, especially after Microsoft and FASA tried exploiting the world for a terrible FPS years ago. I loved the PNP version and played both the SNES and Genesis Shadowrun games so when I first heard about this I was excited.

    Unfortunately, if you're looking for a CRPG in the style of older ones, keep walking. Shadowrun barely qualifies. The game offers the typical Shadowrun classes but then makes them completely arbitrary and therefore meaningless, since a "perk" of the game is that you can make your own "class" by assigning your own points anywhere. It took a modder to create a loot system because the devs themselves didn't put it in (mobs always drop the same items all the time in the base game), and there's no difference from character to character or "choice" to "choice". Most of the time spent will be spent reading, not playing, and combat is so simplistic, even on the harder difficulty levels, that you have to be a complete moron to fail at it.

    For the classes and skill point themselves, they're ultimately meaningless. Dump enough points into health and one attack type and you'll win. If you want to play the game on "EZ-Mode", remember these two words: Street Samurai. "Stat" checks to accomplish things in the game are exceedingly rare, and stat checks in dialog trees are pointless because they always funnel you to the same place without adding anything of real substance. You can't augment your specific class by hiring Shadowrunners e.g. a hired Decker cannot unlock a datapad that requires Decking so Shadowrunners are basically just cannon fodder to make the game even easier.

    Then there's the save game issue. Saving by checkpoints, causing players to repeat entire sections of game (mostly reading the same dialog over again) simply because the devs couldn't be bothered to add in a simple quick save, state save, or save on exit capability is ridiculous. Case-in-point: The game crashed, hard, early on in my first Shaman (in the Redmond Barrens), and the save system was so borked that it hadn't even saved, at all. About an hour of play was completely erased, leaving me to start over from character creation.

    I'm sorry to say that this game is more akin to reading a b-rated, poorly written graphic novel than playing a game. There's little connection with the characters, the game is broken down into completely linear chapters with few side quests to do, player agency is minimal, and the writing bounces between well crafted and bad fan fiction. Credit where it's due, though: the background art is amazing and the music is top notch.

    Originally, I had said "save your money and wait for a sale, or wait for user generated content to make the game worth purchasing". However, after playing with the UGC toolkit, I can't even recommend the game for community content. This is because the toolkit, while expansive, doesn't allow content creators address the fundamental flaws in the Unity engine itself. All addons are going to be as linear as the original main episode, and the RPG elements will always be lackluster because these are core components in the engine that simply cannot be "edited" through the toolkit. There will never be a community "open world" addition because the engine simply cannot allow for it. Even the BEST user generated content for SRR will suffer ALL of the same foibles of the core game.

    If you're looking for nostalgia, just replay Fallout 1 or 2, or pop in Shadowrun for SNES or Genesis on a handy dandy emulator and save your money for a better game. I guess Harebrained can at least be happy in knowing that a 4/10 is still better than what I'd rate Shadowrun the FPS.    … Expand
  8. Comradepinko
    Jul 26, 2013
    8
    A nice tactical RPG with excellent music and backgrounds. The character animations aren't great (though not terrible either) and there is a complete lack of any voice acting, but overall the story is very enjoyable and the dialogue is well written.

    More side quests would be excellent, and we will probably see a healthy modding community start building many side quests either as    A nice tactical RPG with excellent music and backgrounds. The character animations aren't great (though not terrible either) and there is a complete lack of any voice acting, but overall the story is very enjoyable and the dialogue is well written.

    More side quests would be excellent, and we will probably see a healthy modding community start building many side quests either as extensions of the main game or as their own stories. The character customization and loot are fairly simplistic, and the interface seems like it really had tablets in mind (good if you're playing on a tablet, so-so if you're on a PC). Loot from enemies would have been an excellent addition, even if much of it were just fenced for extra Nuyen.

    One very poor design choice was to make saving only occur between "levels" or the loading of new maps. A save state during gameplay would have made much more sense, and for those who feel like that's cheating to constantly reload to attempt something difficult they could have included a "hardcore" more in which death is permanent and a complete replay of the game/level is required.

    For the price ($20 at launch) this is a pretty good game, certainly no AAA title but enough to keep me entertained and excited to see what the modding community comes up with, which will probably end up being as good or better than the main campaign, which I only wish were a bit longer and had significantly more side quests and exploration instead of railroaded 99% of the time.    … Expand
  9. Tagspeech
    Jul 26, 2013
    4
    Obviously, the game doesn't deserve a zero. Let's reserve zeroes for games that are released in an alpha state or are just well-disguised computer viruses. I want to like Shadowrun Returns, I really do. I was looking forward to this game for the full month before it came out, and while I was never a die-hard Shadowrun fan, I've always loved CRPGs, grit, grime, and sci-fi.

    The    Obviously, the game doesn't deserve a zero. Let's reserve zeroes for games that are released in an alpha state or are just well-disguised computer viruses. I want to like Shadowrun Returns, I really do. I was looking forward to this game for the full month before it came out, and while I was never a die-hard Shadowrun fan, I've always loved CRPGs, grit, grime, and sci-fi.

    The emphasis there should go on the CRPG part. I was looking forward to reliving the wonder of my youth, playing Fallout and Fallout 2, owning a character, exploring a filthy wasteland. You know, that sort of thing. I was also looking forward to well-written dialogue, colorful characters, and maybe the occasional voice-acting on an important NPC. What I got was absolutely none of that. Literally, none.

    Gameplay. Okay. Well, the gameplay is good. It has XCOM written all over it, and I loved that game. But even XCOM was more open-world than this. Shadowrun Returns doesn't even attempt to give you any sense of freedom or choice, not even the proper illusion of control, it just straight-up demands that you take it by the hand and be lead through a guided tour.

    Playing this game brought on an increasing sense of claustrophobia, as I kept waiting for the "big reveal" in the story, the point where you're let off the chain and allowed to forge your own path on the dark streets of Seattle, or maybe explore the outside and meet tribes (I was a shaman, it was cool). But no. Never happened. And the closer I got to realizing this, the more angry and disappointed I felt.

    The salt on the wound was the heinous, purple-prose writing I had to endure. I was being bombarded constantly by characters giggling and tittering and being "my bestest pals ever" despite the fact that I found them obnoxious, and really, the worst of all, moments where the writer's description of what the character is doing actually ECLIPSES the dialogue itself.

    This isn't to say the writing is always bad, some of it is decent, and the core plot structure is ace. But some fanboy/fangirl on the staff was way too jazzed to be there, and it comes through in the overseasoned roast that is some of the dialogue screens.

    Speaking of which, as someone who always tags speech, invests in charisma, and likes getting the conversational upper hand, I was sorely pissed that despite the game having a ton of etiquette options, the whole thing is so damn short, I'm pretty sure some of them were actually missing. Like, you never got a chance to use it, at any point. I could be wrong, but I sure didn't see them.

    The conclusion? This game failed to live up to what my expectations were, so hard. Even without that crushing disappointment tainting this review, I'd still give it no higher than a six for the hives-inducing purple prose and gameplay issues. Checkpoint saves, really? What the dude. And where's the loot system? And it took me like two hours to figure out how to swap equipment without buying something in a store!

    Weren't you guys like 500% funded on kickstarter? This is seriously the best you can do? I guess it all went to just making the engine instead of a full-fledged game. Which is fine. Was also hoping for a NWN style multiplayer aspect. But no. Frowny face.

    The game should be billed as a "Shadowrun single-player CRPG engine" not the "CRPG throwback nostalgia bender you've been waiting for, person between ages 24 and 40." I guess there's always those other titles being made in kickstarter.    … Expand
  10. fenrir77
    Jul 27, 2013
    5
    Okay, heres the deal on Shadowrun Returns folks:

    Let me first say that I have always been a big fan of the top-down, party-based classic rpgs like Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate, etc. That is why I was disappointed and surprised by some of the inexplicable decisions that the design team made with Shadowrun. Let's get to the disadvantages first: Disadvantages: -No save game!? Are    Okay, heres the deal on Shadowrun Returns folks:

    Let me first say that I have always been a big fan of the top-down, party-based classic rpgs like Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate, etc. That is why I was disappointed and surprised by some of the inexplicable decisions that the design team made with Shadowrun. Let's get to the disadvantages first:

    Disadvantages:

    -No save game!? Are you kidding!? This is so annoying and is utterly inexplicable why they would do this. In an rpg, you like to try out various choices, conversation options, etc. Because you cannot save, you have go back all the way to a start of the chapter just to choose a different conversation option.

    -Stupid inventory system. You can only carry a couple items and everything else goes in a stash you can only infrequently access. Totally annoying, and once again inexplicable. Why not use the tried and true inventory system and save game system of Fallout and other classic rpgs?

    -Virtually no tracking of side quests in Journal. I did several side quests that never appeared in the Journal. The Journal is very poor overall.

    -The game is absolutely linear. There is no freedom at all but to progress forward in a straight line. You cannot travel, for the most part, to any place you have visited before. The only place you can travel to is the next hop along the main mission. If you happen to miss something, tough luck, unless you want to do the whole chapter over again.

    -I have other issues with the game, like a lack of any voice talent which should have been available with the money they raised and a lack of being able to manipulate items in the enviroment, but these were the main ones.

    Advantages:

    -ShadowRun Returns advantage and saving grace is that it has a good story. The story is good and keeps your interest. The story has many elements of a murder mystery, which is unusual and refreshing to find in an rpg. The dialoge is good and the npc's emotions seem geniune. I just wish they had some voice talent to voice them.

    -The graphics are acceptable, and the music was actually pretty good.

    I hope this review is of use.    … Expand
  11. MacrosTheBlack
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    This is a decent adventure with a fairly well spun story. I love the hand drawn backdrops and they convey a pretty good atmosphere. I also love the music!

    but there are a few major issues with my gaming experience; 1) it's one of the most linear games ever and really just catapults you from one event to the other, without any freedom. You also do not, at any time, feel that your    This is a decent adventure with a fairly well spun story. I love the hand drawn backdrops and they convey a pretty good atmosphere. I also love the music!

    but there are a few major issues with my gaming experience;

    1) it's one of the most linear games ever and really just catapults you from one event to the other, without any freedom. You also do not, at any time, feel that your choices have any real impact on the game world. This is more of an adventure game setup then a RPG setup as such.
    2) The character development is really basic and does not apply to your followers. as such, there's no real RPG element here
    3) The UI was clearly designed with tablets in mind and it's a double facepalm for PC users. You have to click on *everything*, which is annoying and slow
    4) Too little inventory slots, no loot.
    5) The save game issue

    So, my conclusion has to be that in the current state this is not an RPG. This is a very linear tablet adventure and as such I can only call it "mediocre".

    HOWEVER, I do have hope for this game yet as including the editor is a stroke of brilliance and modders will hopefully be able to deliver new campaigns which improve the gaming experience, but I fear the engine has too many limitations to ever become an EPIC experience.

    Sad puppy out.    … Expand
  12. Cytokinesis
    Jul 25, 2013
    5
    The main word I have to describe Shadowrun Returns is "dissapointing". I have a massive problem with the way the game was designed and created in that this is more or less an ios style game. Whether or not that's what they are going for the interface is completely abhorrent and everything that relies on it as well. The save system is atrocious and the game would have gone up at leastThe main word I have to describe Shadowrun Returns is "dissapointing". I have a massive problem with the way the game was designed and created in that this is more or less an ios style game. Whether or not that's what they are going for the interface is completely abhorrent and everything that relies on it as well. The save system is atrocious and the game would have gone up at least another point if it didn't have this godawful save system. WHY? WHY? Why did they have this atrocious checkpoint system in a game like this? It makes NO SENSE. The dialogue is a mixed bag from horribly written to passable to good although most of it is not good and was seemingly written by a teenager. It is just so immature in relation to the maturity of the world, it doesn't fit at all. Gameplay is meh but that really isn't the allure of a game like this. Overall I am greatly dissapointed and the only thing I like is the artstyle. Which also shows another glaring error when playing at high resolutions: the character models. The environments are gorgeous but the characters look extremely bad at 2560x1400. They are pixelated around the edges, especially when besides cover (even with 8x aa one) and the detail on them is horrendous. All I could think about while playing this game was that this was a phone game that wasn't properly ported to the PC and technical issues are what hurt it the most. Animations, character graphics, the awful UI it all makes a pretty good game horrendously average. It could have been a solid 8/10 but I don't know. Maybe they needed more time.… Expand
  13. giskarduk
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    Whilst the game has its own charms, what it basically boils down to is a wall of text with choices lead to the same result no matter what you pick. Also there is very little action, with little interaction. For example entire streets are eye candy, just something to walk down, with nothing to do in them. The game play seems extremely linear and the lack of a save function means readingWhilst the game has its own charms, what it basically boils down to is a wall of text with choices lead to the same result no matter what you pick. Also there is very little action, with little interaction. For example entire streets are eye candy, just something to walk down, with nothing to do in them. The game play seems extremely linear and the lack of a save function means reading the wall of text again due to lost progress becomes a reason not to reload the game at all. Whilst the story is interesting, I think reading a Shadowrun book would be a lot cheaper and more fun than playing the shadowrun returns game.… Expand
  14. JakeMR
    Jul 28, 2013
    0
    This game is awful. It had an initial budget goal of $400,000 on Kickstarter with 8 staffers working on it. It raised $1.8 MILLION dollars on Kickstarter alone, not even counting presales on Steam! And they increased their staff from 8 to 30. Yet we are still stuck with a game that doesn't resemble the Sega, SNES, or Pen and Paper version of Shadowrun at all. So how can it be ShadowrunThis game is awful. It had an initial budget goal of $400,000 on Kickstarter with 8 staffers working on it. It raised $1.8 MILLION dollars on Kickstarter alone, not even counting presales on Steam! And they increased their staff from 8 to 30. Yet we are still stuck with a game that doesn't resemble the Sega, SNES, or Pen and Paper version of Shadowrun at all. So how can it be Shadowrun Returns!? It can't be! It has NO save option other than autosave. The vanilla campaign takes ~8 hours for someone halfway competent with clicking a mouse to complete. The storyline is completely on rails. In other words, there is nothing else you can do but what you must do next. You HAVE to click on this spot, then go to this person, then exit the room cause there's nothing else for you to do. The game has like 3 sets of spells, lightning, acid, fire. That's it. There is the crudest crappiest verson of 'The Matrix' available. Take the rest of the turn based world you see and make it blue instead. Very disappointing.

    It comes with an editor tho! So, while I know you wanted a game. Here's a chore.    … Expand
  15. Soeverein
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    Kickstarted this game from day 1 as it's A) Shadowrun which I love in PnP B) The editor they promise reminds me of the good old NWN heydays. And while I don't regret backing (15$ was it?), I can't say I'm satisfied by the game.

    As it is right now sadly it does not deliver. Pros: - The modding function appear to be nearly as powerful as promised - The story is so far very enjoyable    Kickstarted this game from day 1 as it's A) Shadowrun which I love in PnP B) The editor they promise reminds me of the good old NWN heydays. And while I don't regret backing (15$ was it?), I can't say I'm satisfied by the game.

    As it is right now sadly it does not deliver.

    Pros:
    - The modding function appear to be nearly as powerful as promised
    - The story is so far very enjoyable

    Cons:
    - Lack of Save system
    - Lack of Loot/inventory system
    - Poor implementation of PnP Shadowrun rules (classless system where you can be the perfect hero in every possible skill. Yay Elder Scrolls vomit)
    - Other various UI annoyances like switching weapons/scrolls/matrix programs
    - Lack of consequences for the choices you make

    What flaws there are to the campaign isn't all too important to me, as I still remember NWN1's horrendous single player campaign, and it's still my favourite game after spending 6 years on UGC.

    What really ticks me off is the flaws that sadly can't be fixed by plain modding. Granted, I haven't looked completely in depth yet. But as it seems the game as a whole does not support saves, is built for an iPhone UI instead of a Desktop UI, and has a wack implementation of PnP rules the core itself is damaged and probably unfixable by modders.

    I doubted for a long time what score to give this game. But in it's current state, I can't possible go any higher than a five. I hope in a few months custom content and patches by the developers will convince me otherwise.    … Expand
  16. RyuMaster
    Jul 25, 2013
    6
    I'm a gamer for more then 15 years. I always believed, then in our days AAA studio makes crap games, because all they care about are money. But not indies. They are different. I've waited for Shadowrun as the triumph game of the year, 1.2 mln budget on kickstarters could something like Fallout dev team ever dream about it?

    And so we have this game, its just average. Boring, linear. It    I'm a gamer for more then 15 years. I always believed, then in our days AAA studio makes crap games, because all they care about are money. But not indies. They are different. I've waited for Shadowrun as the triumph game of the year, 1.2 mln budget on kickstarters could something like Fallout dev team ever dream about it?

    And so we have this game, its just average. Boring, linear. It was supposed to have nice story, but how can I enjoy it, when my choices doesn't matter? Somethis is wrong with this game in so many ways, like developers just care about getting salary, game has no soul, nothing, its empty. Meh, it could be so much better then this. It has quite potential, hopefully community mods are going to bring something fresh into it. Still, spending so much money for such a poor game has no excuses. It is so hard to enjoy it.    … Expand
  17. philthymcnasty
    Jul 25, 2013
    8
    Great retro style pc game. Very good tactical combat, classic shadow run style leveling system. What i dislike the the lack of a save feature, you have to rely on auto saves at checkpoints, and i find that annoying.

    Otherwise its a great game.
  18. kuehnau
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    Shadowrun Returns is a PC platform, role playing game that takes on the rules, themes and likeness of the popular table top role playing game Shadowrun.

    Besides some minor likenesses of the game, you are going to discover that this game is incredibly stiff, limiting and lifeless. The tabletop edition of the game was ALWAYS about player decisions and interactions with the game world,    Shadowrun Returns is a PC platform, role playing game that takes on the rules, themes and likeness of the popular table top role playing game Shadowrun.

    Besides some minor likenesses of the game, you are going to discover that this game is incredibly stiff, limiting and lifeless. The tabletop edition of the game was ALWAYS about player decisions and interactions with the game world, rules were always secondary.

    In this game, very few choices are made and the ones you do make are mostly in dialog and usually have the same end result. The game is strictly story driven and during this time they refuse to allow you actually leave the path they've written for you.

    I don't know if it's based on the engine or the campaign that came boxed with Shadowrun, but the system is very limited, you cannot even back track into old zones unless the system decides the story needs you to. Sides quests are also very few and far between.

    There's almost no side quests, one of the big things in Shadowrun was running missions, but I am finding that besides the ones that directly effect the campaign itself, the side missions are few and far between.

    The NPCs are pretty much lifeless, it wouldn't even matter if they were there unless they are for a quest or something.

    The game is incredibly restricting and limited. And the length of the campaign that comes with the game game is practically unacceptable.

    It's an alright game, but something I and many other people weren't expecting. We were expecting more. This software conversion of the role playing system does it no justice or service. My advice? Take the money you were going to use to buy this game and get a copy of the SNES game instead.    … Expand
  19. BeeFarm
    Jul 27, 2013
    3
    Really disappointed with this game. I'd say the worst thing about this game is that it's totally linear, I haven't played an RPG that was as on rails as this one ever (other than some Final Fantasy type rpgs). Dialogue choices have no impact on story other than occasionally allowing you to skip some task if you have a high enough attribute point. Almost no side quests and the onesReally disappointed with this game. I'd say the worst thing about this game is that it's totally linear, I haven't played an RPG that was as on rails as this one ever (other than some Final Fantasy type rpgs). Dialogue choices have no impact on story other than occasionally allowing you to skip some task if you have a high enough attribute point. Almost no side quests and the ones available have no impact on the story. Really no way to do anything other than follow the story.

    Character customization is also not very fulfilling. Leveling up my character was boring and most of the time I didn't even bother with it and it didn't seem to matter. The system was designed so that the characters are classless but I found that it just made all the characters bland.

    There's no loot and the items and cybernetics you can buy are uninspired and feel mostly the same. Obviously there's a difference between a shotgun and an SMG but between the 3 or 4 different weapon in the same class they all feel and look the same.

    Tactical battles are also boring and don't really need any tactics to succeed. For the most part I had no problem just shooting at people to win battles, no need to take cover or use support characters or do anything tactical.

    The matrix seemed tacked on last minute only because it was promised in the Kickstarter. There are only a few instances where the matrix is accessible and they are forced on you at those time. I found it to be the same as tactical battles, boring with no real point. For something so central to the Shadwrun world to glossed over in this way is very disappointing.

    On the upside the writing for this game is great and the map editor will allow for a lot of community generated content but I feel like the foundations of the gameplay just aren't there so that no matter how much content is available it just won't be fun. Overall I feel like I would have been better off buying a Shadowrun novel or re-reading Neuromancer.

    Also lack of a manual save is dumb and the fact that they tried to say that this feature would have been too expensive is lame.    … Expand
  20. Raddra
    Jul 25, 2013
    9
    This game is wonderful for anyone who appreciates a good story in a game: fans of the old classic Fallout games will love this. I've been playing all night and its 6:30am now and I can't wait to get back in to the game. The story is incredibly interesting and the characters are very well designed. there is a mix of humor and suspense, the visuals are awesome and the music is top notch.This game is wonderful for anyone who appreciates a good story in a game: fans of the old classic Fallout games will love this. I've been playing all night and its 6:30am now and I can't wait to get back in to the game. The story is incredibly interesting and the characters are very well designed. there is a mix of humor and suspense, the visuals are awesome and the music is top notch. The devs set out to make a game about what shadowrun is about: immersion and story. if your version of a good game is action and ironsights move elsewhere: this is a thinking mans game.

    the reason it gets a 9 and not a 10 is it has a few flaws: the equipment/magic screen is terrible: you need to visit a shop to equip and unequip weapons and spells. This is especially jarring for spellcasters like shamans. Shamans are supposed to learn their spells from their mentor spirits, not from the quick-e-mart!    … Expand
  21. hodgesb
    Jul 25, 2013
    9
    I have a real soft spot for turn based RPG games. The addition of the XCOM style cover system and the dark art theme brought this game to a level I didn't expect. II look forward to the community content and I hope this game has a very long life.

    *** I wish people wouldn't tank game scores by giving games a zero. Do you really see the game as a zero? Did you dislike it that much?
  22. sendingsignal
    Jul 25, 2013
    9
    I'm really enjoying this game. It seems like a lot of people are eager to judge it based on expectations for a baldur's gate like game, a skyrim like game, or other things that just seem completely off.

    To me, it feels closer in combat to xcom or fallout. I was worried it was too complex to get into but have already started digging it I meant to start out making a samuri decker, but    I'm really enjoying this game. It seems like a lot of people are eager to judge it based on expectations for a baldur's gate like game, a skyrim like game, or other things that just seem completely off.

    To me, it feels closer in combat to xcom or fallout. I was worried it was too complex to get into but have already started digging it I meant to start out making a samuri decker, but just through the skill system ended up making a pistol toting shaman and have loved finding spirits to summon in my surroundings. It's rare that a game gets me out of my intentions and it feels like the system itself is shaping my experience. I like the sound a lot, I like the character's quips, and I'm brought back to fond memories of the SNES game. Anyway, check it out for yourself.    … Expand
  23. opifer
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    Shadowrun Returns is everything we were promised and more. Can't wait for the Berlin expansion and more campaigns to come. As the guy who made Shadowrun Identity: Life on a Limb, I encourage you all to play user-generated content (UGC), submit bug reports on shadowrun.com and join our team of dedicated GMs at shadowrunidentity.org to help create a 100+ hour community campaign. Peace, chummers!
  24. MonsterZero
    Jul 26, 2013
    10
    While I would actually rate the game around a 7.5/8, I have to give it a 10 because in now way, shape or form does this game even come close to deserving the 0's or 1's that some people are giving it, crying about the fact that there isn't any voice over's and that they have to read the text, along with a bunch of ridiculous nit picking such as infinite ammo and the whole 4 typo's in theWhile I would actually rate the game around a 7.5/8, I have to give it a 10 because in now way, shape or form does this game even come close to deserving the 0's or 1's that some people are giving it, crying about the fact that there isn't any voice over's and that they have to read the text, along with a bunch of ridiculous nit picking such as infinite ammo and the whole 4 typo's in the game's dialogue.

    Pros )
    + Great story that start's off small and continues to escalate the duration of the game. Sure there aren't any branching path's and blah blah cry whine but it doesn't need them. The people who hated the story I'm sure don't like to read. It's not a slam, but just because words bore you to death doesn't mean this game deserves to get plunked with your 0 rating.
    + Customization; You base your character off one of 6 Archetypes during creation but after that your free to add skill points to whatever you see fit; Need a little extra firepower while your Mage's spells are on cool down? Throw some point's into ranged combat and pick up a shotgun. Your also given a decent amount of choices for the actual look of your character so I have no idea why people are crying about it like they expected Bethesda level options.
    +Combat is fun, simple but fun. Besides the fact that you pump so many shots out during a fight that ammo management would ruin and bog down every fight, this game is meant to focus on the story. It's built with the mindset of an old school table top RPG and with only having 4 runners per mission, doesn't want you to get bogged down 1/4 through a fight with Doug our ranged weapon master ran out of ammo...guess hes just gonna punch stuff for the rest of the fight?". The different classes all offer a WIDE amount of options as to what they can take and as I said earlier, when it comes to your character you can make them as focuses or well rounded as you'd like I played through with a Troll Physical Adept that learned a little magic on the side but was also willing to risk getting some cyber implants to toughen him up, even if it raised the CD on his spells. Threw some points into ranged combat and picked him up a shotty after awhile and suddenly I realized I was playing MY character. )
    +Editor; It's overwhelming the stuff you can do, it really is. I think people are forgetting about this feature being in the game entirely. The campaign is 12 hours of "You can make and use ALL of these resources", a real sampler platter.
    +Graphics: I loved the look of this game. It's fantastic, simply fantastic. How anyone could complain about the look of this game, coupled with it's musical score is mind boggling. Again, I don't know what people, especially those that Kickstarted the game, were expecting...It's an updated version in the same vein as the SNES game. I loved every detail, every gritty street with sheets of paper breezing through, the bright neon lights casting an errie glow of salvation over a desolate and torn from the inside city on it's last breath. It felt like I was there.

    Cons )
    - The Save Feature: This is the major gripe I, and many others, are having with the game and It really is a valid point. Considering that some scenes take around 30-45min, not being able to save whenever and losing all that progress is ridiculous. The dev's really dropped the ball on this one and it's something that I hope gets fixed in a future patch. If not, it's going to be the major thing that keeps this game's score low and player's uninterested. I can only assume that Flash Saves aren't in the game because like many are saying it's coming to iOS and you don't need to save a game on your iPad really, just exit back to the Home screen and the game sits in stasis until your ready. But after being one of the highest Kick Starter's in history it's hard to understand why flash saves couldn't be put into the game.
    -The Hit Chance in Combat: This was the only real glaring flaw with the game. I don't know how many times I had my entire team of runners fire everything they had into an enemy that they all had an 83% chance to hit and completely whiff. Likewise, I would sometime's ending hitting more frequently on enemies that had a 23% hit chance. It might just be my bad luck but after awhile I just started to ignore the Hit% and just assumed every shot in the game was 50/50.
    -Weapon/Spell options; I know I said earlier that there was a wealth of options in the game, and there is, but it is lacking in some areas. Newer weapons feel like upgraded versions of what's already for sale and it takes a lot of the uniqueness away from your arsenal. Hopefully in the future more options come into the fold so having SMG A really feels different than having SMG B, but right now it's just slightely irritating, though it doesn't detract from the fun.

    All in all, this game is great. My personal score would be a 9.5 as I really enjoyed it, but taking a step back and looking at it for what it is, I would give it an 8.    … Expand
  25. KaiHohiro
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    Shadowrun Returns has good ideas, pretty visuals and a great atmosphere, but ultimately falls short.
    It is fun while it lasts, but it is a very short and incredibly linear experience and offers little else other than storytelling that ranges from interesting noir to groan worthy cliches, interspersed with combat that offers little challenge.
    While the game and editor offer potential, I    Shadowrun Returns has good ideas, pretty visuals and a great atmosphere, but ultimately falls short.
    It is fun while it lasts, but it is a very short and incredibly linear experience and offers little else other than storytelling that ranges from interesting noir to groan worthy cliches, interspersed with combat that offers little challenge.
    While the game and editor offer potential, I have to judge the game on it's current value, which leaves a lot to be desired.    … Expand
  26. mega_coffee
    Jul 26, 2013
    4
    This game is dreadful. It takes linear gaming to new, never before seen levels, has extremely dull and simplistic combat, and because it has no manual save system, if you die and go back to a checkpoint, you'll have to reassign any karma points you had since spent. Just about the only positive thing I can say about it and the reason I didn't give it an even lower score is that the writingThis game is dreadful. It takes linear gaming to new, never before seen levels, has extremely dull and simplistic combat, and because it has no manual save system, if you die and go back to a checkpoint, you'll have to reassign any karma points you had since spent. Just about the only positive thing I can say about it and the reason I didn't give it an even lower score is that the writing is actually good, and because with the editor maybe someone somewhere might make a story good enough to suffer through the dreary combat again.… Expand
  27. CritMass
    Jul 26, 2013
    1
    I'm an old fan of the tabletop game and the Sega Genesis version of Shadowrun, both of which are amazing experiences.

    Unfortunately, Shadowrun Returns is nowhere near those and is instead a linear, boring disappointment. Where to begin... How about the fact that this game takes what should be an open world experience and turns it into a graphic novel where you occasionally point and    I'm an old fan of the tabletop game and the Sega Genesis version of Shadowrun, both of which are amazing experiences.

    Unfortunately, Shadowrun Returns is nowhere near those and is instead a linear, boring disappointment. Where to begin... How about the fact that this game takes what should be an open world experience and turns it into a graphic novel where you occasionally point and click and your character shoots stuff. Why did they feel the need to gut the tabletop rule-set? Are you telling me a computer can't handle some dice rolls? Why are there vast amounts of Cyberware and weapons missing from the game? How hard is it to implement Bioware when the exact description of the rules is available in old source books? Why is the matrix far more complex is in the 19 year old Genesis version? Why does Shadowrun have HITPOINTS?!

    I feel that the developers were either lazy or incompetent. Instead of designing a linear piece of trash, they should have given us an engine with the underlying source book rule-set. Hell, they could have completely skipped the campaign and just really given us an open world to build with.

    This game simply went in the wrong direction. Imagine a Shadowrun game using the Sleeping Dogs engine but with all the character customization of the tabletop game. That would give us a living breathing city in which we could craft our stories. You could steal a car, you could mug a civilian, you could do a run on a coporation, you could blow up your enemies apartment provided you were able to find it, etc...

    Instead we're given lifeless level after lifeless level. The entire engine is flawed because it is based on hand designing every scene rather than giving us a useful framework and useful npc AI.

    The only saving graces are the somewhat entertaining writing (of which there is an abundance) and the music.

    Here's a breakdown:
    1. You can't save the game, you just have to play for an hour and hope that somewhere in there the game auto saved (if you missed the split second notification).
    2. Your choices mean absolutely nothing except perhaps losing or gaining a few point of karma.
    3. The world is not alive. Npc's stand exactly where they are placed and do nothing but wait for the player to speak to them (or shoot at them). The streets are not packed with people as they should be.
    4. The rules are typical crpg garbage. They had a chance to easily implement tabletop and they chose not to.
    5. The art is disney-esque. I distinctly remember and preferred the gritty cyberpunk art of the books.
    6. The list of shortcoming goes on for ages but it isn't worth continuing.

    Listen chummer, if you want a real taste of Shadowrun, get an emulator and play the Sega Genesis version, it is somehow far more open world than this drek.    … Expand
  28. zenkun
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    This game delivered exactly what it advertised it would. A spiritual successor to the SNES game, and it stays true to the pnp lore and a bit of the gameplay. Nice customization, and a fair story for $20. Add on the ability to create content, and this is one hell of a deal.
  29. lucipher
    Jul 25, 2013
    4
    The game is good, but there are some major down points being glossed over by fan-children or sales representatives.

    1) No save anywhere system. You can and will lose up to 30 mins. of progress because you did not hit the checkpoint. There is no save after a certain time either, its only on checkpoint, so if you have to do something, or are otherwise interrupted, you end up going back    The game is good, but there are some major down points being glossed over by fan-children or sales representatives.

    1) No save anywhere system. You can and will lose up to 30 mins. of progress because you did not hit the checkpoint. There is no save after a certain time either, its only on checkpoint, so if you have to do something, or are otherwise interrupted, you end up going back through a lot of dialogue and decisions you have already made, not just combat.
    2) Unlimited ammo. Got a sweet rocket launcher? Shoot it forever.
    3) Extremely linear; hopefully the user created campaigns are better.

    Still probably a good game for a Shadowrun fan; if youre not a fan, you might want to wait for a sale.    … Expand
  30. Tubey
    Jul 25, 2013
    9
    An absolute triumph of great design and overwhelming developer passion, Shadowrun Returns is at long last a worthy successor to it's predecessors on the SNES and Genesis/Megadrive, and a proud representation of the classic tabletop game.

    Graphically, the game is luscious and stays utterly true to it's source material. Most impressive is the diversity of the classes in terms of    An absolute triumph of great design and overwhelming developer passion, Shadowrun Returns is at long last a worthy successor to it's predecessors on the SNES and Genesis/Megadrive, and a proud representation of the classic tabletop game.

    Graphically, the game is luscious and stays utterly true to it's source material. Most impressive is the diversity of the classes in terms of gameplay. The matrix hacking element of the game flows naturally into the game, offering a spin on the gameplay which is a welcome distraction. Magic has been overhauled; no longer is playing a Shaman a chore.

    The turn based system just works perfectly. Comparisons to X-Com are bound to occur, and they are justified to an extent, but it isn't a carbon copy of the system as it adds very definite Shadowrun only elements to it.

    Another definitive Shadowrun feature is the Karma system of development. For this game, the Karma system lends itself to the RPG aspects of the title, forcing you to do good deeds to gain rewards. Whilst on paper this seems like a forced method of levelling, in practice it does well as it prevents the all-out turn based grind towards completion and compels you to explore the detailed world, held together by a spellbinding steampunk inspired soundtrack.

    The core game is a bit on the easy side, and it is short (the £15 shelf tag highlights this lack of depth, but it's the perfect price point). That said, it isn't difficult to see how much this game is going to be built upon by a rabid fan base who have been baying for this game since the 90s. Six months from now, this game could easily have another 100+ hours of gameplay built on it by modders and the joyous thing is that the diversity and enjoyment of the game means that those 100 hours will be well spent indeed.

    Shadowrunners everywhere, eradicate all memories of that woeful FPS offering that broke our hearts several years ago, get out your credsticks and buy this game because finally we've got the game we've been waiting for.    … Expand
  31. Necrotaur
    Jul 25, 2013
    9
    Shadowrun Returns is a great throwback to isometric RPGs like Fallout and Baldur's Gate. The released module's storyline is interesting, and offers a fair amount of replayability through different class/skill loadouts or dialogue choices. Combat is engaging, and plays similar to the recently released XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which in my book isn't a bad thing. Many of the systems in ReturnsShadowrun Returns is a great throwback to isometric RPGs like Fallout and Baldur's Gate. The released module's storyline is interesting, and offers a fair amount of replayability through different class/skill loadouts or dialogue choices. Combat is engaging, and plays similar to the recently released XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which in my book isn't a bad thing. Many of the systems in Returns are also very similar to pen and paper Shadowrun. A couple valid complaints that can be leveled at SR are that it has a checkpoint save system, and it is a bit combat centric, though the latter can easily be avoided in future modules. Anyway, what's been released so far is well worth the $20 admission fee, and the user-made content being generated guarantees SR a place on my hard drive for a long time to come.… Expand
  32. AgentPothead
    Jul 28, 2013
    0
    I paid twenty dollars and all I got was a tablet game. I'm disappointed so many reviews are giving the main campaign a pass and scoring the game on all this imaginary user created content that doesn't actually, and may never, exist. Also surprising is the lack of mention of the tremendous amount of grammatical and spelling errors. I've seen better freshman level writing projects. The mostI paid twenty dollars and all I got was a tablet game. I'm disappointed so many reviews are giving the main campaign a pass and scoring the game on all this imaginary user created content that doesn't actually, and may never, exist. Also surprising is the lack of mention of the tremendous amount of grammatical and spelling errors. I've seen better freshman level writing projects. The most worrying thing is this game is the result after they got almost 5x the original asking price of 400k. I'd hate to see the version they would have pieced together for that much, since this is literally a tablet game. It probably would have been in adobe flash.… Expand
  33. ZFake
    Jul 30, 2013
    0
    If you remember those isometric games of old, the games like "Fallout 2" or "Baldur's Gate" and remember them with fondness, then this is MOST CERTAINLY not a game for you, as it lacks quite a bit of vital characteristics of aforementionet games, such as player's freedom of actions, multiple side quests, comfortable user interface, captivating gameplay and, for God's sake, decent plot.If you remember those isometric games of old, the games like "Fallout 2" or "Baldur's Gate" and remember them with fondness, then this is MOST CERTAINLY not a game for you, as it lacks quite a bit of vital characteristics of aforementionet games, such as player's freedom of actions, multiple side quests, comfortable user interface, captivating gameplay and, for God's sake, decent plot.

    If you tried to play those games again in the recent years and found it to be tedious and prefer the more up-to-date game quality like "Skyrim" or "Fallout: New Vegas", then this is STILL not a game for you, as it most obviously lacks anything resembling a decent graphical engine.

    If you are feeling nostalgic, then DON'T try this game at all, as if you do, you will risk a massive blood loss through eyes bursting due to uncontrollable fit of rage and aversion.    … Expand
  34. Shatteredstar
    Jul 26, 2013
    10
    Don't let some of the reviews dissuade you. People who expect everything to be voice acted and hate to read are simply being lazy and missing how the game was actually designed and that was to be built to be easily used as a foundation for users to create their own campaigns within a world they love. Saying that the text is too much to read or the combat is too easy is flat out silly andDon't let some of the reviews dissuade you. People who expect everything to be voice acted and hate to read are simply being lazy and missing how the game was actually designed and that was to be built to be easily used as a foundation for users to create their own campaigns within a world they love. Saying that the text is too much to read or the combat is too easy is flat out silly and shows a poor understanding of the game style and genre.

    The art is solid and clean, as is the music. It exists and gives a great feel to the world and the campaign that comes with.

    Combat is not very challenging but that may simply be a fault of the included campaign not being designed with difficulty in mind and more a neat showcase with a good story. Players of the tabletop rpg will be at home in the world and system for the most part.

    The downsides being that the checkpoint system is annoying but I feel that is mission design more than game itself (as changes to level design and the like could mitigate this)

    The shortness of the included campaign might be noted but at the same time there are games put out with higher price tags that provide WAAAAY less content and quality.

    So don't let the naysayers get you down, most of those zero reviews and such are from people who want a triple A title from a major studio and instead got a good isometric rpg and don't understand why it isn't what they wanted.    … Expand
  35. juanjuan
    Jul 26, 2013
    4
    interesting design, good story elements, great nostalgia value, so why such a low score?

    because i find myself not even wanting to play it due to the unreliability of the save system. playing for 25 minutes and have it crash? or suddenly need to shut down the game and leave? well get ready to lose all of your progress no matter what. no common autosaves or manual save function. (the    interesting design, good story elements, great nostalgia value, so why such a low score?

    because i find myself not even wanting to play it due to the unreliability of the save system. playing for 25 minutes and have it crash? or suddenly need to shut down the game and leave? well get ready to lose all of your progress no matter what. no common autosaves or manual save function. (the ancient "save point" system was more reliable than this. i understand manual saves giving to much power to the player, but it's not hart to have a good auto-save system. look at dark souls, you can't exploit saves like in skyrim, but damn well wherever you are, you can quit and feel safe that you are going to pick up in the same spot without losing 20 minutes of gameplay.

    heck, get to a new area with shops and stuff? better quit now, you can't adjust your stats and inventory before calling it quits.

    it is just impossible to play this game comfortably when you don't know whether or not you are safe to play it, unless you have hours to dedicate. even then, it's unreliable for whenever you have to quit. just got to a new area, and going somewhere in half an hour? you can't be sure you'll be done it time. don't enjoy that sense of discomfort looming over your head do you?

    all in all, a great game devastated by some unnaturally bad game mechanics.

    recommend not buying unless they patch it.    … Expand
  36. DarkDrakonis
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    An amazing game living up to the Shadowrun name. If you weren't a fan of the series before you should be now. Beautiful artwork and great tactical strategy elements mixed with true Shadowrun RPG style. Also the ability to create your own complete runs adds INFINITE possibilities.

    This game has SERIOUS superior re-playability
  37. Duro
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    It will take you back to the 80's when games made you think. Yes you read ALOT and the story is heavy if you decide to take in all the information given. The atmosphere is simply amazing. With simple stylized graphics that would make any cyberpunk fan happy. It is Bladerunner and Dungeons & Dragons rolled into one sexy low priced package. If you played the Super Nintendo Shadowrun youIt will take you back to the 80's when games made you think. Yes you read ALOT and the story is heavy if you decide to take in all the information given. The atmosphere is simply amazing. With simple stylized graphics that would make any cyberpunk fan happy. It is Bladerunner and Dungeons & Dragons rolled into one sexy low priced package. If you played the Super Nintendo Shadowrun you will be very happy. This game is not for everyone but if you want something different then this is for you. I really wish more games were made like this, its very very rare to see a gem like this. With user generated content and campaigns, the replay value is limitless.… Expand
  38. Joe3042
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    Great plot, great dialogue. It's a short story, but with the promise of community-made stories moving forward it's forgiving.

    The gripes with the savepoints is legitimate, though. It's frustrating even in safe houses, when you've dug through a half-dozen pages of dialogue, only to not be able to save and have to re-read them next playthrough. To the Gen-Y kids expecting a sandbox    Great plot, great dialogue. It's a short story, but with the promise of community-made stories moving forward it's forgiving.

    The gripes with the savepoints is legitimate, though. It's frustrating even in safe houses, when you've dug through a half-dozen pages of dialogue, only to not be able to save and have to re-read them next playthrough.

    To the Gen-Y kids expecting a sandbox free-roam action RPG though, good lord. Nobody born in the 80s who enjoyed the SNES/Genesis titles were expecting that sort of game, why were you? Kids today.

    Thanks for the great platform, I look forward to a lot of great stories.

    Please address the savepoint issues, though.    … Expand
  39. rhetoric1984
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    One of the most satisfying gaming experiences I've had in a long time. Shadowrun Returns is what it is, unabashedly a throw back jam to the good ole' days. It's locations and characters are so enthralling, however, that I found myself getting giddy at the mere thought of expandable content down the road. THis first installment seemed to be a crash course in Shadowrun, and I feel likeOne of the most satisfying gaming experiences I've had in a long time. Shadowrun Returns is what it is, unabashedly a throw back jam to the good ole' days. It's locations and characters are so enthralling, however, that I found myself getting giddy at the mere thought of expandable content down the road. THis first installment seemed to be a crash course in Shadowrun, and I feel like theres much more to come… Expand
  40. xhorathor
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    i really liked the old snes shadowrun,ive read some books and i m glad that they made shadowrun Returns.
    it s a unique Setting and fun to Play but you will have to read allot and the save system is not for everyone.
    i love this game so far we will see if Players will Keep the game alive with new content.
  41. papasavant
    Jul 26, 2013
    1
    Tabletop and Sega Genesis player here. This game has me pretty pissed off. As many others have noted--it is LINEAR. Wtf? I was so excited that I even survived the first few missions thinking it was a railroad track tutorial, but that the world eventually open up in glory. I even thought there might be the ability to talk to a Johnson and do a matrix run to farm some infos after ITabletop and Sega Genesis player here. This game has me pretty pissed off. As many others have noted--it is LINEAR. Wtf? I was so excited that I even survived the first few missions thinking it was a railroad track tutorial, but that the world eventually open up in glory. I even thought there might be the ability to talk to a Johnson and do a matrix run to farm some infos after I unlocked the main base, because, like a fool, I rolled a Decker. Totally disappointed. Boring boring boring. Roll a Troll Samurai with a shotgun to speed up the train to the inevitable, and disappointing, end of the game. I rate this a "1" because it is yet another Kickstarter bull$hit game so some burned out has-beens can ruin a great idea/franchise with poor, shallow implementation. The only reason it even got a "1" is because it put me in the mood to play the Sega Genesis version for the millionth time (and still enjoy). BOO.… Expand
  42. CyberWraith81
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    Shadowrun Returns is exactly what it is meant the be: The ultimate cyberpunk RPG maker tool kit. This is less a game and more a 20 dollar version of RPG Maker that is geared to make Shadowrun games. Considering that RPG Maker VX Ace is a 50 dollar program and you have to do all the programming, this toolkit is amazing. It's also integrated seamlessly into the steam workshop and there isShadowrun Returns is exactly what it is meant the be: The ultimate cyberpunk RPG maker tool kit. This is less a game and more a 20 dollar version of RPG Maker that is geared to make Shadowrun games. Considering that RPG Maker VX Ace is a 50 dollar program and you have to do all the programming, this toolkit is amazing. It's also integrated seamlessly into the steam workshop and there is already a community driven effort to recreate all the classic modules via the editor. BEST THING EVER!… Expand
  43. SuperSly
    Jul 25, 2013
    10
    Finally, a real quality old school RPG.

    Crazy good story, Very fun and addictive gameplay, Character customization is awesome and easy. The game offer a good overall quality. This game prove something, Gameplay and story matter more than Special effect and eye candies. I hope to see more of that kind of game. I'm waiting for wastelands 2 and planescape, I hope they will be as    Finally, a real quality old school RPG.

    Crazy good story, Very fun and addictive gameplay, Character customization is awesome and easy.
    The game offer a good overall quality.

    This game prove something, Gameplay and story matter more than Special effect and eye candies.

    I hope to see more of that kind of game. I'm waiting for wastelands 2 and planescape, I hope they will be as good at this one.

    Finally, if you like games like the old Fallout series. This game is a must to buy.    … Expand
  44. Prizil
    Jul 28, 2013
    0
    No manual saving. No VO. No choices with actual impact. Short. Mediocre combat thats a bad knockoff of XCOM. Poor writing with exposition dump load screens
  45. ragehavoc
    Jul 25, 2013
    4
    This game is nothing but an XCOM enemy unknown clone and a bad one at that. The story is incredibly predictable, linear and there is no depth whatsoever. The game doesn't even have a save ability outside of an autosave that happens maybe once every 30 minutes to an hour. It is not worth anyone money unless you enjoy bad cloned iphone games.
  46. Catlin
    Jul 25, 2013
    1
    I am sorry but this game is utter crap. Its like a linear graphic novel with no impact on the story or choice in the dialogue.

    The interface is made for tablets and doesn't work well at all with the pc. The combat is way too repetitive and offers little feeling of reward. Barely any customization at all. Certain playstyles are rewarded more than others meaning if you decide to    I am sorry but this game is utter crap. Its like a linear graphic novel with no impact on the story or choice in the dialogue.

    The interface is made for tablets and doesn't work well at all with the pc.

    The combat is way too repetitive and offers little feeling of reward.

    Barely any customization at all.

    Certain playstyles are rewarded more than others meaning if you decide to play it not the way it was made for you are not going to have much fun.    … Expand
  47. abraxes
    Jul 25, 2013
    0
    This game is billed as being an amazing, in depth RPG with tons of choice and customization. What it actually is a super simplified version of Shadowrun that is planning on relying on user created content to make it worth the price; I was so completely bored an hour in (there is literally nothing to do but fight-- by pointing and clicking endlessly, with no need to do otherwise toThis game is billed as being an amazing, in depth RPG with tons of choice and customization. What it actually is a super simplified version of Shadowrun that is planning on relying on user created content to make it worth the price; I was so completely bored an hour in (there is literally nothing to do but fight-- by pointing and clicking endlessly, with no need to do otherwise to succeed-- and read endless walls of text. Reading the text is more or less just a chore, as opposed to an interesting plot driver, once you realize that nothing you say matters in terms of what comes next. Totally linear, totally simple, totally boring. Skip this one if you have anything better to do at all.… Expand
  48. moarage
    Jul 25, 2013
    0
    It's a game designed with iOS in mind. UI is oversimplified. Moreover no manual save, no loot, no inventory, in a freaking RPG. All in all it seems very lackluster with the goal of being a quick money grab.
  49. Zerrian
    Aug 5, 2013
    9
    I'm really enjoying this game even though others complain that the game is too linear. I love games with a great story line and for me, it's doing just that. It's pulling me in with a very "who-done-it" murder mystery and allowing me to fill in the blanks with multiple conversation choices. The side quests are great too, which add little tidbits to the current quest you're trying toI'm really enjoying this game even though others complain that the game is too linear. I love games with a great story line and for me, it's doing just that. It's pulling me in with a very "who-done-it" murder mystery and allowing me to fill in the blanks with multiple conversation choices. The side quests are great too, which add little tidbits to the current quest you're trying to complete.

    Some of the things I love about this game, right off the bat, creating my character. Spending karma points seemed a bit daunting at first but then loved the way they built the skill tree like structure. Once I took a minute to study how it worked, it made so much sense and seemed natural. You want better melee skills, well you better be strong first. The other item I enjoyed is the art style used to create the game. The like camera angle and point-click was a great way to interact with the game. What I also like about the game is that anyone can make their own Shadowrun and present it to the world as user created content to get even more use out of the game.

    The only two negative things for me so far are is that it's linear (but this is only a small complaint in my book) and the lack of save feature. The only way to save is via the auto-save at the start of each level. I must have had to restart the 3rd chapter 3-4 times before I finally had enough time to get past a stuck point and move on with the story line.

    All in all, I gave the game a 9/10 due to the lack of saving any time or a better auto-save feature. It's still a great game regardless of this point and anyone that loves a RPG/Strategy game will be sure to love this, especially with the fantasy/sci-fi blend it presents.    … Expand
  50. rattrap2474
    Aug 5, 2013
    8
    A wonderful game all around. Captures the feel of the game and several old video games. I've played through the game and the interface is very clean. I'm glad that the crowd source worked for them.
  51. c_woolley
    Mar 21, 2014
    9
    Would have given the game a 10 except for the very short length of the main story. Regardless, it was a lot of fun to play through and I've done so more than 4 times with different characters.
  52. SpecimenB
    Apr 25, 2014
    9
    I've always loved the Shadowrun universe since playing it on pen and paper back in the day. This game stays true. Well designed and written. I'm a big fan of the series.
  53. Ferrante
    Jan 3, 2014
    8
    Shadowrun returns is a good game, in the spirit of old RPG's. Graphics are so pretty and combat is very tactical (is a shame enemies in normal mode are too easy, but that's probably to avoid troll younger players). The story is fluid enough to keep you in the trail. With time, the game is going better and better. I don't complain about the Autosave, that's part of the game and you usuallyShadowrun returns is a good game, in the spirit of old RPG's. Graphics are so pretty and combat is very tactical (is a shame enemies in normal mode are too easy, but that's probably to avoid troll younger players). The story is fluid enough to keep you in the trail. With time, the game is going better and better. I don't complain about the Autosave, that's part of the game and you usually will not die so it is not that bad, but, even when I know a RPG is not a Sandbox, the campaign could give us more choices, I mainly missed a MAP, so you could move through the city. Some interface choices are bad too, like that avoiding you change your equipment until you buy something or reach your locker. In the end, the game is more enjoyable than a lot of big titles out there and it deserves everyone in RPG or Tactical mood gives it a chance.… Expand
  54. CoreDave
    Dec 18, 2014
    8
    Old school isometric rpg adventure with bags of character a great plot and plenty of modern innovation and enhancements. Looks great, plays great and will have you immersed in this bizarre dystopian future for hours upon hours.
  55. JRice
    Oct 2, 2014
    8
    Very good, uncomplicated and linear role-playing game which is settled in a cyberpunk world, that combines elements of reality, fantasy and science fiction.
    I enjoy the (simple but intuitive) game mechanics, the (Xcom-like) combat, the storyline (in which you try to find a serial killer) and my character developement a lot, havent discovered any bug so far and always knew what i should do    Very good, uncomplicated and linear role-playing game which is settled in a cyberpunk world, that combines elements of reality, fantasy and science fiction.
    I enjoy the (simple but intuitive) game mechanics, the (Xcom-like) combat, the storyline (in which you try to find a serial killer) and my character developement a lot, havent discovered any bug so far and always knew what i should do next.

    Havent had so much enjoyment in a long time, and therefore, can easily recommend!    … Expand
  56. Lamp
    May 5, 2020
    10
    The Shadowrun Returns trilogy (this game aka Dead Man's Switch, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong) are some of the best tactical RPGs I've ever played. I admit I'm a huge fanboy of Harebrained Schemes for both this series and Battletech; can't wait for their next games. Been a while since I played any of them but,

    Pros: -Atmosphere, including music, visual art direction, and pacing    The Shadowrun Returns trilogy (this game aka Dead Man's Switch, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong) are some of the best tactical RPGs I've ever played. I admit I'm a huge fanboy of Harebrained Schemes for both this series and Battletech; can't wait for their next games. Been a while since I played any of them but,

    Pros:
    -Atmosphere, including music, visual art direction, and pacing
    -Satisfying combat
    -Specialization and unit customization / upgrades
    -Amazing dialog and dialog choices
    -All missions unique and worthwhile
    -Well designed overworld, perfect for chilling in between missions

    Cons:
    -Some technical issues and lack of user friendliness, such as figuring out whether gear can be equipped on your fellow shadowrunners    … Expand
  57. Klewer
    Aug 26, 2014
    8
    A highly enjoyable action/RPG with a great story and very fun combat elements. Game looks great and well worth a look for anyone who enjoys this mix of genres.
  58. MetaviraVet
    Jul 24, 2014
    8
    Combat is a bit simpler than I like it, but it's a good successor to the franchise. Very texty, it almost feels like an oldschool RPG experience with lots of text to click through. The story is good, the setting works well and the puzzles are a challenge.
    The fights can be a bit long though, and I wish there were more character customisation. Still, definitely worth a player for any RPG    Combat is a bit simpler than I like it, but it's a good successor to the franchise. Very texty, it almost feels like an oldschool RPG experience with lots of text to click through. The story is good, the setting works well and the puzzles are a challenge.
    The fights can be a bit long though, and I wish there were more character customisation. Still, definitely worth a player for any RPG fan who likes slower-paced games.    … Expand
  59. Morphi
    Jan 6, 2014
    8
    Shadowrun Returns is a game for "old school" gamers who like old school turn based RPG's :D
    It has an awesome art design, and soundtrack, but most important for this type of games, it has tons of text a good quality dialog.
    Some say it's a short game. Maybe....but i put in 37 hours, and you will find interesting content created by fans with that awesome Editor that comes with game.    Shadowrun Returns is a game for "old school" gamers who like old school turn based RPG's :D
    It has an awesome art design, and soundtrack, but most important for this type of games, it has tons of text a good quality dialog.
    Some say it's a short game. Maybe....but i put in 37 hours, and you will find interesting content created by fans with that awesome Editor that comes with game.
    Story is good. It can keep you on some sort of tension until you reach half of the game. After this moment the story begin to be previsible.
    It has no loot, and almost zero exploration. Yep, it's quite linear and story driven game.
    On the other hand the combat system works flawless, and the skills tree it's original and interesting. But because you can control all your party members, you will play with almost all classes available from first playthrough. So....re-playability is not so good.

    I recommend this game to those who look for an old school turn-based RPG placed in an original cyberpunk world.    … Expand
  60. PeshkForge
    Aug 15, 2013
    9
    I played and loved the tabletop games, as well as the games on the SNES and Genesis. While the game does have its rough patches, it does maintain the spirit of the games, showing the diversity that is core of the Sixth World. The character creation is ok, but I would have loved more customization options. Likewise, the campaign is short, only about 8 to 11 hours when it could have beenI played and loved the tabletop games, as well as the games on the SNES and Genesis. While the game does have its rough patches, it does maintain the spirit of the games, showing the diversity that is core of the Sixth World. The character creation is ok, but I would have loved more customization options. Likewise, the campaign is short, only about 8 to 11 hours when it could have been expanded quite more. Also, unlike the old console games, there are no side missions that would allow you to build up nuyen and equipment.
    In all, a good game that will improve with user generated content.    … Expand
  61. vorgbardo
    Feb 21, 2016
    9
    The good: for a game from a small company, this is quite brilliant. Graphics / style is top-notch, story is very well written, UI and game mechanics are mostly very good, and while some character builds definitely make thing much easier, it is possible to play the game through in many different ways.

    The ambiguous: the game has excellent, relentless pacing, it proceeds like a well-oiled    The good: for a game from a small company, this is quite brilliant. Graphics / style is top-notch, story is very well written, UI and game mechanics are mostly very good, and while some character builds definitely make thing much easier, it is possible to play the game through in many different ways.

    The ambiguous: the game has excellent, relentless pacing, it proceeds like a well-oiled machine. I did appreciate a lot that the playing time was not at any point artificially expanded by making the player travel back and forth in trivial missions of killing and/or collecting umpteen this-or-that. On the other hand, this could also be interpreted as lack of content by some, but the main storyline is so strong and offers so many hours of high-quality content that at least I felt I got my money's worth and then some. Also, given the small budget there is no voice acting; I did not miss it in the slightest, but some may have a different opinion.

    The bad: there's not much, really. Some aspects of the Shadowrun world are not in the game, but I never missed them, the game is really impressive and highly enjoyable as it is. And it would be nice to have an option to switch the fighting mode on and off, or at the very least be able to switch the active character when not in the fighting mode. Minor things that I almost feel ashamed to bring up, all things considered.

    TL;DR – 9/10, isometric RPG with very few downsides, loved it.    … Expand
  62. DeusXCom
    Oct 24, 2014
    10
    Fantastic cyberpunk experience and a very pleasant surprise demonstrating that even on low budget you can create a wonderful game.

    Sure, there are some budget shortcomings such as no voice overs, not only dialog, but there is actually not a single voice in the entire game, but I grew up on 90's RPGs, so I got used to extensive reading quickly and the game rewarded me with superb story    Fantastic cyberpunk experience and a very pleasant surprise demonstrating that even on low budget you can create a wonderful game.

    Sure, there are some budget shortcomings such as no voice overs, not only dialog, but there is actually not a single voice in the entire game, but I grew up on 90's RPGs, so I got used to extensive reading quickly and the game rewarded me with superb story from the Shadowrun universe.

    A lot of the criticism is about the linearity of the game, which is true, but it didn't really bother me as it helped the storytelling pace to be more focused and without any weak points. I was enjoying the atmosphere and was intrigued by the story, expecting what will happen next. Descriptions of the world, the characters, dialogs, it's all written very well.

    Don't expect a typical RPG with huge world where you can do anything, loot and so on (there isn't even proper inventory management and looting is mostly absent here), this is more of a story driven experience with some RPG elements and tactical turn-based combat ala X-Com which is very nicely done and there is a right amount of challenge. I like the variations of classes, different weapons, magic worked nicely, I played as a Decker and the infiltration where you hack into the matrix to achieve the security breach and you must be quick as the other party members are protecting you from the threats in the real world, experiences like this are what made this game unique and why I love it so much.

    Also, after a recent disappointment with ugly visuals of Wasteland 2, another Kickstarter project using the same engine, I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised by all the beautiful hand-drawn visuals here, locations and environments are just gorgeous, most characters have their own hand-drawn pictures and the overall art style is very impressive. Sometimes I just stopped for a moment and appreciated the beauty. The whole thing oozes cyberpunk atmosphere which is supported by a fitting electronic soundtrack.

    There is a minor gripe here, ambient tracks are fine, but the combat music is too short and repetitive and because turn-based battles here can last quite some time it repeats on loop over and over and it gets annoying. Another criticism I read in reviews is the absence of manual save and some bugs, but I played already the patched version, where not only you could save and quick save at your own leisure, but I haven't found a single bug in the entire game, completely bug-free (if I don't count the actually bug creatures in the story of course) and that deserves a big thumbs up, especially since this game runs on Unity engine and up to this point, my experience with Unity was extremely bad as all Unity games I played were completely infested with technical glitches, bad optimization and tons of other problems, be it Wasteland 2 or Might & Magic X, so I was afraid Shadowrun will suffer the same symptoms, but obviously when your developers are not completely incompetent, you can create 100% smooth ride even in Unity.

    I didn't expect it, but to my surprise Shadowrun Returns is a cyberpunk masterpiece, I loved every minute of it and can strongly recommend it. Looking forward to play Dragonfall expansion. 10/10    … Expand
  63. Troublewalking
    May 28, 2015
    8
    I got this game way past it's sell date. Picked it up on a weekend sale off steam for $2.49 (usually $14.99). All I can say is if your missing that Shadworun vibe this game is a great simple turn based combat RPG. The game has it's flaws as it is very stripped down. Not enough cyberware. It's best to min/max your character. Sometimes you can't figure out how your whole team had 3 actionsI got this game way past it's sell date. Picked it up on a weekend sale off steam for $2.49 (usually $14.99). All I can say is if your missing that Shadworun vibe this game is a great simple turn based combat RPG. The game has it's flaws as it is very stripped down. Not enough cyberware. It's best to min/max your character. Sometimes you can't figure out how your whole team had 3 actions and all of them missed a guy with 1 hp left with a 99% chance to hit. Saves are at odd points. Some runs are too simple. Some seem to have way to many enemies. But it certainly has the SR vibe. And not many games have it these days. But with all it's flaws, it's SR vibe and turn based combat is great addictive (though sometimes annoying) fun. This game is so good, I find myself desperate for a SR group or MMO.… Expand
  64. StrategyStormer
    Aug 23, 2014
    9
    Incredible. Simply incredible.
    Having never heard of Shadowrun, apart from a mere read of one or two reviews of the XBOX shooter, I decided to try Shadowrun Returns, and as an RPG, it sounded more up my alley.
    I'll just start off with the story that's included with the game, 'Dead Man's Switch'. Dead Man's Switch starts off with your character that you made (it could be an Ork, a Troll,    Incredible. Simply incredible.
    Having never heard of Shadowrun, apart from a mere read of one or two reviews of the XBOX shooter, I decided to try Shadowrun Returns, and as an RPG, it sounded more up my alley.
    I'll just start off with the story that's included with the game, 'Dead Man's Switch'. Dead Man's Switch starts off with your character that you made (it could be an Ork, a Troll, a Dwarf, etc) getting a message from a dead man, asking you to avenge his death.
    Sounds intriguing, no? I won't spoil anything major for you, but there are some serious things happening behind the scenes and some people pulling a lot of strings.
    The gameplay is an isometric RPG, with tactical round based combat. You have action points, which dictate how many moves you can take or what powers you can utilize each turn, and you can customize your character with guns, drones and magic.
    One of the highlights of the game for me is the Matrix. With any Decker character, you can plug yourself into ports and transfer an avatar of yourself into cyberspace. Not only does the Matrix look nice, the music is chilling (throughout the whole game, actually, the music is engaging) and the unique concepts within the Matrix are brilliant- there are some things inside the Matrix that actually hurt your real self- so be careful how much physical health you have before plugging yourself in!
    I did have a few problems with the game sometimes, however, such as not being able to save mid-mission, and the weapon system not being explained enough (why can't I equip a spell alongside my gun and drone?), but overall, a game that is definitely worth your time.    … Expand
  65. LarsWS
    Apr 4, 2015
    9
    For me this was an almost perfect experience of being drawn into the magical-cybertech-world of Shadowrun. I enjoyed it like I've only enjoyed few gamers over the last few years.
  66. Ryyx
    Jan 11, 2015
    9
    How do you rate a game like this? It's not a graphical masterpiece, it's not a technical innovator, it's not the most orriginal story, and the setting is one that is amongst the oddest ever conceived for an RPG. Elves, trolls, dwarves and Orcs, magic, and cyberpunk, in a futuristic blade runner inspired near future setting.

    What sounds absurd on paper, in the rights hands becomes a    How do you rate a game like this? It's not a graphical masterpiece, it's not a technical innovator, it's not the most orriginal story, and the setting is one that is amongst the oddest ever conceived for an RPG. Elves, trolls, dwarves and Orcs, magic, and cyberpunk, in a futuristic blade runner inspired near future setting.

    What sounds absurd on paper, in the rights hands becomes a menagerie of flavors that compliment each other and surprise you with how well they work.

    So how do you review a game made by fans of the original setting and SNES video game, using a tablet friendly game engine and less than a blockbuster titles budget?

    Well, I can't recommend it to everyone. This is not a game that sells itself. This isn't Fallout, or Skyrim...

    This is shadowrun, you either know what Shadowrun is/was (if your like me, it's because you'd stay up till 4 am rolling 6 sided dice trying to keep yourself from being clobbered by a troll street samurai while the elf hacked the matrix trying to steal the data your employer wanted. Or because you played the faithful SNES game back in the 90s that was a cult classic).

    IF you are familiar with Shadowrun and were a fan, especially if you liked the SNES game from the 90s, you will almost certainly love this game. You might not rate it as highly, but if you keep your expectations set to INDY Tablet Title, you will be pleasantly surprised.

    But what if you are not a fan? How do I begin? Let me just tell you the facts:

    The game is a nod to traditional isometric tactical RPG's similar to Fallout 1-2 and tactics, but far less crunchy and complicated. The RPG elements are light, but satisfyingly complex enough so that you can quickly see what stats to increase with Karma, and still need to think about what you really need to boost, and whats a waste.

    The turn based tactical combat has clearly been designed to be a faithful rendering of what our imaginations looked like when we played the game with dice, but without the hardcore complexity some people might crave. The combat was clearly designed to be accessible to newcomers to the genre, but still deep enough to allow power players a way to crush encounters with superior tactics and planning.

    If you are looking for a complex turn based tactical similar set in shadow run, you will be disappointed. This is meant to be an accessible Tactical RPG adventure crafted by people who are serious fans of the setting. This is ultimately what can make or break the gameplay of this game for some people. As I have read many reviews that suggest the tactical element is not as deep as they hoped... while others, myself included, are happy to see the tactical parts are only as deep as they need to be to convey a challenge but also keep the story moving.

    The story is IMHO superb. some might call is cliched, but anyone who knows shadowrun, knows the entire setting is supposed to be a cliche. It's supposed to be Blade runner meets Middle earth, with some native American shamanism and some voodoo thrown in for good measure.

    Add to the fact hat this game is aimed at people who know the setting, and you will find if you are a newcomer, that some of the characters are clearly meant to be familiar, but you won't know anything about them, specifically right off in the early game you meet a character who fans of the SNES game will immediately recognize. (not a spoiler, it's in the first 10 minutes). So that means this game isn't just full of cliches, it's a cliche of itself.

    The graphics are top notch, and run full blast on even the most basic PC I own, the characters appear to be fully 3d renderings, complete with a basic character editor to choose hair, skin and other details, and clothing that can change your appearance. It would have been nice to include a way to see the clothing before you put it on, but thats a minor point.

    The environments are technically created as tiles of some sort, but they tend to look hand drawn as if someone drew the scenes in some art program, the way the elements blend together to create areas and scenes, when coupled with the basic lighting effects really manage to hit the sweet spot for charming artistic graphics.

    The music and sound all feel right where they need to be, and while it would have been nice to have some voice acting to save you from having to read a lot... it never bothered me a bit, because the writing is well done, and like a good book, you will probably find yourself unable to put it down once you get going.

    Overall, I would say to a fan of the setting and SNES game, this is a MUST play game... to everyone else, I think it would be a fine game for your tablet or if you are looking for something quirky and different and yet fairly accessible.

    Keep in mind the developers wisely made a toolset so players can make their own content, and many have already done so. So presumably your adventure doesn't have to end, you can make more!    … Expand
  67. ComandanteCobra
    Oct 6, 2016
    9
    I got this game by steam sale (cheap) and I liked It a lot.
    It has the feeling of the old rpg of the 80's so much that , after years and years, i begin to play a pen & paper Shadowrun short campaign with my family and friends.
    The only cons is limited replayability.
    Will follow Harebrained Schemes in the future.
  68. gamerz4life
    Sep 27, 2020
    9
    I didn’t expect much for Shadowrun Returns, but I was quite surprised. Shadowrun has some very remarkable characters and story that was enjoyable, and its RPG like character interactions of which blend well into the universe and story. Its combat is in the same vein of X-com in that it is a top down turn based strategy (Magic/Shooter) which works very well so if you like X-com you will beI didn’t expect much for Shadowrun Returns, but I was quite surprised. Shadowrun has some very remarkable characters and story that was enjoyable, and its RPG like character interactions of which blend well into the universe and story. Its combat is in the same vein of X-com in that it is a top down turn based strategy (Magic/Shooter) which works very well so if you like X-com you will be right at home in Shadowrun (would recommend).… Expand
  69. maxentropy
    Jun 24, 2020
    8
    Good scenario, even story is linear, nice characters and enjoyable tactical part.
  70. Tomicsavo
    Feb 17, 2020
    10
    Very nice game with good story and possibilities. First free games that got me.
  71. Nelvar
    Oct 10, 2013
    8
    Amazing game. I didn't play the original game (in fact I didn't even know anything about it 'till I played this one). The first few seconds I was skeptical about me really getting to play the game 'cause of the very retro artstyle and high emphasis on reading and reading and reading more texts...

    But then I just decided to give it a chance... and boy am I glad I did. This game has the    Amazing game. I didn't play the original game (in fact I didn't even know anything about it 'till I played this one). The first few seconds I was skeptical about me really getting to play the game 'cause of the very retro artstyle and high emphasis on reading and reading and reading more texts...

    But then I just decided to give it a chance... and boy am I glad I did.
    This game has the soul that games like FF7 had. It has a lot of charisma in it and how the universe, the story, the soundtrack (AMAZING) and the design become one and sucks you right in all the way to the end make this game outstanding.

    It's not perfect tho, you seem to be able to make a lot of decisions but it's all a lie, almost nothing you choose to do actually change anything in the game.
    And at some point I got a bug that froze the mission and got me stuck to the point I had to load an earlier save, like some script wouldn't happen or something... and that's a bad thing.

    Other than that, it's one of those ''special games'', I really liked it.    … Expand
  72. Azurim
    Jul 31, 2013
    7
    The game has an interesting plot. However there isn't much you can do to affect the plot, as it seems. The RPG system is actually very nice and original in my oppinion, as are the game mechanics (decking, spells e.t.c.). The graphics are old-school, but they are pleasant for the eye. I would give it a 8-9 if it was a bit more polished. It's a good game but don't expect it to be somethingThe game has an interesting plot. However there isn't much you can do to affect the plot, as it seems. The RPG system is actually very nice and original in my oppinion, as are the game mechanics (decking, spells e.t.c.). The graphics are old-school, but they are pleasant for the eye. I would give it a 8-9 if it was a bit more polished. It's a good game but don't expect it to be something extra-ordinary.… Expand
  73. bionicbaz
    Aug 2, 2013
    8
    The main Shadowrun campaign has taken a lot of hostility for not being open world enough or as endlessly branching as other traditional tactical RGPs, however this is, perhaps, missing the point. The campaign serves as an introduction to the mechanics and the core concepts of the world whilst keeping to a small, tightly woven narrative and for the most part, it achieves this, despiteThe main Shadowrun campaign has taken a lot of hostility for not being open world enough or as endlessly branching as other traditional tactical RGPs, however this is, perhaps, missing the point. The campaign serves as an introduction to the mechanics and the core concepts of the world whilst keeping to a small, tightly woven narrative and for the most part, it achieves this, despite resorting to leading players by the nose.
    Playing through the first hour and beyond, it feels as if harebrained schemes had the intention of creating a vast open world and aborted their effort early on in order to focus on the story editor.
    This means that while the main campaign doesn't fully explore its multitude of good ideas (ie; making creative use of the matrix/ exploring the many cultures, groups and factions), the editor seems versatile enough to allow to players to do that themselves.
    Having toyed around with the editor, I see no reason why open world, branching stories won't become available in the near future.
    Conversation branches are reasonably easy to create, as are convincing hand drawn locations. Given a little creativity on the community's part, Shadowrun may soon balloon with deep, engaging stories that go beyond the main campaign.    … Expand
  74. MikeLane
    Aug 10, 2013
    9
    A solid, old-school tactical RPG that stays true to its source material and remains fun to play on followup character builds. SRR is very obviously a work in progress, with the scope hopefully widening considerably in the upcoming Berlin expansion. The editor is going to be its ace-in-the-hole, with user content building an effectively infinite number of 'runs for players to explore.A solid, old-school tactical RPG that stays true to its source material and remains fun to play on followup character builds. SRR is very obviously a work in progress, with the scope hopefully widening considerably in the upcoming Berlin expansion. The editor is going to be its ace-in-the-hole, with user content building an effectively infinite number of 'runs for players to explore. This'll be a good one.
    Oh, and to offer a counterpoint I actually appreciated the lack of an on-demand save feature. It required a little thought and care not to get killed. And your biggest setback was maybe 20 minutes of play, if that.    … Expand
  75. 57ashdot
    Aug 15, 2013
    3
    I LOVE the Shadowrun universe and have been a fan for 18 years, but turn-based combat should be left for the pen and paper, it is tedious and boring as a video game; We have the ability to bake in those mechanics into the code. (ex. instead of AP and movement space, you can create action timers and movement speeds to create real-time combat that reflect if a character is fast or slow,I LOVE the Shadowrun universe and have been a fan for 18 years, but turn-based combat should be left for the pen and paper, it is tedious and boring as a video game; We have the ability to bake in those mechanics into the code. (ex. instead of AP and movement space, you can create action timers and movement speeds to create real-time combat that reflect if a character is fast or slow, clumsy or nimble, etc.). Please don't make me suffer through 10 minutes of a gunfight that should take 30 seconds.

    I really would have enjoyed the game more if it had been built more like the open-world action RPG that was launched for the Sega Genesis wayyy back in 94'. The depth of the character level-up system, the endless amount of runs, the ability to just surf through the Matrix whenever, hiring a dedicated team of runners and specializing them....it is actually the reason I started playing the pen and paper version! Alas, there is none of that to be found in this title.

    Also, the storyline was incredibly linear (although very well done), and I felt like I was just clicking here and there to advance a story book rather than playing a game and controlling the outcome. There were extremely few ways to earn extra money or karma, and since the enemies just kept scaling I didn't feel like I was "preparing" for the next big challenge, I more felt like I was just spending karma to "keep up" with where the storyline was forcing me to go. I even got in trouble sometimes because I would spend karma incorrectly or not hire enough runners, trying to save up for goodies, only to get stuck because I couldn't go back once I had traveled to the next location for the storyline. I even had to start over once because of it. Horrible gameplay mechanics.

    The Matrix was pretty lackluster as well, it was just too easy to get done what you needed to in the Matrix. Both the pen and paper and action-RPG version of Shadowrun turned the Matrix into a place exclusively for deckers, that was challenging and required a ton of specialization to use correctly, but was extremely rewarding to master if you did. In this title, you are hand-held through the "mandatory" Matrix runs and don't really benefit from spending points in it. The lingo is dumbed down to appeal to the masses instead of retaining some of its true-to-life computer terminology. Combating IC is just as boring as regular combat. It was just a huge letdown, especially since I use the decker class in other Shadowrun games.

    Lastly, I have to nag on the graphics. They were just WAY too cartoon-ish. The Shadowrun universe is dark and scary, full of seedy characters and dangerous creatures, and leaves you feeling uneasy about doing the simplest things, similar to the vibes of Diablo. I think even a small child would have difficulty feeling scared or nervous with how it is illustrated currently.

    I really wanted this game to succeed, because it could lead to better Shadowrun titles in the future that fix all the problems with this one, but I highly doubt that the public will give it another go after 2 botched games in a row for the Shadowrun series. Harebrained might have buried the series once and for all     … Expand
  76. vanvalhir
    Jul 28, 2013
    5
    I started to play the game with hope, but overall I am disappointed.

    The things I liked: - storyline written by some Shadowrun writer, enjoyed it - decking reality real time combat - music Things I disliked : - totally linear, your conversation choices are mostly neglected, lack of freedom you cannot even go through the city as you want, just game takes control. - no    I started to play the game with hope, but overall I am disappointed.

    The things I liked:

    - storyline written by some Shadowrun writer, enjoyed it
    - decking reality real time combat
    - music

    Things I disliked :

    - totally linear, your conversation choices are mostly neglected, lack of freedom you cannot even go through the city as you want, just game takes control.
    - no saving, just checkpoints which can make you to lose 20-30 min of gameplay. What is "Rewind and copy!?"
    - short, taken me roughly 10h to finish.
    - static terrain and actors (the background is very tidely drawn though)
    - no voice acting, not even the major characters (like in Neverwinter nights 1)
    - extremely simplified no ammo,    … Expand
  77. karkarias77
    Jul 31, 2013
    7
    The Good: Atmosphere, variety of character options, decent music, good story, nice writing and, presumably, future community made content.

    The Bad: Character options, whilst varied, don't seem to matter much in terms of gameplay. Very limited and basic combat with no real strategy available or indeed needed. No exploration. Poor A.I. Finally, there's no challenge even on hardest    The Good: Atmosphere, variety of character options, decent music, good story, nice writing and, presumably, future community made content.

    The Bad: Character options, whilst varied, don't seem to matter much in terms of gameplay. Very limited and basic combat with no real strategy available or indeed needed. No exploration. Poor A.I. Finally, there's no challenge even on hardest difficulty setting since I stumbled around like a clueless fool and still only died once.    … Expand
  78. 19x
    Aug 19, 2013
    4
    Looks and plays like a 10 year old PC game you would find in a bargain bin.

    Absolutely no variety in combat. Guns, magic, and the matrix all play the same way. The "Matrix" is the same combat system as the real world. Programs are spells, the bad guys are ICE. To call this game tactical is a joke. Combat plays like a boxing match I hit you hit me. No need to position your    Looks and plays like a 10 year old PC game you would find in a bargain bin.

    Absolutely no variety in combat. Guns, magic, and the matrix all play the same way. The "Matrix" is the same combat system as the real world. Programs are spells, the bad guys are ICE.

    To call this game tactical is a joke. Combat plays like a boxing match I hit you hit me. No need to position your team. Weapon choices matter little. Shotguns are effective from across the room

    The interface is point and click, but it struggles to work correctly. Often failing to find the click point of a item or a target. The entire game feels slow. Moving your character, going from rooms to room, feels slow.

    Really sad the bench mark for this game is a 1994 SNES or a 1995 Gensis game, and shadow runs returns fails to surpass it.    … Expand
  79. theline1982
    Sep 11, 2013
    7
    I haven't had much to do with the Shadow run universe however this brought back fond memories of when an RPG was actually that, it told a story and it told it well.
    PROS
    -I didn't have any bugs with this game which was refreshing -Storyline was great -Map editor and community access greatly enhance a games capabilities, looking forward to the custom content and user content CONS    I haven't had much to do with the Shadow run universe however this brought back fond memories of when an RPG was actually that, it told a story and it told it well.
    PROS
    -I didn't have any bugs with this game which was refreshing
    -Storyline was great
    -Map editor and community access greatly enhance a games capabilities, looking forward to the custom content and user content
    CONS
    -Seemed to easy to go down some character paths, this may be inline with the Shadowrun universe I don't know
    -Didn't seem to be any real outcomes from your decisions so from that perspective it seemed to linear

    Good start in my opinion, i got my moneys worth.    … Expand
  80. delusionn
    Jul 31, 2013
    3
    Games like this make me wonder what criteria professional reviewers grade on. This may be the most linear RPG I have ever played. There is absolutely no chance to wander around and experience the Shadowrun world in any way. The gameplay sticks you in a claustrophobic section of town, and you are never for a second in doubt of what to do next, because you have no say in the matter. AnyGames like this make me wonder what criteria professional reviewers grade on. This may be the most linear RPG I have ever played. There is absolutely no chance to wander around and experience the Shadowrun world in any way. The gameplay sticks you in a claustrophobic section of town, and you are never for a second in doubt of what to do next, because you have no say in the matter. Any choices you have as a player are irrelevant, the classes are just different glosses on two basic concepts, and for all of this at the end, all you get is some chitchat style dialogue and a page of text to read. I'm not interested in waiting around for the community to turn this game into something better, there's just not enough to work with. Uninstalling.… Expand
  81. rcketscientist
    Aug 1, 2013
    3
    Shadowrun Returns is a very poor game. I feel bad for folks who threw their support behind this game and myself for throwing an extra $5 at it.
    The bad:
    1. It's buggy. I've had to reload a map twice now due to uncompletable bugs. 2. The story is weak. It could have had some depth, but it falls way short. 3. It's very short. There doesn't seem to be any secrets or easter eggs so you can    Shadowrun Returns is a very poor game. I feel bad for folks who threw their support behind this game and myself for throwing an extra $5 at it.
    The bad:
    1. It's buggy. I've had to reload a map twice now due to uncompletable bugs.
    2. The story is weak. It could have had some depth, but it falls way short.
    3. It's very short. There doesn't seem to be any secrets or easter eggs so you can blow through this in 5 hours or so.
    4. Documentation is terrible. In-game documentation is sometimes cut off. There are incompatible skill trees that are completely undocumented. I'm currently running with 17 wasted "karma" points due to an incompatible skill tree that I couldn't know of beforehand. Online documentation is limited as well.
    5. Clunky interface. Nothing is clear, everything requires clicks. Basically you're buying a tablet game even on the pc.

    The good:
    1. The editor. Hopefully the community will make the game they should have made.
    2. Although short, there is absolutely no grind. There's not even travel for the most part, just pure action which leads to a lot of bang for your 5 hours.
    3. The hand painted art is great. Gritty atmosphere without being too dark to see.

    Conclusion:
    In the end they were paid a lot of money to do a minor Unity engine build so the community can build the game they want with a shabby interface. Does it have potential, yes. But from the community, they don't deserve full price.    … Expand
  82. jo3d1rt
    Aug 2, 2013
    3
    I love tactical strategy games and i love the cyberpunk style in games. Shadowrun Returns has it all, but is simply boring. There is no depth in the skill tree's, no voice acting and from start to end of the only main story it's simply boring. I was thinking it's only the start and i had to hang on to see the full potential of the game.. but after 3-4 boring hours of simple, non tacticI love tactical strategy games and i love the cyberpunk style in games. Shadowrun Returns has it all, but is simply boring. There is no depth in the skill tree's, no voice acting and from start to end of the only main story it's simply boring. I was thinking it's only the start and i had to hang on to see the full potential of the game.. but after 3-4 boring hours of simple, non tactic gameplay... THE GAME ENDS! NO MORE CONTENT! I was reading some reviews about this game before and i cannot get it.. 1.8 millions via Kickstarter and this is the end product? extremely disapointing.. Give me the half of that budget and i make a better game, really..… Expand
  83. dogboy907
    Aug 13, 2013
    4
    There is no way this game deserves an average rating of 7.6. Sooo many gushy reviews by fanboys. At best, this game is average, and I don't think it even reaches that high.

    I was a fan of the original SNES shadowrun game myself, so I was somewhat excited about this one. The SNES game was dark, edgy, could be intense, and fun. This game, in contrast, is a real snoozer. You're literally    There is no way this game deserves an average rating of 7.6. Sooo many gushy reviews by fanboys. At best, this game is average, and I don't think it even reaches that high.

    I was a fan of the original SNES shadowrun game myself, so I was somewhat excited about this one. The SNES game was dark, edgy, could be intense, and fun. This game, in contrast, is a real snoozer. You're literally tasked with reading a novel 90% of the time with mediocre gameplay for the remaining 10%.

    That's all this game is: it is a slightly interactive choose-your-own-adventure storybook. Except in those storybooks your choices actually matter unlike this game! And I'm sorry, this story in Shadowrun Returns is terrible. It's corny and cheesy. if you think the story in this game is actually good, you lead a very sheltered life, and you probably masturbate to anime pr0n.

    The game has high production quality as far as graphics, but the game is just not any fun at all to play. I would've much rather had a shadowrun game with crap graphics that is 80-90% action and fun to play than this turd. Overall this game is a complete disappointment and a failure. I couldn't even finish it and I have no desire to do so.    … Expand
  84. Kanimachine
    Oct 18, 2013
    3
    Shadowrun Returns is like a Big Mac. Some people think that a Big Mac is the most delicious burger in the world. The people who know better know that it's not.

    Now if you are here you are probably wondering why a game with almost 500 positive reviews have 100 negative ones. That's 1 negative for every 5 positives btw. If so, then I have one word for you, just one word: "fanboys". The    Shadowrun Returns is like a Big Mac. Some people think that a Big Mac is the most delicious burger in the world. The people who know better know that it's not.

    Now if you are here you are probably wondering why a game with almost 500 positive reviews have 100 negative ones. That's 1 negative for every 5 positives btw. If so, then I have one word for you, just one word: "fanboys". The metacritic score is of 75 is so far away from my experience that I made a metacritic accounting specifically to give this game a 3/10.

    This is supposed to be an RPG. Not a tabletop engine (which sucks anyway because so many limitations are hardcoded and cannot be changed through the modkit.)

    The campaign lasted me only 5-6 hours? and has 1 or 2 sidequests. This is fine if you are one of those who think that the Ipad is the best platform for an RPG. If so, stop reading now and buy the game. You will love it. Then, please email HBS and tell them that they are gods and they should quit developing anything for anything other than Android and IOS. If you have ever played any RPGs on any other platform that is heavier than two pounds, read on.

    The story is poorly written. The story sounds like something written by a 15 year old and you should probably be able to tell how it's gonna end by the time you get 1/3 into the campaign. Those reviewers who applauded the story must have never read a decent novel. They probably also think that Jean Claude Van Damme's movies have such good plot twists, because the plot of the campaign is on the same level as the plot of the Expendables 2. The dialogue lines are as campy as Jean-Claude's lines from ANY of his movies.

    Classes, races, and "etiquette" do not matter. "Oh hey you're a security guy, let me buy that from you for 1000 instead of 500" pretty much sums it up.

    Interface is severely clunky. Have to click everything? Yes indeed. You have to click multiple times to do things like equip a medpack or whatever they call it.

    Weapons do not matter. Anything can kill anything else. Don't like having a weapon? Doesn't matter either. You can kill anything in the game with your fists if you want.

    No ammunition. this is 2013. They have magic guns in an RPG. Kudos. It's funny when you think about it, because mages consume mana, but rocket launchers shoot forever!

    Oh yeah, the character models in the game are a little on the poor side, which I wouldn't mind if the campaign was non-linear and more open world, with a bunch of side quests and a good storyline, but it doesn't.

    I did like the pet behavior, but I don't wanna add any spoilers so you'll have to figure that one out yourself when you summon one.    … Expand
  85. TessDeMontfort
    Aug 3, 2013
    10
    What an astonishingly fun game! It's simple, it's unpretentious, and it'll keep you playing...and playing...and playing. It's easily the best turn-based tactical game of the last two years for me.

    I came into it knowing that the default adventure, Dead Man's Switch, was only one of countless adventures that were already in the works. Sure, it's a bit linear, but it's pure Shadowrun,    What an astonishingly fun game! It's simple, it's unpretentious, and it'll keep you playing...and playing...and playing. It's easily the best turn-based tactical game of the last two years for me.

    I came into it knowing that the default adventure, Dead Man's Switch, was only one of countless adventures that were already in the works. Sure, it's a bit linear, but it's pure Shadowrun, and it comes with all the options. You want your own custom character portrait? There's a way to do that. You want a particular piece of cyberware? It's probably there. You like player hideouts? There's one of those.

    If you don't end up liking Dead Man's Switch, remember that so many more adventures are in the works, including tons of 2nd Edition adventures already being made for the game, courtesy of a group called Shadowrun Identity.

    For such a versatile blast of a game, the price tag isn't bad either.    … Expand
  86. Cao655321
    Jul 30, 2013
    4
    Only one word can describe Shadowrun Returns: underwhelming. The gameplay of the included campaign is extremely linear. The mechanics are simplistic. There is no multiplayer support. The player can't even save when he wants, as the game uses a checkpoint system. The checkpoints could actually be better described as chapters in a book. As this isn't really a game so much as it's anOnly one word can describe Shadowrun Returns: underwhelming. The gameplay of the included campaign is extremely linear. The mechanics are simplistic. There is no multiplayer support. The player can't even save when he wants, as the game uses a checkpoint system. The checkpoints could actually be better described as chapters in a book. As this isn't really a game so much as it's an interactive novel.

    Browsing any forum related to this game will reveal a common hope that Shadowrun fans cling to: player-made content. In fact, I've often read about comparisons to Neverwinter Nights. These people say, "well, Neverwinter Nights had a disappointing campaign, but the mod community made the game a success!" This thought process, while it does has some merit, is rather weak. First of all, Neverwinter Nights was a success because the game shipped with an interface that allowed an electronic simulation of pen-and-paper Dungeons and Dragons. It had a strong toolset for creating content, but more importantly, it had multiplayer support with the ability for one player to play host as a gamemaster. This gamemaster could create content on the fly and direct a campaign with multiple players, thus simulating the pen-and-paper experience. Shadowrun Returns does none of this.

    There are no current plans to introduce multiplayer support with Shadowrun Returns. It's possible down the road, of course, but in the meantime, the most modders will be able to accomplish is to create single-player stories.

    Furthermore, from what I can tell, the game editor is not as strong as some fans are claiming. From the FAQ on the Steam forums:

    "The editor does not support the creation of whole new skills, archetypes or gameplay mechanics although you could fake some of the latter with triggers and dialogue (such as adding a workbench for modifying weapons use dialogue to interact with it and triggers to remove the old weapon from the player's inventory and add a newer version)."

    Players will be able to add their own 2D art assets though. But I'm not sure that this will be enough to keep people interested.

    All in all, if it were possible for a digital game to collect dust, I'd expect this one would be buried in a few months time.    … Expand
  87. greywolf00
    Jul 26, 2013
    7
    Like every game, this isn't for everyone. The default campaign is short (took me slightly north of 10 hours without skipping sidequests), it has a check point system instead of save anywhere, lack of lootable corpses, and no voice acting. If none of that bothers you, it's worth a look. The story isn't bad, and there's a lot of dialog.

    My main complaints are as an RPG, it's kind of    Like every game, this isn't for everyone. The default campaign is short (took me slightly north of 10 hours without skipping sidequests), it has a check point system instead of save anywhere, lack of lootable corpses, and no voice acting. If none of that bothers you, it's worth a look. The story isn't bad, and there's a lot of dialog.

    My main complaints are as an RPG, it's kind of lacking content. The campaign is very linear, not a lot of tactical depth to combat, no ability to customize anything except a handful of consumables on party members, nearly all hired runners lack any personality, and reactivity is pretty sparse (ie special dialog for race/gender is rare). However, where this game will really shine is future content. It shipped with an ugly but powerful editor that allows modders to fix certain things (more open world questing and lootable bodies for starters). The Berlin DLC is also planned to be more open ended.

    Overall, a shallow but solid default campaign. The best of this game will come to the surface in the coming months.    … Expand
  88. Bobblebeheader
    Jul 29, 2013
    7
    All you need to know: I was a big fan of the SNES Shadowrun game. I had nothing with the table top game, or with Cyberpunk, but I just love everything about it. Now, about 20 years later, I got the same vibe when I was playing Shadowrun Returns. 'nuff said.

    Still, the game itself isn't perfect, and has some small flaws that may or may not be fixed in time. How about a pro/con list?    All you need to know: I was a big fan of the SNES Shadowrun game. I had nothing with the table top game, or with Cyberpunk, but I just love everything about it. Now, about 20 years later, I got the same vibe when I was playing Shadowrun Returns. 'nuff said.

    Still, the game itself isn't perfect, and has some small flaws that may or may not be fixed in time. How about a pro/con list?

    Pro:
    Graphics. While relatively simple, they fit this game perfectly.
    Combat. I'm not a big fan of turn-based combat, but SR makes it work. No hack 'n' slash action here, you need to use a bit of strategy to win some battles.
    Atmosphere. The game feels just like the SNES version, which was awesome. You are playing in the world of Shadowrun, not just pretending to do so. NPCs have soul and character, unlike in most games.

    Cons:
    Linear. The game is EXTREMELY linear, something that just feels a bit outdated in 2013. You are forced to go from one location to the other, with no choice to roam free whatsoever. A shame. This game could have been so great if it was at least somewhat open world.
    Combat. While combat is fun, it can get boring fast. But that's generally so with turned based combat IMO.
    Playtime. The game is short. Before you know it, the game is over. Now I know that this game is just a basic package, and people are encouraged to make their own scenario's, but still. I would have loved it if the main campaign had some extra meat on its bones.
    Save system. The game works with an auto save system, yet it never tells you when it saves. If you suddenly need to quit, chances are you'll lose a lot of progress. Why? Don't know. It's not like a decent save system would wreck the game play.

    All in all a solid, yet relatively simple and short, game. One that players of the original SNES Shadowrun will especially enjoy. Can't wait until more campaigns are added!    … Expand
  89. Deschain89
    Aug 22, 2013
    2
    As a long time fan of the western RPG genre, and a man who has replayed titles such as Fallout 1 and it's sequel, Arcanum, and Baldurs Gate over and over again, I see this game as a poor attempt at a game.

    How is it that games that came a long time ago could offer a more sophisticated playing experience than this game is beyond me. No save feature made me have to go through the same    As a long time fan of the western RPG genre, and a man who has replayed titles such as Fallout 1 and it's sequel, Arcanum, and Baldurs Gate over and over again, I see this game as a poor attempt at a game.

    How is it that games that came a long time ago could offer a more sophisticated playing experience than this game is beyond me. No save feature made me have to go through the same uninspired dialogue options over multiple times, only to realize it didn't matter which one I picked. The game is on rails and makes no attempt at disguising the fact.

    You can tell an NPC that "you want to", "sort of want to", or "have no choice" when presented with a quest, which makes the entire role playing segments devoid of meaning. It matters little who you are when an entirely different person would have done the same. Expect no replayability from this one.

    Also, one cannot simply copy the modern reincarnation of X-COM's battle system, dumb it down, and expect a great final product. Whenever you fight anyone and anything in this game, prepare yourself to be dulled; it takes an obscene amount of time to complete an action, the hit and miss percentages are broken, and the animations are some of the more horrid I have seen since 2002.

    However, this game has a great feature that most of the reviewers seem to miss; if you go to the game folder, there seems to be an application near the tool-set named "uninstall". Click on it, and pour yourself a five of gin. Just forget this game ever happened.    … Expand
  90. Rogue69
    Aug 7, 2013
    8
    Just finished the game; Overall I enjoyed the experience quite a bit. The main campaign that comes with the game "Dead Man's Switch" runs about 12 or so hours. I truly enjoyed the game's story and tactical combat; however in my opinion only Hard and Very Hard difficulties offer any challenge. So here are some Pros and Cons:

    Pros: - Great Storyline - Good atmosphere - Tactical    Just finished the game; Overall I enjoyed the experience quite a bit. The main campaign that comes with the game "Dead Man's Switch" runs about 12 or so hours. I truly enjoyed the game's story and tactical combat; however in my opinion only Hard and Very Hard difficulties offer any challenge. So here are some Pros and Cons:

    Pros:
    - Great Storyline
    - Good atmosphere
    - Tactical Combat (on Hard or Very Hard)
    - Pretty Solid Dialog

    Cons:
    - No Save Game; only checkpoint save (Modders have already figured out how to change this)
    - Very Linear
    - Lack of dialog consequences; Need to believe that dialog options matter    … Expand
  91. NOVEANO
    Aug 8, 2013
    10
    Amazing game, really well designed great dialogues, music, and best of all combat system Xcom style. And infinite number of missions thanks to the user generated content. I like it more than fallout or skyrim I can't really put it down
  92. Apeson
    Nov 11, 2013
    0
    Linear, only autosave, XCom clone, made for smartphones. That's about it.

    I really, really love the artstyle though, and I just hope the Berlin campaign will improve everything, but since it's an iOS game and the devs are clearly focused on casual players and a quick cash grab, I highly doubt it.
  93. Jabbernec
    Aug 19, 2013
    1
    Returned, but should have stayed buried. The originals were much more open-ended, had better save systems. No ammo? Pointless skills abound. Defenders keep talking about future player made content, but so what? We'll maybe get 1 or 2 stories that are worth playing..no to mention this isnt a rpg maker software, it is sold as a game
  94. slippery
    Aug 8, 2013
    3
    The game is pretty, but ultimately uninspiring. It's a very bitter example of missed opportunities. The gameplay is extremely linear. The save system is not very good, leading to having to replay long sequences after a death. There are very few opportunities to look around, explore, or discover. The use of text trees is pretty good, but it's unclear how much REAL effect mostThe game is pretty, but ultimately uninspiring. It's a very bitter example of missed opportunities. The gameplay is extremely linear. The save system is not very good, leading to having to replay long sequences after a death. There are very few opportunities to look around, explore, or discover. The use of text trees is pretty good, but it's unclear how much REAL effect most encounters will have.

    The story itself is a bit shallow and cliche. It tries to be dark and deep but it never feels as dramatic and sincere and emotional as the setting has the potential to be.

    At the end of the day, it's just not enjoyable. I don't feel particularly inspired to play. It is, in a word, boring, and that is completely the worst possible thing you could say about an RPG game.    … Expand
  95. Gzhindra
    Jul 28, 2013
    6
    Shadowrun Returns conveys the Cyberpunk’s feel very well. The graphical arts and the musics are spot on. On these aspects Harebrained Schemes delivered. Do not expect a great campaign with a breath-taking scenario though. It is mostly a game editor for the community to work with and provide descent content.

    The campaign is short and accordingly the story doesn’t go very deep. It could    Shadowrun Returns conveys the Cyberpunk’s feel very well. The graphical arts and the musics are spot on. On these aspects Harebrained Schemes delivered. Do not expect a great campaign with a breath-taking scenario though. It is mostly a game editor for the community to work with and provide descent content.

    The campaign is short and accordingly the story doesn’t go very deep. It could be a side quest in baldur’s gate 2 actually. It is well written however and enjoyable enough.

    The biggest issues as it is, in my opinion, are the game mechanics and the characters development. It is fairly limited in term of strategy and the class are totally unbalanced. Pure deckers or even mages are not functionals for example and it will be a walk through the park with a character focused on ranged combat.

    If the game mechanics and the characters development can be heavily modified with the editor it could have the potential for great content from the community. Otherwise it will be only a nice story telling tool.    … Expand
  96. DavidClarke
    Aug 14, 2013
    4
    Backed this on Kickstarter the moment it was announced, really hoping for something special. What I got was an over short tablet game, with occasional moments of near goodness being drowned out in a sea of bland. As other reviewers have pointed out the campaign suffers from a ridiculous amount of linearity, the save game system is poorly spaced checkpoint nonsense, and I wish they had putBacked this on Kickstarter the moment it was announced, really hoping for something special. What I got was an over short tablet game, with occasional moments of near goodness being drowned out in a sea of bland. As other reviewers have pointed out the campaign suffers from a ridiculous amount of linearity, the save game system is poorly spaced checkpoint nonsense, and I wish they had put half as much effort into character models and portraits as they did into the rendered backdrops.

    All of these problems should be fixable, and certainly they could turn around everything I dislike about the game in a good expansion pack/dlc campaign.But the game as it was released is a 4/10.    … Expand
  97. Lanatir
    Aug 1, 2013
    4
    This review is mainly for the campaign that is included with the game. While the game mechanics themselves are above average, the campaign is WAY too short.
    About 10 hours including EVERYTHING you can do in this campaign (which is, besides the totally linear railroaded mainquest a whooping 2!! sidequests).
    NO dialogue decisions you make change the outcome in any way, maybe you get a    This review is mainly for the campaign that is included with the game. While the game mechanics themselves are above average, the campaign is WAY too short.
    About 10 hours including EVERYTHING you can do in this campaign (which is, besides the totally linear railroaded mainquest a whooping 2!! sidequests).
    NO dialogue decisions you make change the outcome in any way, maybe you get a little bit more experience for one answer over another. The plot is absolutely predictable.
    On the positive end, some characters are well written (while others are atrocious).
    Some of the character classes you can make are absolutely useless in the campaign (Deckers for example. There is i think...3 missions that include decking, and those can easily be done by one of the NPC followers. So, if you make a Decker for this campaign, you are basically out of luck.
    A few words on game mechanics: Firearms of all sorts are extremely overpowered compared to magic or melee. A Street Samurai that specializes on ranged combat blasts through the whole thing without even breaking a sweat. Combat is too simplified for my taste, its like a budget version of xcom with 90% of the options removed.    … Expand
  98. rerrett
    Aug 4, 2013
    10
    Great dialogue, engaging characters, a cohesive expanding storyline and all the cyberpunk trimmings done right. Be forewarned that saves are checkpoint based, but thankfully, you can always "rewind" to a previous checkpoint to reassess earlier decisions.
  99. bublik
    Aug 6, 2013
    10
    I'll keep it short. Jordan and his team are actually revived Shadowrun. I've got exactly what I almost lost any hope of getting mission-based role-playing game with the heavy emphasis on the story, stylish 2D visuals and involved turn-based combat. Actually, if you're a fan of the franchise, you should stop reading my pathetic review right now and get this game. Yes. Do that. For anyI'll keep it short. Jordan and his team are actually revived Shadowrun. I've got exactly what I almost lost any hope of getting mission-based role-playing game with the heavy emphasis on the story, stylish 2D visuals and involved turn-based combat. Actually, if you're a fan of the franchise, you should stop reading my pathetic review right now and get this game. Yes. Do that. For any other old school folks that are still looking back to the "good old days" when Fallout, X-COM or Jagged Alliance have eaten most of your school homework time, this game will be awesome modernized throwback to the stuff you've been missing. And, please, don't let me started on the "reboot well-known franchise from the days gone by as a FPS" trend, just roll Spoony's Betrayal music video instead Is the end result perfect? No. I would like more Mr. Johnson missions, more gear, more well-written dialogues, more item and interior description goodness, more shots of the rain-soaked Seattle. But, you know what, the end result is still awesome. Well, I better stop here. Just the day before the game was finally released, Jordan have posted video on the project website, where he and the team thanked everyone who supported, waited and believed. Now I want to return my gratitude. Jordan, Harebrained Schemes, thank you for creating this game. Logging out.… Expand
  100. Korzarios
    Aug 11, 2013
    10
    I love this game. At first the combat mechanics and significant text threw me off, but I love the Shadowrun universe, and this game quickly won me over. With dozens of user generated addons already in their infancy, this game has tremendous replay value outside of the main quest. The team that created the game and main quest are also creating a new campaign, which should be fantastic.
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
48
#48 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 5, 2013
    82
    Shadowrun Returns is a bit more simplistic than I had hoped for, but at the same time it is not bad at all. [Sept 2013]
  2. Eurogamer Sweden
    Sep 13, 2013
    60
    Shadowrun Returns is a faithful reinterpretation (and in a vague sense, sequel) to the SNES game from 20 years ago, maybe a bit too faithful. Though most aspects of the the wild and unruly Shadowrun world is included, the promise of this game lies more in the open embrace of the mod community than the included adventure.
    Read full review
  3. Level7.nu
    Sep 10, 2013
    70
    Shadowrun Returns will probably please most fans if perhaps not blow anyone out of the water. The campaign is well written and serves as a good introduction for new players. The variety in combat and character creation and dialogue options is great but suffers from a badly implemented autosave system. With lots of new campaigns on the horizon Shadowrun Returns is well worth keeping an eye on.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »